Swollen face, redness, itching…
Watch out for gifts left under the tree. The French Society of Dermatology (SFD) warns of the dangers of a trendy creative game for making plastic objects such as key rings, jewelry, etc. In contact with the child (like the adult who helps him) may be suffering from a serious allergy.
Allergies caused by products used in this creative hobby are called “contact”: acute eczema can appear on the hands, but also on all parts of the body not protected by thick clothing, in particular the forearms, the face and neck. The allergy can also cause swelling of the skin, redness and/or itching. “The skin can become covered with small blisters of transparent liquid. (…) On the swollen and red face, we often notice significant edema of the eyelids” explains the SFD.
This game is the subject of videos promoted on the Internet and “there are many kits on the market” adds the SFD which is categorical and “strongly recommends against its use by children”. The game in question? Kits based on epoxy resin, a resin which in liquid form is volatile and allergenic. When this product is used to make pretty little plastic objects, it must be mixed with a second product called a “catalyst” (the monomers (bisphenol A)) to harden the object. A mixture “very allergenic, handle with great care”.
“There is no predisposing condition for allergies to Epoxy, everyone can become allergic” warns the SFD in its press release of December 19 and “it is very difficult to protect ourselves effectively from contact with these resins. (…) Latex rubber gloves and cotton clothing do not protect us.” Furthermore, there is no desensitization for contact eczema.SO an allergy to epoxy resin will last a lifetime.” “A child sensitized to epoxies will be barred from professional access to certain professions where it is necessary to handle these resins which are widely used in industry or the building trades” underline dermatologists.
If contact eczema from epoxy resins appears, you should contact your doctor. “Treatment is based on corticosteroid creams but may require systemic corticosteroids.” A dermato-allergological assessment by patch tests must be carried out to demonstrate the responsibility of the resin. There is no longer any allergenic risk once the product has hardened. Allergy to epoxy resin is always “delayed”, this means that there is no associated risk of immediate allergy such as hives, angioedema or anaphylactic shock. Contact allergies to epoxy are known: epoxy is part of the list of 31 allergens most often involved in triggering contact eczema in Europe.
