Acute Toxicity by Hair Dye in Upper Egypt

Hair-dye containing Para-phenylenediamine is widely used in Middle Eastern and some Asian countries. Many cases of toxicity and mortality either due to accidental or deliberate ingestion of hair dyes were reported. The aim of the present work is to study the clinical manifestation and common histopathological changes to various aspects of acute poisoning through a retrospective study of fatalities reported in seven governors in Upper in Egypt as a result of its ingestion and if there is a dose-effect relationship. The records of acute poisoning cases of seven governors in Upper Egypt investigated by Assiut forensic chemical laboratory in the period from January 2008 to December 2012 were examined as regards type of poison, pattern, incidence, age, sex, geographical distribution and mode of poisoning. The studying of the systemic effects of ingestion of hair dye was conducted by oral administration of hair dye in different doses (500, 200, 100, and 50 mg/ kg b.w.) to four groups of albino rats. The result, revealed that about a fifth of the acute poisoning fatalities investigated by Assiut forensic chemical laboratory were due to ingestion of hair dye. The highest majority of them were suicide cases, particularly in Quna, Sohag and Aswan Governorates respectively, with a female predominance. Death occurred within five minutes in the first group, within ten minutes in the second group and within an hour in the third group. The animals of the fourth group survived until sacrificed after one week. The most common histopathological changes in all studied organs were vascular congestion and lymphocyte infiltration, with degenerative changes in the hepatocytes and the destruction of the renal tubules. Deliberate self-poisoning by hair dye is a major problem in Upper Egypt particularly in females. The main toxic effects were directed to the liver and kidneys while the other studied organs were affected to a mild extent. Also, there was a well-established dose-effect relationship