Watch out for your deodorants

Kalgi Patel (name changed) a 19-year-old collegian is suffering from skin allergy for the past one month. On consulting the doctor, she was told that the reason for the allergy was her frequent and repeated use of deodorants.

Kalgi developed white patches under her armpits. She said "Initially My skin used to itch wherever I sprayed the deodorant. But later, the repeated occurrence bothered me and timely advice from the skin specialist has saved me from bigger complications."

But, Kalgi is not alone! There are many in the city who suffer from such problems due to frequent use of deodorants especially in summer. According to experts, these skin complications arise due to the use of duplicate deodorants which are available in the market at a cheap rate. The packaging of these bottles are so similar to the original one that customers are fooled into buying them as the original stuff.

A retailer in Satellite area on the condition of anonymity admitted that the sprays and deos he sells include duplicate ones that are packed at Delhi or Mumbai and later are dumped at multiple places in the city.

"These people who supply us the duplicate deos are collecting the bottles from the manufacturing units of the original companies and later put the adulterated chemicals in it. The same stuff is packed in it and sold in the market which is not that easy to differentiate."

Dr Anshul War, a city-based dermatologist and cosmetologist said "During summers the cases of skin problems because of use of deodorants increases by almost 25 per cent in the city. As such if identified at the initial stage, the damage can be repaired but in many cases it is irreparable."

According to medical experts, most of the companies add 'Aerosol' — kind of chemical used as a drying agent- that has the quality to keep the body dry and sweat free. However, it can actually harm the body in long run. One can suffer from serious skin problems like contact dermatitis, irritation dermatitis along with other side effects if used in excess. There are also chances of developing cancer in few cases.

Therefore docs suggest to minimalise the usage of the deos. They say that application of deos as per the instruction once or maximum twice a day won't cause too many problems.