Many people claim that engine oil causes cancer. You might be wondering the same. Motor oil is essential for cars and machinery, so exposure to motor oil is constant for a person working at a mechanic shop or in a factory.
Today we will look deeper into if engine oil causes cancer in humans. We will also take a look at engine oil poisoning symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and some super-handy tips for handling engine oil.
Let’s Go!
Table of Contents
Harmful Contaminants in Engine Oil
Fresh engine oil consists of additives that can cause certain types of illnesses. Used engine oil picks of heavy metals and other contaminants from the engine to make the oil even more harmful. These contaminants include polyaromatic compounds, lead, zinc, and hydrocarbons.
Benzene exposure results in aplastic anemia and cancer. Due to its high volatility, anyone using benzene can inhale it quickly.
Apart from the disease mentioned above, engine oil exposure cause leukoderma, acne-form rashes, hand and nail infection, and vibration white fingers.
How Are People Exposed to Engine Oil?
Engine oil is used widely in mechanic shops, factories, and garages. Besides, people usually use engine oil on guns, to paint wood and grease chains.
People in automobile industries, airplane industries, steel, aluminum, and brass factories, copper miners, newspaper printing, and transformer workers become prey of engine oil toxicity.
Else, preexisting skin conditions can enhance engine oil’s effect on that particular person.
How to Protect Yourself From Engine Oil Toxicity
I read somewhere on the internet that there is no alternative to engine oil, and I can’t stop thinking about it. The question is that if there is no alternative to engine oil, then how will you protect yourself from it?
Well, don’t worry; wearing protective clothing, including rubber gloves, respirators, and safety glasses to protect yourself. If you are working in an environment where exposure to engine oil is more, wearing a PVC suit is the best option.
If somehow, engine oil still manages to touch your skin, wash it immediately with cleaner and mild soap. Replace the protective clothing you use regularly.
Finally, use barrier creams daily. You need not rely entirely on these creams. They may act as a barrier to some extent, but engine oil will still manage to get through your skin. Protective clothing is the best option you have.
Effects of Motor Oil on Skin
Motor oil exposure comes with a lot of adverse health impacts, specifically on your skin. Let’s start with the time you get motor oil on your skin. It is blackish, sticky, and won’t get off your skin.
Degreasing dish soaps or detergents are commonly known to help engine oil get off your skin but guess what happens next? These detergents defat and thin your skin.
When the barrier skin thins, it is easier for engine oils to penetrate through your flesh. This easy absorption results in many diseases.
Starting from itchy skin, it slowly turns to skin rashes. The other skin diseases associated with engine oil exposure include irritant hand dermatitis, hand infections, nail infections, allergic contact dermatitis, and hand-arm vibration syndrome.
In the worst scenarios, it can result in leucoderma or skin cancer.
How Exposure Causes Skin Cancer
Along with the thinning of the skin and engine oil penetrating through it to cause cancer. Chemical burns can also result in cancer. Here is how:
When your skin touches hot engine oil, chemical burns form. Due to this scarring, the dermis is affected. In turn, Marjolin ulcers form on the skin. These ulcers also develop as a result of welding burns.
Motor Oil Poisoning Symptoms
If motor oil poisons you, here are the symptoms you will feel:
- Vomiting.
- Intense cough. (in case engine oil has affected your lungs)
- Rapid breathing.
- The skin turns bluish due to a lack of oxygen in the body.
- Burning feeling in the stomach.
- Drowsiness
- Coma (in worst scenarios)
- Seizure
- Choking
If you or your close ones feel any of the symptoms above, contact a doctor immediately.
Are you wondering if engine oil is toxic to your dog? Find out here.
How to Diagnose Motor Oil Poisoning?
To check if engine oil has damaged your lungs, chest X-rays can help you diagnose it. Doctors use arterial blood gases to prevent respiratory failure. Neurologic examination checks if the nervous system is toxic.
Treatment of Motor Oil Poisoning
For people with breathing and respiratory issues, doctors give supplementary oxygen and artificial ventilation. Also, airways are stabilized to treat poisoning.
How to Get Motor Oil Off Your Skin?
There are several methods to get motor oil off your skin.
Method 1:
You need petroleum jelly and dish soap.
- Wash the oil-affected area as soon as possible.
- Add a few drops of dish degreaser to the oil-infected area.
- Rinse with your hand.
- Gently massage petroleum jelly onto the affected areas.
- Clean it with a soft cloth.
- Wash your hands with mild soap and apply a hand cream
Method 2:
You need baking soda and liquid soap.
- Mix baking soda and liquid soap in a bowl to form a thick paste.
- Apply this paste to the oil-affected area.
- Rinse the area
- Apply hand cream.
Other Methods:
Use citrus-based cleaners.
Make an instant coffee paste and rub it onto oil-affected areas.
Make laundry detergent and olive oil mixture and apply it to the oil-affected areas.
How to Remove Engine Oil Smell From Hand?
Use the following mixtures to get rid of engine oil smell:
- Mix vegetable oil and sugar to rub it on oil-affected areas on the skin
- Mix baking soda and water in a 3:1 ratio and apply it to affected areas
- Mix vanilla extract and water and soak hands in it for 10 minutes.
- Rub coffee grounds on the affected areas to make them smell fresh.
- Cover the affected areas with butter and leave for 2 minutes. Rinse, wash and apply hand cream.
Read our guide on engine oil explosivity here.
FAQs – Does Engine Oil Cause Cancer?
Below are the questions people usually ask regarding engine oil’s role in causing cancer. Check these out.
How Much Engine Oil Exposure Causes Cancer?
A long-term exposure.
Cancer and engine oil are closely related. Engine oil concentration and constant exposure can lead to fatal cancer.
If you touch the engine oil for once only, the exposure is less intense, the chances of being attacked in general are lesser. However, the workers who work in industries where engine oil use is more are at a higher risk of developing cancer.
The best you can do is save yourself from constant exposure by wearing a PVC suit, safety glasses, or gloves. Also, lessen the use of degreasers and detergents as they thin your skin and give engine oil room to attack and penetrate your flesh.
Does Breathing Motor Oil Cause Cancer?
No. Inhaling it does not cause cancer. However, inhaling motor oil can cause nervous system problems, including headaches, nausea, dizziness, and respiratory irritation.
Also, continually inhaling engine oil cause fatigue, body weakness, loss of consciousness, vision loss, vomiting, abdominal pain, throat pain, and breathing difficulty.
In general, inhaling effects may not be as severe as when you touch the engine oil, but they still are not less dangerous.
What are Motor Oil’s Impacts on the Environment?
Just like engine oil negatively impacts human and animal health, it also destroys the environment. The government has passed several laws regarding the disposal and recycling of engine oil.
Here is how it starts; engine oil picks up contaminants and heavy metals in the engine. These heavy metals include lead, calcium, chromium, arsenic, dioxins, and benzene, harming plants, animals, and fish.
Engine oil goes into the ground to make soil completely infertile. It floats on water to stop sunlight and oxygen from getting in the water, resulting in fish and other marine animals’ death. When burned, it releases toxic compounds into the air.
Conclusion
Does engine oil cause cancer? Well, now you know. When you contact engine oil, make sure to wear protective clothing.
If engine oil somehow lands on your skin, remove it as quickly as you can. If you noticed the symptoms mentioned above, contact a doctor immediately. Engine oil can cause severe skin diseases like skin cancer in the long run.