Word: talc
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Long the butt of jokes, placebos (from the Latin for "I shall please") are one of the oldest, most useful and least understood "remedies" in the doctor's satchel. Generally they come as pills of milk sugar or talc or as injections of salt water. Such substances are considered pharmacologically inert, incapable of eliciting a response when prescribed in reasonable quantities. Yet studies have repeatedly shown that placebos help as many as 30% or 40% of patients with real enough ills, including postoperative pain, migraines, coughs, seasickness, arthritis, ulcers, hypertension, hay fever, even warts...
...acid, glyceryl stearate, magnesium aluminum silicate and PEG-75 lanolin oil are emulsifiers that enable the other ingredients to mix and form a smooth lotion. Three of the ingredients are pigments, which give color to the skin when the cream goes on. They are titanium dioxide, iron oxides and talc. There are also three preservatives to lengthen the shelf life of the cream: methylparaben, imidazolidinyl urea and propylparaben. In fact, the most expensive ingredient is propylparaben, which sells for about $3.30 per lb. But a safe assumption is that scarcely 20 worth ever finds its way into...
...prevent diaper rash, talcum powder is considered by most parents to be safe. That assumption is not necessarily true. There have been scattered incidents in the U.S. of severe skin rashes and even poisoning from powder containing dangerous ingredients. Last year doctors warned that a high asbestos content in talc could lead to lung cancer. French medical authorities in the 1950s blamed a talc accidentally laced with arsenic for killing 69 infants. Last week the French government indicted a talcum powder for the recent deaths of 28 babies. The suspected ingredient: hexachlorophene, an antibacterial agent that the U.S. Food...
...Since surgeons first discovered that talc, a finely powdered mineral, could be toxic, they have stopped using it on the skintight rubber gloves they wear while performing operations. Now, according to the Lancet, there are indications that the starch used as a substitute may also be unsafe, leading to a potentially dangerous postoperative condition called "starch peritonitis." The condition, which develops anywhere from ten to 40 days after surgery and produces fever, cramping and abdominal pain, was first believed by doctors to be the result of intestinal obstructions. But those who reoperated discovered no blockages but pearly white nodules...