Sensitization to Polyethylene Glycols (Carbowaxes®)

THE POLYETHYLENE glycols are condensation or polymerization products of ethylene glycol of relatively high molecular weights. The heavier and more solid of these have been called carbowaxes.® The polyethylene glycols commonly used range from polyethylene glycol 400, a thick liquid of a consistency similar to glycerin, through carbowax® 1500, an ointment-like material, to carbowax® 4000, a solid substance resembling paraffin. The numbers attached to the names are indicative of their approximate molecular weight. All these polyethylene glycols are freely soluble in water and are also good solvents. Various combinations of them can be used to form a vehicle of almost any desired consistency. Studies of the toxicity of these materials have shown them to be of a low order of toxicity and no more capable of sensitizing the skin than are many other materials commonly used in ointment bases.1 Because of these facts