Dr. Bell, pharmacological expert wrote:
>they are *not* absorbed; instead, they sit on the skin and create a
>barrier that prevents loss of moisture...
>
>WHO lumps a large range of non-refined and minimally refined liquid
>petroleum products into the general category of "mineral oils". Some
>of these products are branch-chained or aromatic and are indeed quite
>dangerous. However, heavily refined White Mineral Oil and White
>petrolatum do not contain these components and are generally safe
>for topical use and for occasional oral use...
>
>heavily refined White Mineral Oil and White petrolatum do not contain
>these components and are generally safe for topical use and for
>occasional oral use as a laxative, in both ferrets and human beings

Thanks, Melissa M. Bell, PharmD, RPh, for a very fine post!

People might find some useful links on the various grades of petrolatum
(with white being general safe if not abused, yellow grade being
dangerous, and brown grade of petrolatum being most dangerous) in:

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/FHL6019

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/FHL6025

BTW, since this related topic comes up each Autumn and Spring: people
can wind up needing to use less in the way of ferret laxatives in
shedding seasons if they just use a flea comb to remove loose fur.
Ferret laxatives are made with the WHITE (safe) petrolatum, and you
can make your own by buying white petrolatum and adding a flavor your
ferrets like to it by mixing it with two forks.

Also, digestible oils not only do NOT help move shed and ingested fur
through the GI system, but they also slow digestion since fats are hard
to digest, so things like olive oil and Ferretone will NOT help move
fur through and could even worsen things by slowing digestion.

The downside of mineral oil compared to petrolatum is that mineral oil
can sometimes (not always) cause ferrets to cramp.

Sukie (not a vet)  Ferrets make the world a game.

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

A nation is as free as the least within it.

[Posted in FML 7545]