This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Peter A. Soyka; Lester F. Soyka, MD
University of Vermont College of Medicine Burlington

JAMA. 1980;244(7):660-661.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

For the past several years a keratolytic gel developed by Baden¹ has been used as a treatment for hyperkeratotic disorders of the skin. The gel consists of 20% ethanol, 20% water, and 6% salicylic acid in propylene glycol and is marketed under the brand name Keralyt. Treatment involves application of the gel to the affected areas after hydration of the skin. The epidermal surface being treated is then occluded under a plastic dressing overnight. In many cases considerable clearing of hyperkeratotic lesions has been achieved through the use of this regimen.

Baden's studies indicated that salicylism does not occur to any great extent because of the use of this preparation.¹ Another study using the keratolytic gel supported this assertion.²

However, salicylic acid can and does penetrate the epidermis after topical administration; this fact has been recognized for nearly a century.³ The literature contains . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?