Our Deadly Clothing-

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 4, 5 November 1915, Page 3

Our Deadly Clothing -

One of the most curicous deaths on record took place a few months ago at a London Hospital. A Chauffeur died owing to his boot-polish having poisoned him through the boot leather. He had been in the habit of polishing his tan boots with a paste containing aniline oil. In the course of time the oil hul soaked through and set up bloodpoisoning.

Almost any article of clothing may murder you. The glossy white inner bands, often to be found in cheap hats, usually get their gloss from lead, a poison that may readily be absorbed through the skin. Other strong irritant poisons, such as arsenic, are sometimes used for glazing these brands, a fact which accounts for many cases of eczema.

The “glad rags,’’ so popular among woman a few months ago, have their dangers. Brilliantly coloured clothing, especially when it touches the skin, often causes symptoms of mineral poisoning. The perspiration of the body is apt to dissolve and absorb the colouring dyes, which often contain aniline poisons. Scarlet socks are the worst offenders. The house surgeon of a London hospital has declared that sometimes lie has had six cases of redsock poisoning in a week. Some cases are fatal. Cheap gloves, too, occasionally cause nasty eruptions of the hands, owing to the presence of arsenic.