Letter: Zinc oxide paste as sunscreen in the postoperative period

摘要

Recently we have had a series of patients whose Mohs surgery scars have become erythematous and irritated after the use of sunscreens in the postoperative period. In an effort to reduce this, we decided to have our patients instead apply zinc oxide paste to their postoperative scars. The need for sun protection of postoperative scars is well established. The list of possible allergens contained in sunscreens is also well documented and includes such agents as propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol-30 dipolyhydroxystearate, diazolidi-nyl urea, and methyl paraben. Zinc oxide paste, containing zinc oxide 40%, lanolin, petrolatum, and cod liver oil, has long been used as a topical sunscreen. Some may recall a few decades ago when lifeguards and surfers coated their noses with the opaque white paste. Zinc has a long history of use as a topical therapy. Calamine, composed of zinc oxide and ferric oxide, is probably the earliest zinc-containing topical medication and was first used at least 3000 years ago, as referenced in the Ebers Papyrus and Ayurvedic texts.