# What is colloidal oatmeal and why does it say to contact the poison control center?



## Lady

It's just oatmeal? I sense the poison control center would just laugh at me if I called about it. It says 100% colloidal oatmeal, or is there something at it's core that I'm not seeing? :lol:

Edit: for hedgie baths, not food.


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## DesireeM81

Have no idea but I'm interested. Where did you buy it? I'm assuming it's not safe for consumption but safe to take a bath in.


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## rerun

it's oatmeal that is ground very fine..


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## Lady

That's what I thought but I find it weird or unnecessary that they'd have a warning label. Probably just for legal reasons but still...it's oatmeal.

It's Aveeno soothing bath treatment. I just got it at Rite-Aid.
http://www.aveeno.com/product/aveeno-+soothing+bath+treatment+.do


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## rerun

i agree lol.. but you know people, they are sue happy these days


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## nikki

It could be because of the other ingredients in it maybe?


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## kageri

I have used that brand and it worked fine for my hedgehogs. You can get the same effect grinding your own oatmeal or even close to it by just swishing some regular oatmeal around in the water.


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## Lady

nikki said:


> It could be because of the other ingredients in it maybe?


It says 100% colloidal oatmeal, that's all that's on the ingredient list. I looked it up and it's just a generic warning label because there _may_ be gluten in it from being made in a factory that handles gluten, which isn't present in regular oatmeal. Same deal as regular candy saying it may contain some traces of nuts.

Also it's a fine, dust-like powder, so inhaling it on accident probably isn't good :???: but I didn't have that problem. The packages aren't so hard to open that they create a plume of dust


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## Katten

Good to hear, Lady! I have some colloidal oatmeal that I got as a gift for Christmas, and I was wondering what it was. When I tried to look it up, all I got was colloidal silver.


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## TikkiLink

I use that for my hedgie oatmeal baths and I like it a lot better than putting oatmeal in a sock-- it goes straight into the water so no icky sock afterward lol.

I read somewhere that it isn't necessary to wash it off the skin. I wonder if that rule applies to hedgies? I always wash it off anyway, but her skin feels sooo good while she's in it.


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## DesireeM81

You shouldn't wash it off. It helps it absorb into the skin as it dries.


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## CoffeeKat

Because it's not intended for human consumption, it probably was not manufactured in the most pristine conditions, thus a CYA warning. Most poison control advisories are really geared toward children ingesting things they shouldn't, and as fine as the powder is I suppose it could gum up the kid's plumbing in sufficient quantities (but so could flour, and there's no warning there, so probably the first guess up there)


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