| Pirated from another Notes Conf a long time ago.....
-< And you thought it was only an insect repellant >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you know that AVON'S Skin-So-Soft is more than just a bath oil?
Just look at the list of uses we've found, "tried and true"!!
1. It's a bath oil.
2. It's an after shower moisturizer.
3. It can be used to remove makeup.
4. It's a suntan oil (no sunscreen).
5. Pour a little in the water of your foot saver to help moisturize
your feet while you relax them.
6. It's a hot oil treatment to soften nails.
7. It's a good massage oil for those overworked, sore muscles.
8. ***It's a good insect repellant for people and their pets (as
recommended in "Outdoor Life" and "Field and Stream" magazines,
plus "dear Abbey").
9. It helps relieve itching caused by insect bites and dry skin.
10. Sponge it on screen and around doors and windows to keep crawling
bugs, as well as, flies and mosquitos out.
11. It's a wood cleaner, conditioner, and polish for natural wood.
(cuts grease and dirt from kitchen cabinets with ease.)
12. It removes chewing gum from hair, skin, and most non-porous
surfaces.
13. It removes glue and gum left from price tags and labels from
glass, metal, and most plastics.
14. It cleans tape marks left by bandages on skin.
15. It cleans ink from skin and most vinyl and painted surfaces.
16. It gently cleans HEAVY grease and oil from skin and non-porous
surfaces (great for mechanics' hands) -- even from Ultra Suede!
17. It removes soap scum from shower doors, shower curtains, windows,
and bathroom and kitchen fixtures.
18. It removes lime and hard water deposits from windows, fixtures,
shower doors and tile.
19. It removes tar spots from car finishes without damaging paint
finish.
20. It's an oil lubricant for fitting pipe joints that won't slip
together as easily as they used to.
21. It removes paint and stain from skin -- much gentler than
turpentine.
22. It cleans paint brushes easily, and leaves them as soft as new.
23. It removes gum from carpet.
24. It cuts grease and dirt from range hoods.
25. It removes candle wax from furniture, carpeting, and clothing.
26. It removes scuff marks from patent leather shoes.
27. It removes Liquid Nail (panelling glue).
28. Two glass bowls or glasses stuck together? Drizzle a little
SSS down the sides and they'll come apart easily -- no breakage!
29. It removes "ring-around-the-collar".
30. Wipe down vinyl surfaces in your car. Cleans them nicely, and
removes smoke odor left behind by cigarette smokers.
31. Extra benefit -- while using it to clean, etc., it leaves your
hands soft and smooth -- unlike other harsh cleaners.
CAN YOU THINK OF ANY MORE?????
|
| I pulled this off the net last year. Poked around some and found it
again. (I MUST clean my files out sone of these days...)The net headers
are intact, but I've moved them to the bottom of this reply to make it
easier to read.
Since this is off a bulletin board/newsnet, I did not check to see if I
could post it. I've asterisked the company name mentioned in the
posting so as not to even seemingly bash another company.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Please no flames - I am just passing on information given to me by my
allergist.
In my last visit, we got on the discussion of insect repellents and I
mentioned **** Skin So Soft as a recommended and easy way to ward off
bugs. He handed me a May 19, 1989 copy of a newsletter called 'The
Medical Letter" which is published by The Medical Letter, Inc, 56
Harrison St, New Rochelle NY, a nonprofit publication. This particular
issue contained information on insect repellents with specific
information devoted to **** Skin So Soft. This following paragraph is
taken directly from the newsletter:
"SKIN SO SOFT - A commerical concentrated bath oil, **** Skin So Soft,
has come into wide use as a "folk medicine" mosquito repellent. This
product contains di-isopropyl adipate, mineral oil, isopropyl
palmitate, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, fragrance, and the sunscreen
benzophenone-11. In one study, the bath oil did repel Ae. aegypti, the
mosquito carrier of yellow fever (LC Rutledge et al, Mosquito News,
42:557, 1982) but, according to Medical Letter consultants, Skin So
Soft may protect against mosquitoes for as little as 10 to 30 minutes,
and the safety of repeated, widespread application of the concentrated
bath oil to the skin is unknown."
My allergist added this additional information - The first 2
ingredients of Skin So Soft - di-isopropyl adipate and mineral oil have
been combined have been known to cause brain damage and liver damage
in children. The problem comes in when these 2 substances are
directly applied to the skin (as opposed to being used in the bathtub)
they are obsorbed by the body. The body has on way of getting rid of
these 2 substances and the levels just keep increasing in the body.
