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Can The Glue From Double Sided Tape On Scalp Enter Blood Stream?

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Posted on Sat, 9 Aug 2014
Question: Hello Doctor, Hope all is well. This might be a wierd question but has been bothering me for a while. I wear a wig that is attached to my scalp with a double sided tape. Recently, i have been wondering if there are any chances of the glue from the tape to enter the blood stream (for example when i sweat some glue might melt and enter blood stream) and subsequently the brain and cause damage in the brain? I would really appreciate if you could response to this query. Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Scalp is mutilayered structure & nothing can cross

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome and thanks for posting your query to the forum.

I can understand your concern for glue to enter into blood stream. It is quite obvious that sometimes we are so much concerned about our day to day things and get stressed one time or the other.

Let me explain you the medical facts regarding our scalp skin:

Our scalp skin is different for the skin of rest of the body. It has additional five layers which are not present anywhere else in body. It is one of the thickest skin in our human body.

Additionally there is another layer of protection blow these five layers and then below this is the skull bone.

So you can get that there are mutilayered structures in between anything applied on scalp and going down in the brain. Nothing in this world could cross any of the layer and therefore nothing can go into brain directly.

In addition to that the blood supply to skin of scalp is not in connection with brain and therefore there is no possibility of intermingling of blood.

Lastly the most important of all the facts is that these glues which are used are the most inert biochemical and never react to our skin. It is medically tested so many thousands of times before the human use that it can't react and go into the blood stream anywhere.

I hope these informations will help and relax you. I will be glad to answer any further queries.

With regards,

Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-DERMATOLOGY
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (2 hours later)
Thanks for the detailed response doctor. I really appreciate it as you can see how concerned I am. I just want one clarification. You mentioned that there are multiple layers of skin below the scalp. Can you please let ms know if the blood vessels reach right up to the scalp? Also, of there is some absorbtion of the glue in the scalp, were would it end up finally?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Glue is of totally safe nature

Detailed Answer:
Hello young man,

Welcome again to the forum and thanks of your swift follow up.

The blood vessels in scalp are interspersed between the layers itself. It has no direct connection whether superficially on the scalp and deep below the scalp. As I said there are 5 thick layers and there is no connection of the blood supply of scalp with the underlying brain. The blood supply traverses through the connective tissue layers superficially.

To add more to it :below the skull bones (better known as cranial bones) there are double layer of bone which is known as periosteum and below the periosteum are the various layers which covers the brain.

So you can get the typical structure of scalp and layers covering brain!!!

Even if we consider that there is some absorption of the glue then let me tell you that on applying anything on skin there is very little percentage of the amount can be absorbed varying on its penetrating capacity. For the glue it is less than 0.001% which is almost negligible.

Further to reassure that if the glue had been dangerous then must had caused redness or irritation on the scalp skin. You can see that since the application of the glue there is no redness or irritation on skin which shows totally safe nature of glue.

In my best of clinical knowledge I have never seen or heard any problem with glue and is proved to be a safe biochemical.

So I reassure you again for any of the issues regarding glue.

Be relaxed and enjoy the hair fixing!!!

I hope these informations will help and relax you. I will be glad to answer any further queries or if not then can close the query and rate the answer.

With regards,

Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-Dermatology & sexaully transmitted diseases
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (5 hours later)
Thanks doctor. Are you saying that blood vessels don't have any opening in the scalp? I might be wrong but blood supply also reaches the brain right? How does it reach the brain when there are all these layers? Thanks again for your time and understanding!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (5 hours later)
Brief Answer:
No connection b/n blood supply of brain and scalp

Detailed Answer:
hello young fellow,

Welcome to the forum again and thanks a lot for your further follow up.

Let me guide you further: the blood vessels of scalp are totally different from blood supply of brain.

The blood supplying the scalp skin are known as cutaneous vessels and have no connection at all with brain. As I said earlier these cutaneous blood vessel are very superficially present in scalp skin and do not have any opening below the skull. So there is no connection between these cutaneous vessels of scalp and brain.

To guide up further the blood supply of brain is there from heart. There is an artery known as internal carotid artery which traverses deep into neck and supplies to the brain.

So there is no connection between blood supply of brain and scalp skin.

Just relax and do not worry. I hope these informations will help and relax you. I will be glad to answer any further queries or if not then can close the query and rate the answer.

