Traditional threads tied on children in india trigger dermatitis and may contain carcinogens

It is a common Indian custom to tie threads on the hip, neck, or wrist of infants and children.

A retrospective registry review was performed for 23 children (age range 5-18 months) with threads tied around the hip/neck/forearm who presented with dermatitis. Analysis of one of the threads revealed the presence of three banned azo dyes and disperse yellow 3 (category 2B possible carcinogens).

Thread dermatitis is a unique cultural dermatosis. Dermatitis caused by threads may have multifactorial causes including friction, maceration, and contact dermatitis (allergic and/ or irritant) to the thread contents. Use of banned dyes still used to color these threads may be contributory to dermatitis, but there is also concern for health and environmental hazards to children. Strict regulation is needed in the manufacture of these threads to protect the health and welfare of young children.