Sounds like the same principal of alar in apples. Bottom line, he
strongly cautions against using Skin So Soft as an insect repellent for
the above reasons.
For the record, I have nothing against the **** Company. I as a
general rule, like their products. As I have seen Skin So Soft
mention in both misc.consumers, and rec.pets, I thought I would post
this information on to others who might be smearing Skin So Soft on
themselves, their children and their pets this summer.
----- John Allred
BBN Systems and Technologies Corp. (jallred@bbn.com)
========================================================================
From bbn!bbn.com!jallred Mon Jun 5 17:59:32 EDT 1989
Article 12840 of bbn.bboard:
Path: bbn!bbn.com!jallred
>From: jallred@bbn.com (John Allred)
Newsgroups: bbn.bboard
Subject: **** Skin So Soft Warning
Keywords: safety precaution
Message-ID: <40960@bbn.COM>
Date: 5 Jun 89 21:33:54 GMT
References: <7936@left.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@bbn.COM
Reply-To: jallred@vax.bbn.com (John Allred)
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
Lines: 56
Received: from MIKEY.BBN.COM by decwrl.dec.com (5.54.5/4.7.34)
id AA28268; Mon, 5 Jun 89 15:07:26 PDT
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|
| Here's a note from HIKING on the subject (x-posted with permission)
<<< BTOQA::UD$2:[NOTES$LIBRARY]HIKING.NOTE;3 >>>
-< HIKING and BACKPACKING Conference >-
================================================================================
Note 281.25 Black Flies .. Control, Remedies, Cures, Helps 25 of 27
AHIKER::EARLY "Bob Early T&N/EIC" 150 lines 13-JUN-1990 10:48
-< Avon Skin-so-Soft, DEET, and Hints on using Repellants >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Schwalbe has given his permission for this information to be
republished anywhere onto the DECnet.
If you'd like to republish this information external (outside) of DEC,
please contact Jim Schwalbe directly.
This information may be copied/extracted to anywhere within DEC. PLEASE
KEEP THE ENTIRE NOTE INTACT when doing so, including this additional
header (for traceability of verification). No additional tracer
need be added that I am aware of.
Bob Early,
Moderator of Hiking & Backpacking
13-JUN-1990
From: schwalbe@pinocchio.Encore.COM (Jim Schwalbe)
Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
Subject: Skin-So-Soft warning (and other "insect-repellants").
Summary: Avon's Skin-So-Soft warning
Keywords: insect repellant,DEET,R-11,Skin-So-Soft
Message-ID: <11955@encore.Encore.COM>
Date: 24 May 90 20:15:52 GMT
Sender: news@Encore.COM
Reply-To: schwalbe@pinocchio.UUCP (Jim Schwalbe)
Distribution: na
Organization: Encore Computer Corp, Marlboro, MA
Lines: 121
Well this will teach me to get my facts straight before I make a posting.
If anyone is interested in insect repellants and possible bad effects
from some of their ingrediants, please read on. Otherwise, spare yourself
from reading this rather long posting.
I must apologize to the net for making a statement a while ago about recent
reports as to some deleterious effects of Avon's Skin-So-Soft when applied
directly to the skin as an insect repellant. I stated that my wife informed
me (she is a Toxicologist for the state of New Hampshire) that Skin-So-Soft
contains an ingrediant which is a neurotoxin and is absorbed into the
bloodstream when applied directly to the skin and that this has been shown
to be especially bad with young children. As it turns out, I got my facts
confused. What my wife was referring to was DEET which is not an ingrediant
in Skin-So-Soft, but it is in other insect repellants.
Here's where the confusion came in. Several months ago, someone made a
posting to this newsgroup about Skin-So-Soft. I printed out the note
but do not have the header with the posters name so I don't know who I'm
quoting here (perhaps you will recognize this and speak up). In this
article, this person quoted "The Medical Letter", May 19, 1989, The Medical
Leter Inc., New Rochell, NY saying that "the safety of repeated and widespread
application of the concentrated bath oil [Skin-So-Soft] to the skin is
unknown". This person also stated that his/her allergist said that
Skin-So-Soft which contains di-isopropyl adipate and mineral oil which
"when combined have been know to cause brain damage and liver damage in
children". The only thing my wife has been able to turn up on this is that
di-isopropyl adipate by itself has been shown to have "low acute oral
toxicity". Not much help. I would conclude that that the issue with
Skin-So-Soft is still open.
