ABSTRACT

Many chemicals found in cosmetics, personal-care products, pharmaceuticals, and in industrial processes can irritate the skin and mucous membranes of the eye and the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. Perhaps the most effective early-warning system that responds to these chemicals is sensory irritation-the rapid-onset stinging, burning, and itching sensations that alert an organism to their exposure to foreign, and potentially injurious, substances. These sensations, even when intense, may occur in the absence of visible signs of irritation or skin damage or, alternatively, may be accompanied by erythema and/ or edema [1].