Acute Exposure to Rhodamine B

Rhodamine B is a red colored dye that is used in cosmetic products. We report a case of 17 patients who were exposed to aerosolized Rhodamine B inside a maintenance shop. The mean duration of exposure was 26 minutes (range 2-65). Sixteen of the patients (94%) complained of acute symptoms including: burning of the eyes (82%), excessive tearing (47%), nasal burning (41%), nasal itching (35%), chest pain/tightness (35%), rhinorhea (29%), cough (29%), dyspnea (29%), burning of the throat (24%), burning/pruritic skin (24%), chest burning (12%), headache (6%), and nausea (6%). All of the patients had resolution of their symptoms within 24 hours (less than 4 hours in 63%). Acute exposure to Rhodamine B resulted in transient mucous membrane and skin irritation without evidence of serious sequellae.