On Apr 12, 2004, at 3:00 PM, Mary Conley wrote:
>Petroleum jellly comes from fuel.  When oil was discovered in
>Pennsylvania in 1859, (Robt.  Cheesebrough) found that a colorless
>film called "rod wax" collected around the pump rods on the oil wells.
>He saw the oil workers slapping the stuff on cuts and began to
>manufacture it.
 
Just a correction here, on the history and supposed dangers of vaseline
--
 
According to memoirs which our family have, Erastus Johnson, a distant
cousin, actually invented Vaseline.  He and his brother had a small oil
refinery in Pittsburgh.  Oil was used more as a motor lubricant than as a
fuel in those days (and petroleum was seen as a cheap modern alternative
to whale oil).  But there was an accident which caused the factory and
a great deal of Pittsburgh to burn down.  Pittsburgh then passed an
ordinance forbidding refineries within the city limits.  So Erastus set
out to produce a lubricating oil that was not flammable.  He succeeded.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good motor lubricant.  So he gave up on
it and let one of his assistant managers take the formula.  A few years
later, the assistant came out with a medical compound, Vaseline.
 
That is the story according to Erastus's memoirs.  I don't know the name
of the manager; it might have been Robert Cheesebrough.
 
Vaseline was originally used as a digestive tonic.  A tablespoon a day
was supposed to keep you 'regular'.  Some people still take mineral oil
(also a petroleum product) in this same way.  So petroleum jelly has well
over a hundred years of 'testing' and is considered non-toxic.  Vaseline
is a brand name; the generic name is petrolatum.
 
The Material Safety Data Sheet says
"EU main hazards: not classified as hazardous".
"Carcinogenic Status: not considered carcinogenic by NTP, IARC, and OSHA"
"Health Effects: Eyes: Contact may cause slight transient irritation"
"Health Effects - Skin:  This product is non-irritating to the skin and
 skin absorption is not associated with any health effects."
"Health Effects - Ingestion:  A large dose may have the following
 effects:  - nausea  - vomiting  - diarrhea  - abdominal pain  -
 intestinal obstruction "
"Firefighting measures: Not Flammable"
 
As far a ferrets ingesting it occaisionally, or using it to treat wounds
that might be licked, I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Of course, I
wouldn't deliberately feed it or let them lick too much of it -- it is
a laxative-- but I think there is a lot of history demonstrating that a
bit of exposure will do no harm.
 
--Claire C.
(Sam, Frankie, Missy, Louie, Lilo)
[Posted in FML issue 4481]