PVC and health

[gearhead]

As we all know PVC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl ... and_safety) is a very toxic material, yet we cannot resist it and wear it on naked skin, some even sleep in it, keep it hanging around the home for its odour, etc. Over years this exposure could result in health issues, and I wonder how many of us have experienced unusual health issues.

I have been healthy all my life, never had any serious illness, rarely come down with the flu or even a cold, yet exactly 5 years ago I got an uncommon blood cancer - Hodgkin lymphoma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodgkin_lymphoma) out of the blue. The tumour was extremely aggressive and fast growing and as such gorged itself on the infusions of chemo that ensued and died completely.

As with many cancers there are very few known causes for lymphomas, but I've never been able to rid myself of the thought my decades long exposure of PVC through my skin and fumes might have affected my body. But discussing this side with my oncologist is naturally not going to happen.

This group is a unique opportunity to hear about possible PVC health-related issues from fellow rainwear lovers!

[reversiblepete]

Sorry to hear you had a bad time with your health.
I too sometimes worry about the risks especially cause of the nicer vintage items having plasticisers that are now band.
But I'm sure if there was something to it more of us would show or have similar illnesses occur.

[Hotnylon123]

I too have read up on harmful fabrics on our skin . Polyester is also bad and most of us where it everyday . They say everthything in moderation cant harm you but i cant get enough of my nylon ! . The more they say dont do something the more you do it and get plesure

[jamesgreenberg]

As we all know PVC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl ... and_safety) is a very toxic material, yet we cannot resist it and wear it on naked skin, some even sleep in it, keep it hanging around the home for its odour, etc. Over years this exposure could result in health issues, and I wonder how many of us have experienced unusual health issues.

I have been healthy all my life, never had any serious illness, rarely come down with the flu or even a cold, yet exactly 5 years ago I got an uncommon blood cancer - Hodgkin lymphoma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodgkin_lymphoma) out of the blue. The tumour was extremely aggressive and fast growing and as such gorged itself on the infusions of chemo that ensued and died completely.

As with many cancers there are very few known causes for lymphomas, but I've never been able to rid myself of the thought my decades long exposure of PVC through my skin and fumes might have affected my body. But discussing this side with my oncologist is naturally not going to happen.

This group is a unique opportunity to hear about possible PVC health-related issues from fellow rainwear lovers!

Very sorry to hear about your health issues.

The safety of PVC (specifically the phthalate plasticisers) has been investigated over a long period of time. While there are some risks, they are generally low level and acceptable (eg phthalates can be 40% by weight ofintravenous medical bags and up to 80% by weight in medical tubing - they'd hardly use them for this if there was ANY risk to those who are in hospital with serious illnesses). Most of the websites criticising their use are the fairly typical "holistic health" or "anti big pharma" websites, run by genuine quack "doctors" basing their "research" on selecting specific articles and studies which agree with their preconceived position and quietly ignoring everything else. While there MAY be a VERY small risk in some vintage garments (as reversiblepete mentions) it would still be low and certainly doesn't apply to modern items. PUL says in their FAQs:

Q. Is PVC safe worn next to the Skin?
A. The PVC we use is manufactured to very strict European legislation and is safe worn next to the skin. However if you wear it for long periods of time your skin will not be able to breathe and you may get a reaction.

I've also not seen any evidence linking phthalates or PVC/plastic in general to Hodgkin lymphoma.

The biggest risk (as PUL say) of wearing PVC clothing for an extended time is that your skin can't "breathe" (not that skin actually breathes) but it can in time cause an irritation due to build-up of sweat etc. There's also the specific risks in things like breath play but that's a separate matter!

Wishing you a complete recovery and good health for the future.

[gearhead]

I don't know who PUL is.

Our exposure to PVC from raingear is so much higher than that of any study, that it's not comparable to the general public. The normal usage of PVC raingear is not in an indoor setting where the material is heated much more than in an outside setting of cool and rainy weather. The warmer the PVC gets the more fumes and chemicals it emits, and our body is around 37 degrees, so naked in PVC is definitely not accounted for in any study. Some of us find the scents of PVC is better the warmer it gets. Our skin is as super efficient absorber of chemicals, and as such chemicals from PVC on naked skin will have access to our bodies not present when wearing PVC on top of normal clothes in an outdoor environment. We know much about toxic chemicals in skin care products and sunscreens now banned as their properties are harmful to us - and more chemicals are added to the harmful list continuously.

That said - three of the phthalates, DBP, BBP and DEHP were phased out in 2015 due to their toxicity to us. also: The FDA Paper titled "Safety Assessment of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)Released from PVC Medical Devices" states that [3.2.1.3] Critically ill or injured patients may be at increased risk of developing adverse health effects from DEHP, not only by virtue of increased exposure relative to the general population, but also because of the physiological and pharmacodynamic changes that occur in these patients compared to healthy individuals. (Wikipedia)

The problem is that we now have such an enormous amount of chemicals from products in our bodies that the cocktail effect of all these together have unknown health issues only recently being taken into consideration when setting minimum safe levels of single chemicals in our products.

As we expose ourselves to PVC so much more than any other population, I'm concerned about adverse effects, but have no proof, as I would not want to ask my GP to please test my blood levels of PVC and related chemicals in my body.

[reversiblepete]

I don't know who PUL is.

Pvc-u-like.com

[gearhead]

Thanks for the clarification.

As a manufacturer and seller of products they will naturally say their products are safe, otherwise they will loose profits.

If Which tested these products I don't think they would be so straightforward, especially if PVC is tested in 37 degree environment.

I prefer to stick with science and facts.

[pvculike]

If you are really that worried don't wear it! Every day we take risks, crossing the road, eating meat, smoking, catching COVID 19! That is the reality of being human. Hundreds of us on this site have been immersing ourselves in PVC almost daily for the last 40 years and we're not all dropping dead unless someone knows better? I'm sorry you suffered cancer but 50% of us will get cancer in our lifetimes, some of those cancers are due to lifestyle but please stop worrying about PVC and get on with enjoying life

[gearhead]

That was not constructive nor on topic, as I asked those with any health related experience. Noted you have not had any health issues - good for you.

[reversiblepete]

I disagree, he has a point. It's so difficult to tell what is or isn't affecting us. There is more pollution in the air every day. Heavy metals in our fish. Recycled drinking water that has god knows what still it it. It's super hard to tell what is doing damage and the science or how it's shared or misused doesn't help our understanding. (Example he quoted meat as a health concern and the meta data analysis shows no affect on cancers but people will boast cherry picked "studies" for propaganda)

I think it's fair to say that unless we are having the same issues there is little correlation to health problems. As I got older I developed sinus issues and mild ibs. O doubt they have a relationship to pvc, maybe the sinus issues but it's affected by dust and smoke.