Unusual increase in the number of cases: A 19-year-old girl was hospitalized at Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center, suffering from kidney failure - after having her hair straightened.
This is the third case in just two months of girls and young women being hospitalized at Shaare Tzedek with varying degrees of kidney failure after having their hair straightened.
A 25-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl were recently hospitalized at Shaare Zedek.
The girl arrived at the emergency room after having her hair straightened and immediately felt a burning sensation on her scalp, and then suffered from weakness, nausea, and vomiting.
After a series of comprehensive tests, she was hospitalized in Internal Medicine Department A, when the results of her blood tests indicated a significant deterioration in her kidney function.
Dr. Zagal Hamza, a senior physician at Boarding School A, who treated the girl together with the director of the Shaare Zedek Nephrology Institute, Prof. Linda Shavit, says: "The girl came to us with poor kidney function after having her hair straightened. She was hospitalized to monitor her kidney function, was treated with fluids and was released in good condition.".
Prof. Shavit, together with Dr. Alon Benya from the Shaare Zedek Nephrology Institute, are among the initiators and leaders of a large national study that examined 26 cases over three years of women who were hospitalized for kidney failure after hair straightening, which indicated for the first time in the world the connection between kidney failure in women and hair straightening products containing glyoxylic acid.
Based on the research, among other things, the Ministry of Health decided about three years ago to revoke licenses for dozens of cosmetics containing glyoxylic acid. This was following the research findings and after similar cases appeared around the world, and warnings were issued to the public in Switzerland and France on the matter.
Since the study, over 50 cases in total have been reported in Israel.
Prof. Shavit: "We are seeing a worrying increase at Shaare Tzedek in cases of women being hospitalized with kidney failure after hair straightening. All three of the cases treated by us in the last two months were young women, with no underlying illnesses, who were hospitalized with acute kidney failure simply because of hair straightening. Some of the cases also led to repeated visits to the ER even after being discharged from the hospital.".
""I ask women who are interested in having their hair straightened to check that the product is approved by the Ministry of Health, that the material will not come into contact with the scalp, and to demand that the hairdressers perform the straightening according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you feel a burning sensation on your scalp during the straightening - remove the material immediately. Your health comes first - there is no reason to go to the hairdresser and end up hospitalized.".
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