Not All Fun and Games: A Case Report of Contact Dermatitis Related to Slime and Play-Doh

Abstract

Slime and Play-Doh have been gaining popularity among adolescents and preteens. Both are gooey, viscoelastic substances that can be morphed and molded into virtually anything imaginable. Slime can be made from several household products including school glue and borax, which have both been linked to cases of irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, conditions that historically involve activation of many immune-regulatory cells such as Langerhans' cells and T cells. We review the rising incidence of contact dermatitis related to Slime and Play-Doh, pathogenesis, and hallmark findings, along with several treatment options to help clinicians expediently diagnose and treat the condition.

Effects of slime toy poisoning in children and teenagers

“…All reports are recent and included seven studies from 2018, five from 2019, and four from 2020 (Tables 1 and 2). [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Among them, seven are from the United States, whereas the remaining are from France, Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland, Turkey, Canada, Spain, and Tunisia, published during the period between 2000 and 2021. From the selected 16 studies, 5 reported more than one case of intoxication while the remaining studies reported only a single case.…”

Safer and Greener Polymer Demonstrations for STEM Outreach

“…Unfortunately, for all the many wonderful educational aspects about making Borax Slime, there are significant consequential downsides to making it. There is a growing body of research that shows health consequences of making Borax Slime, including contact dermatitis and pediatric burns in children. − For example, playing with slime was determined to be the cause of pruritic rash and skin discoloration of a healthy 4-year-old child . The symptoms lasted for several days after contact with the slime, and required a topical steroidal treatment to remedy .…”

“…There is a growing body of research that shows health consequences of making Borax Slime, including contact dermatitis and pediatric burns in children. − For example, playing with slime was determined to be the cause of pruritic rash and skin discoloration of a healthy 4-year-old child . The symptoms lasted for several days after contact with the slime, and required a topical steroidal treatment to remedy . In another more severe instance, a 10-year-old child exhibited blisters on the child’s hand and fingers that grew progressively worse during the course of several days after making Borax Slime .…”

“…Ultimately an operation to apply cadaver skin was needed to repair the damage done to the child’s hand and fingers. Borax is often noted as the likely cause for these types of injuries due to its pH of 9 being great enough to cause skin burns. , Although useful as a detergent, borax is not designed to be extensively handled by people and has itself been linked to allergic reactions in people outside of the context of making slime . Even more concerning, borax is listed as a category H360 health hazard in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) list.…”

“…This is because glue can contain Kathon, which is a combination of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone. These compounds are known contact allergens and irritants that can cause chemical burns. ,, Therefore, the continued use of PVA in these types of borax-less slimes still results in polymers with a notable hazardous component. Although most occasions in which children make Borax Slime end without physical harm to the children, there have been enough reports of these adverse occurrences to warrant significant concern among parents, educators, and polymer scientists …”