ABSTRACT
The reasons that formaldehyde has been suspected of causing allergic respiratory diseases are: first, formaldehyde irritates the mucus membrane of the eyes, nose and throat; second, it is a highly reactive molecule combining covalently with proteins; and third, it can cause allergic contact dermatitis. Beginning on the morning of the second day, each patient underwent bronchial challenge with room air as a placebo or formaldehyde gas. Several patients noted subjective symptoms such as irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat and tightness of the chest, but these occurred as frequently with the placebo as with the formaldehyde challenges and were without any distinguishing features. The data deal with the issue of whether formaldehyde-induced asthma can develop in persons exposed to low levels of the gas. Ideally, the bronchoprovocation should be a double-blind test with placebo challenges interspersed randomly in a sequence of increasing concentrations of formaldehyde. Testing with a formaldehyde bronchial challenge did not provoke asthma in 13 selected patients.
