Kidney Disease and Antiperspirants
In 2005, the FDA issued a ruling requiring U.S. antiperspirants to carry a warning statement “Ask a doctor before use if you have kidney disease” to make consumers aware that exposure to aluminum from antiperspirants might need to be discussed with their doctor.
One out of every eight adults has chronic kidney disease although most people are unaware they have it.
My husband is a diabetic with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. As well, he has end-stage renal disease (chronic kidney failure). Doctors diagnosed him with kidney disease two years ago and ever since then I have been more conscious than ever about reading the labels on food. Although the FDA issued a ruling in 2005 requiring U.S. antiperspirants to carry a warning statement “Ask a doctor before use if you have kidney disease” to make consumers aware that exposure to aluminum from antiperspirants might need to be discussed with their doctor, I did not become aware of the link between antiperspirant and kidney disease until recently when it was brought to my attention that I also needed to read the labels on beauty care and household products as well as the labels on food. Being allergic to aluminum myself, I immediately switched him from his favorite “manly” antiperspirant to my “aluminum-free” natural deodorant.
Aluminum zirconium is a common ingredient in antiperspirant deodorants which helps to limit wetness and odor, while deodorant-only products help limit odor and contain fragrance to keep you smelling fresh however deodorants does not control wetness. Aluminum is removed from the body primarily by the kidneys. Thus, people with kidney disease may not remove aluminum as effectively. For patients without kidney disease, the risk is probably minimal.
In fact, daily aluminum intake from food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink is thought to be much greater than exposure from daily use of antiperspirants or other beauty care or household products. And, although there are no definitive scientific studies revealing antiperspirants are dangerous, kidney patients should not take the risk especially since they already have enough health challenges, including difficulty processing the aluminum in their body which can lead to aluminum toxicity and central nervous system problems, from cognitive decline to memory loss to personality changes to involuntary movements and seizures and coma.
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