Emollient Safety

Emollients are an important and effective treatment to prevent or treat skin conditions. If you need to use emollients, you should continue to do so but ensure you are aware of the fire safety advice to reduce the risk.

Fabric and clothing with dried on emollient becomes flammable. Avoid exposure to naked flames and other potential ignition sources, including smoking.

Anyone regularly using emollients should keep away from fire naked flames or heat sources if their clothing, bedding or dressings are contaminated.

We advise that fabrics contaminated with emollient residue are washed regularly. This might help reduce the fire risk, but it will not eliminate it.

What are emollient skin products?

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:17

They are moisturisers which may contain paraffin or other products like shea or cocoa butter, beeswax, lanolin, nut oil or mineral oils and they work by covering the skin with a protective film or barrier which keeps the moisture in.

Are they only available on prescription?

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:17

Emollients are commonly prescribed by GPs, nurses and other clinicians over long periods of time to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and sores. Many of these products can also be purchased over the counter in chemists and supermarkets.

Are emollients safe to use?

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:18

Yes, they are. We encourage their use as recommended by medical professionals and by following the manufacturer's instructions. But, it's important for users to be aware of and manage the fire risk associated with these products, particularly when they are absorbed into fabrics.

Are emollients flammable?

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:18

Emollients themselves are not directly flammable, if you put a match to a sample of emollient skin product it would not ignite. They can significantly increase the flammability of fabrics when absorbed into materials such as clothing, bedding, or bandages. It's important that fabrics with emollient residue are not exposed to a naked flames or heat sources.

So, why should I be concerned?

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:19

Regular use of these products over several days, can lead to them soaking into clothing, bedding and bandages/dressings. This residue then dries within the fabric. If you then introduce an ignition or heat source such as

  • Accidentally dropping a cigarette, lighted match or lighter
  • Sitting too near to a gas, halogen, or open fire
  • Catching clothing on a hob when cooking

it can cause a fire to develop, burn intensely and spread rapidly. This could lead to a serious injury or death. People who smoke or that have reduced mobility should be especially aware of the risk.

Fire safety advice for emollient users

Emollients are an important and effective treatment to prevent or treat skin conditions.

Fabric and clothing with dried on emollient is more easily ignited. Avoid exposure to naked flames and other potential ignition sources, including smoking whilst wearing clothes or dressings that have in contact with emollient treated skin.

Be aware of the risk and take steps to reduce the risk of an emollient fire.

Smoking

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:21

If you smoke and regularly use emollients, you can reduce your risk.

Seek advice on quitting. You can find information and advice on quitting on the NHS Smoke Free website. It's a good idea to speak with your GP as you are more likely to succeed in quitting with support. The NHS can also provide advice on alternative stop smoking treatments and aids. Nicotine replacement products remove the use of naked flame when lighting a cigarette, or the heat source if you were to drop a cigarette on contaminated fabrics.

If you don't want to quit or are not ready to quit, never smoke wearing clothes which are contaminated with emollients. Wearing uncontaminated clothes or using a smoking apron may help reduce the risk as it could prevent a dropped match or cigarette coming into contact with your clothing.

Don't smoke in bed, we never advise this due to the risk of falling asleep when smoking. For emollient users this is a greater risk because bed sheets and night clothes can be contaminated. As with all fabrics which may have emollient residue, we advise these items are washed regularly at the highest temperature on the care instructions. This will not completely remove the risk but can reduce it.

Depending on the person's needs supervised smoking can also help to reduce the risk.

Cooking

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:21

You can reduce the risk when cooking by making sure you don't cook when wearing clothes contaminated with emollients when using gas or electric hobs.

Cooking with products with no flame and less or no direct heat will reduce the risk, so it's safer to cook using a microwave, air fryer or induction hob.

Where possible consider eating meals that have been prepared and easily reheated in a microwave or meals that do not need cooking.

Candle safety

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:21

Take care when using candles. You must keep fabrics contaminated with emollients away from naked flames.

Be careful when lighting candles so you do not drop a match or lighter onto clothing or furnishings, ensure you clothes don't have emollient on them or ask someone else to light them. It's safer to use LED candles.

Keeping warm

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:22

Don't sit too close to open fires, electric bar, gas or halogen heaters. Make you sit at least 1 metre away. Remember that furniture with fabric covers and soft furnishings may also have emollient residue so ensure they are away from the heat source, and you can consider using washable throws over fabric furnishings to reduce the contamination of these. You should regularly wash any throws at the highest temperature on the care instructions.

Washing fabrics to reduce the risk

Tue, 3 Dec 2024 11:22

Wash fabrics such as clothes, bed sheets and furniture throws regularly at the highest temperature indicated on the care instructions to try and remove any residue. This may reduce the risk but will not eliminate it.

Do not dry these fabrics on or in front of heaters.

If using a tumble dryer use a cooler temperature setting and ensure it runs the full cycle including the cool down cycle. Allow items to cool fully before folding to allow any heat to dissipate.

Learn more about the fire risks of emollients using the document below: