Tips for avoiding carcinogenic products

When managing your health, what you put on your body can be as important as what you put in your body.

Here are some tips for making better decisions when selecting products:

1. Read ingredient labels. It is perfectly legal for companies to use ingredients linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive harm in the cosmetics and personal care products we use every day.

2. Be in the know. Don’t be fooled by short and incomplete ingredient lists, or natural and organic claims. Only buy and use products which disclose all ingredients on the product label to avoid possible exposure to harmful chemicals.

3. Avoid fragrance. The word fragrance is a cocktail of ingredients, can mask countless carcinogens and hormone disrupting chemicals, and can be found in nearly half of all personal care products. Avoid purchasing and using products with the word “fragrance” or “parfum” on the label. Be especially vigilant on children’s products.

4. Use online tools and official seals Ditch your old daily routine and replace it with safer beauty products.

Apps and websites that you can use as reference:

• www.bcpp.org/science-policy/glossary-of-exposures/

• Apps: ThinkDirty and Healthy living

• EWG.org/skindeep: EWG’s Skin Deep and the Good Guide will rate your personal care products for safety and toxicity

• MADE SAFE,® is making it easier to find safer products by labeling them with a special seal. Visit often and stay up-to-date.

If you are worried about your personal risk for cancer and would like to discuss your overall prevention strategy, contact us for help. Osra Medical provides a gay friendly, fear free environment that makes it easy to discuss sensitive matters concerning your health. Our concierge doctor provides informative, affordable, and personalized primary care. Osra Medical is home to primary care physicians in San Francisco that specialize in gay and bisexual men’s health. We’re currently accepting new patients and would love to help you today!