Hexachlorophene

Hexachlorophene can affect you if it is breathed in and by passing through your skin. It can irritate the skin and eyes on contact with possible permanent eye damage, it could also irritate the nose and throat and cause coughing and possible wheezing. Exposure to hexachlorophene can cause headaches, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. It could also cause brain damage with a paralysis and blindness. This is a known to trigger asthma. It is banned/restricted for use in cosmetics by the FDA. It was used as an antibacterial agent, disinfectant, fungicide, and acaricide. It may be absorbed through the skin and is very hazardous. If it is ingested it could cause fever, tremors, absence of light reflex, abdominal cramps, convulsions, drowsiness, nausea, shock or collapse, vomiting, and weakness. It works like a detergent to cleanse skin and prevents the growth of certain bacteria. It’s side effects include dryness, mild scaling, skin redness;\, skin sensitivity to light, and swelling of the skin. It also  is used as a tenicide in poultry, and as a fasciolicide in cattle . Signs of toxicity in cattle include nystagmus, tremor, opisthotonos. In sheep, the signs are anorexia, diarrhea, recumbency and atrophy of seminiferous tubules. Dogs and cats may die suddenly after large doses, or show cerebellar signs with chronic exposure.

**Hexachlorophene**, also known as Nabac, is a disinfectant. The compound occurs as a white to light-tan crystalline powder, which either is odorless or produces a slightly phenolic odor. In medicine, hexachlorophene is very useful as a topical anti-infective, anti-bacterial agent, often used in soaps and toothpaste. It is also used in agriculture as a soil fungici  de, [|plant] bactericide , and acaricide. Hexachlorophene products can be lethal from percutaneous (through the skin) absorption. Children may be specifically susceptible. Hexachlorophene (6.3%) was added to “baby powder” in France due to a manufacturing error. It, or possibly contaminating dioxins, caused encephalopathy and ulcerative skin lesions. 36 of 204 exposed children died within a few days of exposure. Two companies manufactured over-the-counter preparations. One, by The Mennen Company, Morristown, NJ, was //Baby Magic Bath//. Mennen recalled the product, and it was removed from retail distribution. Right after the withdrawal, there was an outbreak of // Staphylococcus // infections in hospitals across the USA. A commercial preparation of the drug, //pHisoHex//, was widely used as an effective antibacterial skin cleanser in the treatment of acne. In the US during the 1960s, it was available over the counter, and remains available as a prescription body wash. In the E.U. during the 1970s and 1980s, it was available over the counter. A related product, //pHisoAc//, was used as a skin mask to dry and peel away acne lesions. Another preparation, //pHiso-Scrub//, was a hexachlorophene-impregnated sponge for scrubbing; it has since been discontinued. In 1969, hexachlorophene became suspected of causing cancer, and studies determined that oral ingestion of hexachlorophene led to weakness and paralysis in laboratory ra

ts. In 1973, after studies found relatively high concentrations of hexachlorophene in the blood of neonates washed with a 3% solution it was withdrawn from over-the-counter sales, though still available by prescription. A 1978 study undertaken by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, indicated that hexachlorophene does not cause cancer. However, the MSDS still lists this compound as an experimental teratogen. Possibly because of the previous questions concerning its effects, most dermatologists today do not prescribe it for acne treatment. Several substitute products (including triclosan ) were developed, but none had the germ-killing capability of hexachlorophene.

Hexachlorophene 

C 13 H 6 Cl 6 O 2 406.90

Phenol,2,2 ¢ -methylenebis[3,4,6-trichloro-. 2,2 ¢ -Methylenebis[3,4,6-trichlorophenol] [ 70-30-4 ].  »Hexachlorophene contains not less than 98.0percent and not more than 100.5percent of C 13 H 6 Cl 6 O 2 ,calculated on the dried basis.