Hypoallergenic labels may not be accurate

People with eczema tend to have a higher risk of so-called contact allergies.

Products for kids with itchy skin that are labeled hypoallergenic often contain ingredients that can cause allergic reactions, a recent study found.

The hypoallergenic label is not regulated by the FDA, said Carsten Hamann, a medical student at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California and the lead researcher on the study.

He and his colleagues tested products that might be used by kids with eczema, which affects 17.8 million people in the US, according to the National Eczema Association. Patients have patches of red, itchy skin, often on the arms, legs, cheeks, and behind the ears.

Kids who have eczema or atopic dermatitis use more lotions and creams and ointments, etc. Ostensibly, their caregivers who purchase these products to use on the kids skin, give preference to products using these meaningless marketing terms, Hamann told Reuters Health in an email.

Doctors generally advise people with eczema to apply moisturizer to inflamed areas of skin. But people with eczema tend to have a higher risk of so-called contact allergies. That is, they may have allergic reactions to substances that come in contact with their skin, including fragrances, preservatives, and other kinds of chemicals.

For the new study, researchers tested 187 cosmetic products found in six different stores in California, to see if they contained any of the 80 most common known allergens, as defined by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group.

All of the products were specifically marketed as being safe for use in children, and all were labeled as hypoallergenic, dermatologist recommended/tested, fragrance-free, or paraben free.

Overall, 89 percent of the products contained at least one allergen, 63 percent contained two or more, and 11 percent contained five or more. The average number of allergens per product was 2.4, the researchers reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Preservatives and fragrances accounted for 58 percent and 29 percent of the allergens, respectively.

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Hypoallergenic labels may not be accurate