PEDIATRICS Vol. 76 No. 6 December 1985, pp. 975-978
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by WARSHAW, B. L.
Right arrow Articles by RAUBER, A. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by WARSHAW, B. L.
Right arrow Articles by RAUBER, A. P.

Bromate Poisoning From Hair Permanent Preparations

BARRY L. WARSHAW MD1, MELODY C. CARTER MD1, LEONARD C. HYMES MD1, BARBARA S. BRUNER MD1, and ALBERT P. RAUBER MD1

1 Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta

Potassium bromate is a tasteless, odorless, and colorless chemical found in the neutralizing solution of cold wave home hair permanents and profesional solutions. Toxic ingestions of this substance were initially reported during the 1940s and 1950s and are characterized primarily by gastrointestinal symptoms, hearing impairment, and acute renal failure.1 Although many manufacturers have now substituted less toxic substances as neutralizers, use of potassium bromate in some hair permanent solutions continues, and poisonings from this substance still occur.2-4

Because renal failure from potassium bromate intoxication may be severe, dialysis may be necessary for replacement of renal function. Moreover, a major toxicology reference presently suggests that "if readily available, the prompt use of hemodialysis or peritoneal lavage may serve to remove absorbed but unreacted bromate in significant amounts."1