With regards,

Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-Dermatology & sexaully transmitted diseases
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (1 hour later)
Thanks a lot doctor. I think your responses were great and very indepth and i am satisified with all the answers. I hope you dont think i am crazy haha. I am just trying to understand the flow here. just one last clarification and i should be done. In the highly unlikely scenario that stuff enters the blood vessels in the scalp, where would that stuff go next? as in where would the blood vessels transport this stuff or you suggesting that there is no chance of anything entering the blood vessels from Scalp? I used to apply Rogaine when i had hair haha and i think that was designed to enter the blood vessels from the scalp right?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (22 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Glue is one of the safest inert biochemical.

Detailed Answer:
Hello young fellow,

Welcome to the forum again and thanks for your follow up.

First of all I beg your pardon for responding late because of some technical issues.
You are most welcome to take as many as guidance you want and any sort of clarifications.

To guide you further regarding your latest query: In the highly unlikely scenario that if the glue enters the scalp skin then from the draining veins it would be going to general circulation and lastly excreted via kidneys.

You have asked a good further question regarding Rogain too. To clarify this point also : It is not actually meant to get entered into blood vessels, rather it is meant to open the potassium channels of blood vessels to increase the blood supply locally and topically.

You are partially right that during this opening up mechanism some of the rogain may enter. But again to remind you this is varied from one biochemical to other to get entered into skin or not and for rogain also it is almost negligible just like glue. Rogain only works topically and not systemically to enter into the blood vessels.

Rogain is a locally active while glue is totally inert. It also depends on nature of biochemical, its particle size as well inherent properties of the particular material to exert different properties on skin. So glue is more safer than rogain and to add further there are more people in this world who are using rogain than glue.

So the safety issue of glue is even much much better than anything else.

I hope these informations will help and relax you. You are most welcome to ask any further queries.

With regards,

Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-Dermatology & sexually transmitted diseases

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (47 hours later)
Thanks again doc for the great response. Can you further explain why would it get flushed out from the kidney? When we eat stuff, does all of it get flushed out from the kidney? Also, you mentioned that blood vessels are present superficially in the scalp. Can you please clarify a little on what you mean by superficial.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Evacuation of waste products-by kidney & intestine

Detailed Answer:
Hello young fellow,

Welcome again to the forum and thanks for your follow up and further queries.

Let me explain you further the points of your query:

There are majorly two subsystems of evacuation of waste products from our body- one is by intestine and the other by kidneys. Whenever we eat or drink anything then the liquid products are excreted out through kidneys and the solid products through intestines.

So you probably got that kidneys flush out the majority of liquids though our urinary systems.

There are two type of blood vessels in our body- one is cutaneous (superficial) and the other is visceral (internal). All the cutaneous vessels are drained by our venous system and then these all the things reaches in kidneys and are filtered out of body by our urinary system.

So if at all the glue is absorbed in minimal amount, it would be going to cutaneous vessels first then to kidneys and then flushed out by the urinary system.

I hope these informations will help and relax you. You are most welcome to ask any further queries.

With regards,

Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-Dermatology & sexually transmitted diseases
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Sanjay Kumar Kanodia

Dermatologist

Practicing since :2002

Answered : 4165 Questions

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Can The Glue From Double Sided Tape On Scalp Enter Blood Stream?

Brief Answer: Scalp is mutilayered structure & nothing can cross Detailed Answer: Hello, Welcome and thanks for posting your query to the forum. I can understand your concern for glue to enter into blood stream. It is quite obvious that sometimes we are so much concerned about our day to day things and get stressed one time or the other. Let me explain you the medical facts regarding our scalp skin: Our scalp skin is different for the skin of rest of the body. It has additional five layers which are not present anywhere else in body. It is one of the thickest skin in our human body. Additionally there is another layer of protection blow these five layers and then below this is the skull bone. So you can get that there are mutilayered structures in between anything applied on scalp and going down in the brain. Nothing in this world could cross any of the layer and therefore nothing can go into brain directly. In addition to that the blood supply to skin of scalp is not in connection with brain and therefore there is no possibility of intermingling of blood. Lastly the most important of all the facts is that these glues which are used are the most inert biochemical and never react to our skin. It is medically tested so many thousands of times before the human use that it can't react and go into the blood stream anywhere. I hope these informations will help and relax you. I will be glad to answer any further queries. With regards, Dr Sanjay Kanodia MD-DERMATOLOGY