Methylisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazolinone (MI), alone or mixed with methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI/MI), is a preservative used in personal-care products, cleaning products, paints and homemade ‘slime’. When MI was used alone at high concentrations in baby wipes, cases of allergic nappy-area dermatitis rose. The EU then restricted it, and most wipes have since dropped it, but it is still found in some children’s products (Tam & Yu 2022). It was positive in 3.7% of 432 Italian children who were patch-tested, more often in those with Atopic Dermatitis (Bonamonte 2022). The T.R.U.E. Test can miss up to 37% of MI allergy.
Connections
- Allergic Contact Dermatitis — top paediatric preservative allergen, source: Bonamonte 2022; Tam & Yu 2022