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AIBU?

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to be surprised that Johnsons baby powder still contains talc

141 replies

BlackMarigold · 24/02/2016 11:01

Why wouldn't they substitute it for corn starch?
I know there's no definite evidence that talc causes ovarian cancer but there've been persistent concerns over the years and recent compensation award.

OP posts:
OurBlanche · 24/02/2016 15:45

Mm! Not sure about that either, Micah. It does, obviously, if you inhale/swallow a large amount in one go, any powder would. But not in the way any scary headline would make it seem. People work for decades mining the stuff and many studies show that the occurrence of lung disease isn't heightened much, if at all

www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/talcum-powder-and-cancer

Canshopwillshop · 24/02/2016 16:05

I was going to post about this. I am a bit worried because I do use talc quite regularly but only on my inner thighs to stop chafing coz they are a bit chunky Blush. I had no idea about the cancer links and I'm going to stop using it.

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:06

I use it to get sand off my feet after going to the beach, it's about the only thing that works & means that I can drive home in my shoes

Oh that sounds like a top tip. Do you just sprinkle it on?

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:07

I'm not sure it can easily migrate from your thighs to your ovaries Canshop, can it?

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:08

(certainly not from the point where chub-rub strikes Grin)

VertigoNun · 24/02/2016 16:10

There are bands you can use for summer sweat thigh rub.

OurBlanche · 24/02/2016 16:11

And there are no proven cancer connections. Don't be scared off by an attention seeking headline.

eddielizzard · 24/02/2016 16:18

it's not been disproven either. test results are mixed.

merseyside · 24/02/2016 16:20

Well I've never heard of this and I've been spraying DD liberally with it since birth!

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:21

I can't remember hearing it mentioned since a big scare when I was a child in the 80s mersey.

merseyside · 24/02/2016 16:23

I'm unclear as to how exactly you'd manage to get talc on your ovary....

ClashCityRocker · 24/02/2016 16:25

Ive never understood what talc was for...

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:26

I imagine getting it anywhere near your vulva is unwise.

(Maybe ovaries drag things into their orbits?)

Girlwhowearsglasses · 24/02/2016 16:27

I don't honk it should be off sale. It's a generational thing to use it all over the place.

I use it for shaving armpits. Used dry it is a far far closer shave than you will ever get any other way. Weird I know but there you are

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:28

I know. It just used to turn up in christmas stockings. I remember asking what it was FOR when I was about 7.

Dusting powder IS useful for the generously-norked though clash, since you ask Smile

Canshopwillshop · 24/02/2016 16:28

Gooseberry - I know I am being a bit daft about but I do worry about stuff like that! I hope it can't work its way up that far!!

OurBlanche · 24/02/2016 16:29

You could say the same about anything and everything, including oxygen. Nothing in the world is 100% safe. The research is nowhere near conclusive and, in the study that is quoted raises the risks by a third that stat is rendered almost meaningless by the miniscule size of the original Relative Risk. I suspect that this case will drag on for decades, more research will be done and talc will have been replaced by somethign else by the time the data is in.

Until then we each have to decide where do you draw the line? One US court case that is being challenged? One now struck off doctor and his MMR beliefs? Where we have access to data it is quite simple to see what the more real, every day dangers are without flinching at all sorts of shadows.

And if you read the info available you can see that this woman used talc for decades, yet the type that included asbestos has not been available for decades:

In the past, talc contained asbestos, which is proven to cause cancer. All talcum powder used in products for humans has been asbestos-free since the 1970s, according to the American Cancer Society.

So, I shall continue with my occasional use of talc under my knicker elastic and bra without fear!

gooseberryroolz · 24/02/2016 16:32

Everyone on here was raving about roll on deodorant as the answer to chafing last year Can. Try something like that if it's going to bother you.

merrymouse · 24/02/2016 16:34

We always used talc as children

  1. to dry feet properly and prevent athlete's foot.
  2. because if it's a bit chilly and you don't have central heating it makes you feel dry quickly.

However I'd no more use it for 'vaginal freshness' than I'd use it to dry my tongue. Very odd idea.

Canshopwillshop · 24/02/2016 16:39

Thanks gooseberry Smile

LordBuckley · 24/02/2016 16:41

My son was born in Italy, and I was told at the hospital not to use baby powder on him under any circumstances because it's bad for the lungs.

kali110 · 24/02/2016 16:41

I love talc.everything is linked to cancer now

Kithulu · 24/02/2016 16:46

My children have swimming lessons and a bit of talc in the swimming hat helps them on easily.

Lockheart · 24/02/2016 16:47

This factsheet from Cancer Research and Ovacome (ovarian cancer charity) says that there is no proven link between talc and cancer. www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/fact_sheet_talc_powder.pdf

whatevva · 24/02/2016 17:02

Why wouldn't they substitute it for corn starch?

Would Co-op cornflour do?