What I confused this with is what my wife told me about the compound DEET.
This is quoted from "Public Health News", May 7, 1990, N.H. Department of
Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, 6 Hazen Dirve,
Concord, NH 03301, titled "State Health Officals advise caution in using
insect repellents" by Amy Juchatz, Toxicologist (my wife's boss).
"CONCORD - The New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) is
issuing an ALERT to consumers regarding two insect repellent ingredients:
R-11 and DEET. R-11 is being voluntarily withdrawn from the market by the
manufacturer due to health concerns. DEET, which may be used alone or in
combination with R-11, has been associated with health effects in young
children.
Last week it was announced that McLaughlin, Gormley King Company (MGK), the
sole producer of R-11 has voluntarily halted production and sales of R-11
and is requesting that the United States Environmental Protection Agency
cancel its registration. This action is due to reports of birth defects
and tumor formation in laboratory animals.
Although no reports of adverse symptoms in humans have been received, many
bug repellent namufacturers who use R-11 as an ingredient in thir insect
repellents have voluntarily withdrawn their products from the market. Not
all manufacturers have done so, however, and a limited supply of products
containig R-11 may still be on store shelves."
[I'm skipping some stuff here but it goes on to say that the real name for R-11
is "2,3,4,5-Bis(2-butylene tetrahydro-2-furaldehyde)".]
"The DPHS is further advising parents who use DEET on children to excercise
caution. There have been reports of serious neurological problems in
children associated with frequent and excessive applications of insect
repellents containing DEET. These symptoms which have been observed only
in children (not adults) using DEET consist of headaches, restlessness,
crying spells, mania, staggering, rapid respiration, convulsions, and
coma".
[More stuff skipped here...]
"Products containing DEET have a public health benefit of reducing spread
of diseases such as Lyme Disease, carried by deer ticks. Therefor, the
DPHS is not recommending that the public avoid DEET-containing products,
but instead recommends that the following precautions be taken:
1. Use all repellants sparingly (1 to 2 times a day).
2. Avoid prolonged and excessive use of DEET-containing products,
especially on children.
3. Avoid using products that contain mor than 30% DEET on children.
4. Apply insect repellents on clothes rather than bare skin when
possible.
5. People with acnes, psoriasis, or other skin problems should also use
DEET products sparingly.
Last summer, similar recommendations were issued byt the U.S. EPA and the
state departments in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Michigan.
Since R-11 will no longer be available, health officials are concerned that
people will be more likely to use products with a high percentage of DEET
(greater than 30%)".
As a side note, I do remember hearing recently that studies have shown that
"products containing 30% DEET have been shown to be at LEAST as effective
against insects as those containing 95-100% DEET".
Now, from the "Concord Monitor", p. D6, Thursday, May 10, 1990 under the Health
section, a quoted story by Sandy Rovner of the Washington Post (excerpts).
".... two of the best-selling bug repellents, Cutter's and Deep Woods Off,
have been removed from store shelves."
".... they and other products containing a possibly dangerous chemical,
popularly known as R-11, have been voluntarily recalled by their
namufacturers."
"New formulations of Deep Woods Off - the only Off product that contains
R-11 - and various Cutter's lotions and sprays that contained the offending
chemical, are scheduled to be on store shelves soon. Both will sport
labels stating "new formulation"."
"According to tropical disease specialist Martin Wolf, the physicaian who
runs the Washington-based Travelers Medical Service, DEET occasionally has
been associated with nervous system problem, allergies, and other ills,
especially in small children.
According to Wolf, there is a superior tick and mosquito repellent on the
market, although it is not widely available called Permanone, or
permethrin ....."
So I hope that staightens out any confusion I may have caused. I hope this
information is helpful to people.
..---------------------------------------------------------------------------.
: Jim Schwalbe .----------------. Mail: {bu-cs,decvax,talcott}:
: Hardware Research Group .--+-------------. | !encore!schwalbe :
: Encore Computer Corp. | | E N C O R E | | Phone: [508] 460-0500 :
: 257 Cedar Hill Street | `-------------+--' :
: Marlborough, MA 01752 `----------------' "But I live in NH!" :
`---------------------------------------------------------------------------'
|