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    LuckyMc44Kelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:36am

    Wait, what does “hygiene purposes” mean? I use it for my chub rub during the summer when I wear dresses...am I going to get cancer now?

    (Please, no additional recs on what else to do for my chub rub...I find Undersummers uncomfortable and Body Glide makes it worse rather than better.)

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      Zelda PinwheelLuckyMc44
      5/03/16 10:38am

      The women powdered their snatches. Baby powder IS safe, for external use. Not actually in your vagina.

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      haleysnamealsoLuckyMc44
      5/03/16 10:39am

      i think most have removed the talc and are cornstarch based now.

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    agenttrembleKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:43am

    I’m curious as to how this whole mess hasn’t resulted in like a recall or mass boycott of baby powder by people using it for actual babies. Is it only a health risk if you’re old and your ovaries are already decrepit?

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      mocenaagenttremble
      5/03/16 10:47am

      Pretty much everyone knows at this point, or should know, that you shouldn’t put baby powder on babies anymore. It’s definitely a health risk for babies, not just for their baby business, but for their lungs.

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      Zeeniaagenttremble
      5/03/16 10:51am

      I remember as a young mother being told not to put powder anywhere near a baby’s privates or where they could inhale it. So I’m guessing this has been public knowledge for a while? I can’t find any studies on it.

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    junwelloKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:35am

    Well, Hallelujah. They deserve pay until they bleed for years of making women think vaginas are icky and need to be coated in powder.

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      Steve "this is going to hurt" Rogersjunwello
      5/03/16 10:41am

      Gay male here: Isn’t it to prevent the woman’s version of swamp ass? Not because they’re trying to tell you that they’re icky?

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      GrumpyEaglejunwello
      5/03/16 10:45am

      But I don’t think that they’ve ever explicitly recommend that on the packaging or even in their advertising, have they? A little powder “down there” during hot months to alleviate stickiness and chafing is one thing, but developing ovarian cancer from it seems to imply that someone decided to take it one step farther.

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    Unfrozen Caveman LawyerKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:36am

    I’ve used baby powder as dry shampoo for...oh, let’s see...ten? Twelve years now (dry shampoo spray leaves my hair sticky). Should I not be doing this? Science and medical side of Jezebel please weigh in. Also, provide me with alternatives if you have them (and no I refuse to actually just wash my hair. So much work).

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      c_lamotteUnfrozen Caveman Lawyer
      5/03/16 10:37am

      I use a corn starch/baking soda mixture as body powder and dry shampoo. But I have no evidence that it’s any safer. Sometimes it seems like everything is going to kill you.

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      Marzipan in your Pie PlateUnfrozen Caveman Lawyer
      5/03/16 10:41am

      I believe Johnson’s has switched to cornstarch now, so it should be fine. Also, it should be fine in your hair anyway.

      However—FUN FACT—cornstarch is not ok to use if you have a yeast infection under your boobs, because the yeast apparently feed on the cornstarch.

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    fondue processKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:36am

    “Multiple scientific and regulatory reviews have determined that talc is safe for use in cosmetic products and the labeling on Johnson’s Baby Powder is appropriate.”

    I don’t think juries award up to $72 million in lawsuits if a product is totally safe...

    I’m now thinking of all the baby powder I probably inhale every other day while sprinkling it liberally on my greasy-ass hairline.

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      PrettyPrettyBunniPrincessfondue process
      5/03/16 10:37am

      The jury awarded the damages.

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      fondue processPrettyPrettyBunniPrincess
      5/03/16 10:38am

      good catch - fixed.

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    KaeteKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 11:10am

    I’ve seen this story multiple times, and no one ever seems to post even the tiniest hint of scientific basis for this.

    If there was any realistic proof of being a carcinogenic factor, wouldn't people be freaking the fuck out and suing them into oblivion for selling it to generations of babies?

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      crankylittlephotonKaete
      5/03/16 12:46pm

      There isn’t any clear evidence. There are a few retrospective cohort analyses that suggest an increased risk, and a few that don’t. Retrospective population analyses are garbage, though, since they are chock full of every bias you can imagine. There are 2 prospective studies (Womens’ Health Initiative and Nurses’ Health Study) that failed to show a significant link, but were not statistically powered to do so. Ovarian cancer is relatively uncommon, so you would have to prospctively follow over 200,000 women for about 15 years to actually prove anything relative to talc and cancer. Juries tend to not give a shit about science, though.

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      horseasaurusrexcrankylittlephoton
      5/03/16 4:23pm

      thank you! I’ve been commenting on here about this. It sucks that since these juries are finding in favor of the plaintiffs, people will assume that it’s a proven link like cigarettes when it’s not at all.

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    anguauberwaldKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 1:03pm

    Goddammit there is no evidence to indicate that talcum powder causes cancer!!! What is this fuckery?! Stop!

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      horseasaurusrexanguauberwald
      5/03/16 4:26pm

      IKR. No one seems to have noticed this. In fact I keep reading comments on here say “everyone knows it’s dangerous.” Nope.

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      anguauberwaldhorseasaurusrex
      5/03/16 4:51pm

      Thank you. ‘Everyone knows’ a lot of things! Like that a friend of a friends friend’s cousin’s stomach once exploded from eating pop rocks and cola. LOL. Doesn’t make them true!

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    ItshardbeingagirlKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:57am

    My mother used J & J Shower to Shower this way for years. She developed ovarian cancer. No idea if there's a link or how I would prove she even used it. She died 5 years ago.

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      FallenItshardbeingagirl
      5/03/16 11:31am

      You wouldn’t need video of her applying it, if that’s what you mean. However, I don’t know whether all the ladies/families have had forensic evidence, e.g., evidence of talc actually in the ovaries and absence of compelling evidence (the absence of Y being evidence itself) that it’s just as likely Z caused cancer as decades of talc use on the vag). I’d pro’ly wait and see in terms of an equivalent to asbestos or pharmaceutical litigation (you’ll know when it’s time to call one of those bloodsucking law firms).

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      saltyladyv4Itshardbeingagirl
      5/03/16 11:46am

      I’m so sorry. My mom did as well and she’s fine now, but it worries me. She also took some kind of fertility medication that I believe is a risk factor, as well. You may want to do a quick search to find the law firms handling these cases. These guys look cheesy but Law 360 tells me they were the firm that handled the case with the large verdict. http://www.talclitigationgroup.com/

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    NowthisigottaseeKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:34am

    This makes me wonder about Lysol being advertised for douching back in the day. I'd be curious to know if there were long term problems for any women.

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      snakebiteNowthisigottasee
      5/03/16 10:46am

      WHAT?! This is terrifying! I had no idea.

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      Nowthisigottaseesnakebite
      5/03/16 10:51am
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    MisfitToyKelly Faircloth
    5/03/16 10:51am

    I wonder why the talc is attributed for these cases of ovarian cancer, but the millions of babies who’ve had it used on them in the same manner are fine. I must be missing something here.

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      AltairaMorbius2200ADMisfitToy
      5/03/16 10:56am

      They aren’t, I guess? I was told no powder of any kind directly on the baby because it can get everywhere, including in eyes, ears, and mouth.

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      MisfitToyAltairaMorbius2200AD
      5/03/16 11:05am

      Generations of babies were diapered like that, though. Have there been longitudinal studies that show this cancer link? That's what I'm curious about.

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