Talcum Powder Risks and Injuries

DISCLAIMER: Please consult with your doctor before making any changes to your use of any FDA-approved drug or device.

What is Talcum Powder?

Talcum powder is commonly used to cut down on skin-to-skin friction by keeping skin dry and cutting down on rashes, typically while doing some sort of physical activity. This could include working a job that requires physical labor, working out, or just for daily comfort. The biggest talcum powder risk is that it contains asbestos– a known carcinogen (cancer causing)– associated with causing cancers in or around the lungs when inhaled.

Talcum powder used by U.S. consumers have been asbestos-free for over 40 years, however, anyone exposed to natural talcum fibers for long periods of time (such as talc miners) may be at risk, as well as women who use talcum powder regularly in the genital area. Some are concerned about this increasing the risk of ovarian cancer.

Recent Studies

First of all, raw talc that still contains asbestos is no longer used in cosmetic products and can increase the risk of cancer if you have been exposed to it for long periods of time. Research done on asbestos-free talc is not quite clear.

After combining 16 studies done before 2003, researchers found that there could be about a 30% increase in risk for ovarian cancer among women who use talc powder in their genital areas regularly. This raises the risk from 1.4% to 1.8% but talc is still widely used in many other products so the results are not definite and research is still being done to find out more about products that use asbestos-free talc powder and how risky these products might be, if at all.

In 2019, researchers at Wayne State University discovered that talc causes healthy ovarian cells to oxidize and produce a protein called CA-125, which oncologists use to predict tumor growth in cancer patients. When applied to cancerous cells, talc caused the rate of die-off to slow and even promoted cancerous cell growth. This is the first study to confirm that talc does have an effect on cells, which supports but does not 100 percent prove the connection between talc and ovarian cancer.

What Should I Do?

talcum-powder-ovarian-cancer-woman While all the research is not done and real risks remain somewhat unknown, if you are concerned you may want to avoid the use of products that contain talcum powder and look into using substitutes for now, until more research is done. Cornstarch-based cosmetic products can be used in similar ways and there is no evidence of these powders being linked to cancers or any other medical conditions at this time.

What Can You Do?

In recent cases, juries have determined that companies have been liable for failing to warn consumers about these risks. In 2013 a South Dakota jury determined that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers about the risk to women that applying talc powder could have. A 56 year old woman was found to have ovarian cancer that was caused by talc powder, as determined by doctors.

If you are concerned that you or someone you know may have been injured using talc powder or would like to learn more about any possible or current medical conditions please contact Hensley Legal Group to get a no cost legal consultation at (317)472-3333.

Visit our Talcum Powder website for more information on Talcum Powder Lawsuits.

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DISCLAIMER: Please consult with your doctor before making any changes to your use of any FDA-approved drug or device.