Disodium octaborate

Direct observations: clinical cases, poisoning incidents and other

Administrative data

Endpoint:

direct observations: clinical cases, poisoning incidents and other

Type of information:

other: Case study.

Adequacy of study:

supporting study

Study period:

No data

Reliability:

other: Not applicable this is a case study.

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

other: Not applicable this is a case study.

Data source

Reference

Reference Type:

publication

Title:

Occupational toxic alopecia due to borax.

Author:

Tan TG

Year:

1970

Bibliographic source:

Acta Dermatovener 50: 55 – 58.

Materials and methods

Study type:

clinical case study

Endpoint addressed:

repeated dose toxicity: inhalation

Test guideline

Qualifier:

no guideline followed

Principles of method if other than guideline:

The reference describes a clinical case study in humans.

GLP compliance:

no

Test material

Test material information

Constituent 1

Reference substance name:

Borax

IUPAC Name:

Borax

Details on test material:

- Name of test material: Borax

Method

Subjects:

- Number of subjects exposed: 1
- Sex: Male
- Age: 50

Route of exposure:

inhalation

Reason of exposure:

unintentional, occupational

Exposure assessment:

estimated

Results and discussion

Clinical signs:

A man of 50 years presented alopecia due to occupational contact with borax. The man presented who the dermatological policlinc with the complaint that in the last week his scalp hair had fallen out very markedly during washing. He reported that increased loss of hair had been observed for 3 months, most marked shortly before he attended the clinic. He also had other complaints. 6 months previously he had felt very nervous and excited, suffered from insomnia and attacks of headache with pyrexia and frequent muscle pains, especially in the extremities. A week after the increased loss of hair, his face and head grew red and flaky. On examination the patient was observed in moderately good health, but somewhat lean. The most striking feature was the diffuse loss of hair, the alopecia being most marked in the medial region of the head. The bear growth had decreased markedly in the previous few weeks. The skin of the face and head exhibited a slightly diffuse which desquamation against an erythematous background with a psoriasiform aspect. He had no gastrointestinal disorder, no nausea or vomiting, although his appetite had decreased. There was no marked loss of body weight.There was no hepatic or renal disease and no psychiatric disorder. The blood picture and SR were normal. The Wassermann test was negative. His occupation was as a storekeeper and one of his duties was to fill a dispenser with washing powder almost daily, which he had done for more than 6 years. The washing powder was stored in a drum with a capacity of 50 kg in a store room with almost mo ventilation. The washing powder was finely granular and the patient frequently sneezed several times during this task of filling the dispenser as he could not avoid inhaling some of it. The patient was subsequently asked to avoid all contact with the washing powder and all symptoms including loss of hair subsided. 6 weeks following discontinuation boron was demonstrated in the urine, which was acidified with dilute HCl and concentrated by evaporation and tested using turmeric paper. A few months later when the patient’s hair growth was more or less normal the urine was once again tested for borax and was negative.

Applicant's summary and conclusion

Conclusions:

A man of 50 years presented alopecia due to occupational contact with borax. The man presented who the dermatological policlinc with the complaint that in the last week his scalp hair had fallen out very markedly during washing. He reported that increased loss of hair had been observed for 3 months, most marked shortly before he attended the clinic. The diagnosis was of alopecia after toxic agent.