TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- An elementary schoolgirl's fingerprints have disappeared after she played with "slime" over her summer vacation, according to Yes Clinic director Tsai Yi-shan (蔡逸姍).
Tsai wrote in a Liberty Times report that the student spent hours kneading self-made "slime" a gooey, sticky substance sold as a toy since 1976. Over time, the girl's parents began to notice that her fingers and palms had become swollen and irritated.
Her parents said that the girl's fingers had become "swollen and red like sausages," and even more alarming, her fingerprints "disappeared," according to the report. Concerned for their child's safety, her parents took her to see Tsai, who is a dermatologist.
Girl playing with slime. (Photo from Tsai Yi-shan)
After Tsai inspected the girl's hands, he discovered that her fingers were inflamed, red, swollen, and peeling, and there were many small wounds causing the skin to discharge fluid. Tsai diagnosed the girl's condition as contact dermatitis caused by an allergy to slime.
Tsai prescribed oral antihistamines, a topical steroid, and an antibiotic ointment. He recommended that the girl avoid direct contact with the slime, and instead wear gloves while playing with it.
Over time, the redness and swelling on the girl's hands began to diminish. There was no word, however, on the fate of her fingerprints.
Fingerprints have disappeared from girl's hand. (Photo from Tsai Yi-shan)
Slime is generally made from glue, coloring pigments, preservatives, and borax. The active ingredient in the glue is often polyvinyl alcohol, which, combined with the borax and additives, can cause a type 4 allergic reaction and contact dermatitis when used over extended periods.
Prolonged use of slime containing these ingredients can cause skin irritation, peeling, blisters, thickening, lichen planus, and over the long-term can cause fingerprints to disappear. If borax is absorbed into the body through such extended play with slime, toxic levels could accumulate, leading to damage to the reproductive and nervous systems.
Tsai recommended the following safety measures to observe when playing with slime:
- Use a borax-free version
- Limit direct skin contact to one hour per day or wear gloves
- If there is a wound or peeling, contact with slime should be halted immediately.
