Home » Health » ‘Skin lighteners dangerous to health’ ‘Skin lighteners dangerous to health’ Posted by: Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha in Health 2 days ago BLEACHING agents are are not friendly to the skin, dermatologists have said. Over 80 dermatologits from the United States, France, and 22 from Africa were at the the Fourth African Ethnic Skin and Hair Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya to deliberate on how to save Africans from skin bleaching. Issues affecting community dermatology, such as the burden of skin diseases, skin cancer in skin of colour, oculocutaneous albinism in Africa, use of sunscreens, needs and expectations of skin of color in African women, impact of soap pH on skin conditions, role of traditional plants, and probable genetic factors in central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia were discussed. The experts said ministries of health in Africa should embark on advocacy programmes to educate their citizens on the dangers of using bleaching cosmetics. They said the major areas of consideration for addressing the epidemic on skin bleaching, a major challenge to dermatologists in Africa is that it deserved urgent political action because of the devastating consequences of skin cancer, ochronosis, fungal infections, acne, and striae. Even though the conditions are preventable, they pose a heavy, serious burden on dermatological services throughout Africa. In a statement by a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Physician Dermatologist, Lagos State University College of Medicine/Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Dr Frances O. Ajose, the experts said they want African governments to take steps to restrict access to bleaching products that contain hydroquinone, mercury, phenol, resorcinol, and all forms of corticosteroids. That governments should implement strict measures to remove all known skin-bleaching cosmetics from over- the-counter shelves; educate the youth about the dangers of skin lighteners.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 23:31:42 +0000
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