Chlorhexidine Digluconate

CAS Number: 18472-51-0

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79

80 89

90 100

Sources of exposure:

Personal care

Medications

Antiseptic skin cleansers, oral rinses, dental preparations, wound care products, and medical antiseptic solutions

Description:

Chlorhexidine digluconate is a synthetic antiseptic and antimicrobial compound used to reduce or control microbial growth. It is found in certain antiseptic skin cleansers, oral rinses, and medical preparations. Exposure occurs primarily through direct use of products containing chlorhexidine, which can cause irritation or allergic reactions in susceptible individuals.

Health concerns:

Irritant

May cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Ecotoxicity

May be toxic to ecosystems and wildlife.

Banned/restricted lists:

EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex V - Permitted preservative
Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist - Restricted

References

US Environmental Protection Agency. Cheminformatics Modules, Computational Toxicology and Exposure Informatics (CompTox).
US National Library of Medicine. PubChem database.

HOW MILLION MARKER SCORES CHEMICALS

Million Marker's Ingredient Hazard Scoring uses multiple chemical databases and a science-backed scoring system to compute hazard scores for thousands of chemicals found in consumer products and listed on ingredient labels.

We identified key chemicals based on a database compiling dozens of authoritative sources, screening tools, and QSAR models.

Hazard scores within 11 different health categories (carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, immunotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, skin/eye/respiratory irritants, and ecotoxicity).

They are weighted based on several factors, including strength of evidence for adverse impacts in humans, severity, and potential contamination.