One of the great benefits of our Blood Cancer Group and specifically the weekly Zoom chat is seeing members’ personalities come out after getting to know one another over these past two years. (YES, Blood Cancer Uncensored is soon to celebrate TWO YEARS as an entity!). One of my favorite participants of whom I am pleased to call my friend, is Seymour Brown, and for those who attend the weekly meeting you know he is extremely fond of and well-versed in the topics of virology and infection.

I wanted to share this email conversation with you as you will see that whenever one gets involved in conversation with Seymour, no matter how silly the question, he will go over and above to give an explanation or his take on a topic.

The topic started out with me saying what question I was going to ask on our meeting with Dr. Mustafa a couple of weeks ago on the March 19th “ask the doctor” event we held on Zoom. And after that topic was fairly exhausted, we went on to wound care with blood cancer and what we thought was the best care if we injure ourselves and if that cut/scratch/gash does not require a trip to urgent care or hospital emergency room.

Why do blood cancer patients need to be concerned (especially those with CLL)? Because a little scratch or poke or brush with a toxic plant can be–to be honest–tragic if the wound gets infected. Unfortunately, with our disease, many things can be amplified over what a person with a normal immune system experiences. In the link cited above, I am especially suspicious of “opportunistic fungi” and I imagine a blob that looks like a cell carrying a suitcase, ready to take over my immune system like an uninvited house guest…

Hence the reason for the discussion on wound care. I hope you enjoy Seymour’s evaluation of lidocane in our conversation about Bactine.

A conversation about general wound care from Seymour Brown

I remember a spray called Bactine.

Here is what is in Bactine:

There’s the basic Bactine, which is only lidocaine to numb the skin. There’s also several other related products:
Bactine MAX First Aid Antiseptic Wound Wash that is Benzalkonium Chloride antiseptic. Looks like it doesn’t have lidocaine.

Bactine Max Advanced Healing + Scar Defense Hydrogel

Their web page doesn’t list the ingredients except in a zoomable picture. I looked up what it’s got:

1,2-Hexanediol – humectant (moisturizer) that bonds silicone products

Bisabolol – A German Chamomile oil extract for fragrance

Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides – coconut oil and glycerin –

Caprylyl Glycol – humectant

Carnosine – antioxidant protein extract from animal products – references I’ve found are mostly for it as a dietary supplement

Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract – skin conditioner, antioxidant, etc.

Dimethicone – silicone moisturizer

Ectoin – synthetic protein stabilizer that also prevents damage from UVA 

Glycerin – moisturizer

Panthenol – moisturizer, vitamin B5 precursor

Phenoxyethanol – preservative, aka glycol ether

Polysorbate 80 – aka Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate, a surfactant

Purified Water – water from a city water system that’s been filtered

Sorbitan Caprylate – emulsifier and surfactant

Note that those ingredients are in alphabetical order, not in order of magnitude. I suspect it’s mostly water, then Glycerine.
I think they add Centella Leaf Extract as virtue signaling to soothe the minds of people horrified by the other chemical names of mostly plant derived stuff. Most of the ingredients seem ok to me. But a couple of them have case reports from people who have developed allergies – Phenoxyethanol and Sorbitan 80. That’s partly because some scientists were encouraged to research case reports of things classified as preservatives when the word, “preservative” became a trigger word after sodium nitrite – the salty stuff that gives bacon a lot of its taste – was found to be carcinogenic when eaten regularly.

 
As kids in the 60s, our mom used a product called pHisoHex for wound care. The active ingredient caused nerve damage in French infants after an industrial accident that put too much in baby powder. That revealed its harmful effect in higher doses. To be safe, FDA reduced the previous safe dose percentage, and made it a prescription medication. Like sodium nitrite, it became a trigger word for poorly regulated industrial food and drugs, and drove the consumer awareness movement. 

A doctor recommended that I use Aquaphor for wound care. Here are the ingredients and meanings:
Active ingredient: Petrolatum (41%) – Skin protectant – same as Vaseline – derived from petroleum.
Inactive ingredients: Mineral Oil – oil derived from petroleum. Ceresin – a wax that can be derived from plants or petroleum. Lanolin Alcohol – an oil derived from sheep’s wool. Panthenol – moisturizer, vitamin B5 precursor. Glycerin – moisturizer. Bisabolol – A German Chamomile oil extract for fragrance
I believe that’s in order of magnitude.

Aquaphor doesn’t try to disinfect, Bactine is. Aquaphor used after you wash with soap. I use Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, based on dermatologist advice as my soap of choice.

But I think it’s not the same formula as when I was a kid. Current ingredients and explanations from their web site:
Water – Helps provide desired consistency and supports optimal application experience..Decyl Glucoside; Lauryl Glucoside – Used to gently cleanse baby’s hair and scalp. Naturally derived from wheat and vegetable oil. Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate – Used to gently cleanse baby’s hair and scalp. Naturally derived from coconut or palm oil. Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate – Used to gently cleanse baby’s hair and scalp. Naturally derived from coconut or palm oil. Cocamidopropyl Betaine – Used to gently cleanse baby’s hair and scalp. Naturally derived from coconut or palm oil.Glycerin – This ingredient works with other ingredients to leave scalp feeling moisturized. Naturally derived from vegetable oil. Polyquaternium-10 – This ingredient works with other ingredients to leave hair feeling soft. PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate – Our synthetic ingredient derived from lauric acid helps gently cleanse baby’s hair. Lauric acid can also be found naturally in coconut oil. Disodium EDTA – Helps maintain product freshness and quality. Sodium Benzoate – This synthetic ingredient helps keep product free from harmful bacteria and mold growth. It can be naturally found in cinnamon.PEG-150 Distearate – Helps give product thickness. Citric Acid – Used to create the ideal pH, balanced to baby’s hair and scalp. Naturally derived from corn, sugar or starch. Fragrance (Benzyl Acetate, Ionone Beta, Methyl Ionones, Peach Pure, Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol, Tropional) – Fruity/Floral. Contains beautiful floral notes of jasmine, rose, and violet that blend together with fruity notes of red berries, grapefruit and pineapple. Powdery and musky notes provide the final touches.
I believe that’s in order of magnitude.

I may also use whatever liquid soap we buy in large refill jugs.

I’ve stopped using hydrogen peroxide to disinfect wounds, since there’s good evidence it actually damages tissues.

Chemical names are scary.

The chemical names of the ingredients of any plant are scarier and longer. I don’t find any solace in the word “Natural” in most products. Nature gave us cancer, and lets baby animals die.

Nature is cruel yet often beautiful. 
The dose makes the poison.

The vast majority of substances we consume have never been explored, because they were in use or production before the FDA and EPA.

My wife Connie was trimming some elephant ear plants in the garden. It’s an invasive species, but really beautiful – and poisonous as hell. The leaves were killed by a hard freeze a month or so back. She trimmed the dead leaves off, and her hands got numb.

Mother Nature just giggled.