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‘Out, damned spot!’
Published in Alan Bleakley, Educating Doctors’ Senses Through the Medical Humanities, 2020
Formaldehyde vapours are released at differing stages of dissection (Sugata et al. 2016), specifically, as would be expected, after skin incision. Sugata and colleagues (ibid) found that female cadavers release significantly greater levels of formaldehyde than male cadavers, while in their study levels of vapour released exceeded the maximum value outlined in World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Exposure to formaldehyde “can cause burning of the eyes, tearing, and general irritation to the upper respiratory passages”. Even low levels (0.3–2.7 ppm) have been found to disturb sleep, where higher levels (10–20 ppm) may produce coughing and tightening in the chest, palpitations and a feeling of pressure in the head. Repeated exposure can lead to dermatitis and inflammatory skin reactions on the eyelids, face, neck and arms. Extreme exposure (50–100 ppm and above) can lead to pulmonary oedema, pneumonitis or death.
Acute Lung Injury In Children Due To Chemical And Physical Agents
Published in Lourdes R. Laraya-Cuasay, Walter T. Hughes, Interstitial Lung Diseases in Children, 2019
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas used in a wide variety of industrial processes and is found in wood products, adhesives, carpeting, drapes, and urea formaldehyde foam insulation. Inhalation of high concentrations of the gas (over 11 ppm) has been associated with chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and death.450 At lower levels of exposure (2 to 5 ppm) irritation of eyes and upper respiratory tract, skin irritation, headache, formaldehyde-induced asthma, and increased cancer risk have been reported.450 Mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and homes built with particle board and/or insulated with urea formaldehyde foam have been reported to have levels of formaldehyde high enough to produce a variety of symptoms in residents.451, 452
Alcohols and Aldehydes
Published in Frank A. Barile, Barile’s Clinical Toxicology, 2019
Formaldehyde is a nearly colorless gas with a pungent irritating odor. It dissolves easily in water and is used to formulate formalin* and methanol (wood alcohol). Formaldehyde is used as a preservative, a hardening and reducing agent, a corrosion inhibitor, a sterilizing agent, a histological preservative, and an embalming fluid. It is also found in glues, pressed wood products, foam insulation, and a wide variety of molded or extruded plastic items. Indoor sources include permanent-press fabrics, carpets, pesticide formulations, and cardboard and paper products. Outdoor sources include emissions from fuel combustion, oil refining processes, and environmental tobacco smoke.
Design of a microfluidic lung chip and its application in assessing the toxicity of formaldehyde
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2023
Man Su, Xiang Li, Zezhi Li, Chenfeng Hua, Pingping Shang, Junwei Zhao, Kejian Liu, Fuwei Xie
In the application of our designed chip, the toxicity of formaldehyde was accessed. There are many studies on the acute toxicity of formaldehyde. It has been reported that formaldehyde at 60–240 μM for 24 h could induce ROS accumulation and cytotoxicity in PC12 cells (Tang et al. 2011). Zhang et al.’s results (Zhang et al. 2013) showed that 100 μM formaldehyde induced genotoxicity through its ROS and lipid peroxidation enzyme activity in A549 cells. Similar results were found in animal experiments, for example, Gulec et al. (Gulec et al. 2006) found that 10 mg/kg formaldehyde treatment for 10 days significantly increased the activities of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the liver of rats. Our results from the chip are consistent with previous studies, formaldehyde exposure leads to cell damage and ROS increase.
Comparing formaldehyde risk assessment in histopathology laboratory staff using three methods based on US EPA approaches in the west of Iran
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022
Azam Karami Mosafer, Elnaz Taheri, Abdulrahman Bahrami, Seyed Mohammad Zolhavarieh, Mohammad Javad Assari
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a sharp and irritating smell produced by oxidation of methanol, and has relatively long durability in the air [1]. Formaldehyde was previously classified as group 2A (probably human carcinogens) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) but changed to group 1 (human carcinogens) in the new classification [2,3]. According to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) classification, formaldehyde is in group A2 (suspected human carcinogens) [2,4]. This compound is very dangerous to human health due to the potency of toxicity and cancer. Formaldehyde causes upper airway inflammation and shortness of breath, allergic contact dermatitis, chronic bronchitis, asthma and significant changes in spirometric parameters, and has sensitivity and irritation effects on the eye [5]. Epidemiologic studies of industrial workers, pathologists and anatomists have shown a relationship between formaldehyde exposure and increased risk of various types of cancer, including the nasal cavity, nasopharyngeal, lung, brain, pancreas, prostate, colon and lymphohematopoietic system [6].
Formaldehyde as an alternative to antibiotics for treatment of refractory impetigo and other infectious skin diseases
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2019
Philip Nikolic, Poonam Mudgil, John Whitehall
Formaldehyde is the simplest aldehyde and exists as a colorless gas with a strong odor at room temperature. It was first synthesized in 1855 and is used for a variety of roles. This includes in embalming, the manufacture of particle-board, plywood, and other wooden furniture products and as a preservative in products such as cosmetics and medicinal creams [8]. When used as a preservative it is used as an aqueous solution of 37%-50% formaldehyde called formalin [9]. Formaldehyde is used as a preservative due to its genotoxicity to bacteria and fungi. It is capable of binding to DNA and proteins to cause DNA-DNA cross-links, DNA-protein cross-links, irreversible formaldehyde adducts as well as other forms of DNA and protein damage [10,11]. It is effective against bacteria at very low concentrations with the MIC of formaldehyde against S. aureus being only 156 mg/L or 0.02% [12]. Formaldehyde has also been used to treat bacterial infections in the form of the antibiotic methenamine. Methenamine is an antibiotic that was used to treat urinary tract infections but has since become a ‘forgotten drug’. It exerts its antibacterial activity by releasing formaldehyde in acidic environments and is capable of bactericidal activity at concentrations greater than 25 µg/ml [13].