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]