The Low Prevalence of Allergic Contact Dermatitis Using a Petrolatum Ointment Containing Lanolin Alcohol

Lanolin alcohol is a high cholesterol containing naturally derived material used as a skin protectant in wound healing petrolatum-based ointments. It is a highly purified fraction of lanolin wool wax that has been identified as a possible cause of allergic contact dermatitis. This 3-center study enrolled 499 subjects who underwent a variety of in-office surgical procedures followed by application of a wound healing ointment containing lanolin alcohol without antibiotics. No allergic contact dermatitis was identified in the 499 subjects who completed the study. The lack of allergic contact dermatitis observed may be due to the proprietary highly purified lanolin alcohol utilized in the study formulation. This is not the lanolin alcohol preparation found on the standard dermatology patch test tray. Not all lanolin alcohols are equal. This is an important consideration when examining the reported incidence of allergic contact dermatitis to lanolin alcohol and the absence of allergic contact dermatitis demonstrated in this research. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(10):1002-1004.