Kohl: A Lead-Hazardous Eye Makeup from the Third World to the First World

Abstract

Kohl is a widely used traditional come.It is mainy worn arownd the eyes in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.It may be a pervasive source of lead poisnn in thoe areas and among individuals fm those ars who have im- migrated to d d naos Sam of kohl were pIn Memcco, Mauri_ania, Gret Britain, and the United States.Some of these samples oriat from P stan, India, and Saudi Ara .Kohl is widely beled to consst of antimony, but analsis onstly r d only trace mou of anty.Nine of the twenty-tw samples tested contained less thlan Q6% lead; however, seven samples had lead lves in excess of 50%.The remainder ranged from 3.31 to 37.3%.ThIrd-world-manufactured kohls were u ed in the United States and Bitain, A.that this hazard is no longer confind to the third world.Those kobbls that contained kad were sold in violation of laws on lead in cosmetics in both of these nations.Third-word phins and health care workers appear to be unaware of possible lead uptake from unspected trad ly used items.Physicians in developed natiom with patients from Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa need to bctor in the possbility of past or present lead intake from unor- thodox sources such as kohl.