Know before you use a product containing DEHP-Causes Cancer

Is your intermittent catheter made with a chemical called DEHP? Most people who use catheterization may not know that their product contains DEHP. What is DEHP?

In the State of California in March of 1997 created a comprehensive list of “Chemicals Known to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity.” thus creating Proposition 65, which was an effort to label products that contain DEHP.

DEHP (Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate) is listed on the Prop 65 registry as a known carcinogen and known to cause reproductive harm in men. The chemical is also a plastic softener that is often used in the manufacturing process to make PVC more flexible.

Several kinds of medical devices, including some intermittent catheters, are still made with DEHP today—and unfortunately, this is currently legal.  Ask us if your product contains DEHP. Our Summit Team educates our clients on their products.

There are a variety of resources online to help you get better informed about DEHP as a material, and the health risks it poses. Similar resources are online about Proposition 65. To help you get up to speed, check out these sites:

• Proposition 65 News is a site that provides news and details about California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, better known by its original name, Proposition 65.
• Hazards: PVC & DEHP is a site from Washington State Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety.
• “Bladder cancer in patients with spinal cord injury” is a large, broad research document.
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dehp-catheters-what-everyone-should-know-madonna-long/