"Paraffin oil used in hospitals for lubricating instruments and wound healing"

I went to hospital recently to have a small lump removed from the top of my head. There was a graft taken from my leg to cover my scalp where the lump was removed.

After the operation I returned to the out patient clinic of the hospital. They said a small part of the graft hadn't taken so I heard them talking about using paraffin oil to create a moist area to help the graft heal.

After two more tries at doing this ( Silver Chain nurses ) they said that it still wasn't right and there was secretion of a fluid in the area.

Now they said they needed to reverse this and use something to dry up the area to try to get it to heal.

When I first heard them talk about paraffin I just accepted that they knew what they were doing. I understand Fiona Stanley is a quite new hospital south of Perth.

Since then I have had the uneasy feeling that I might have been wrong to have blind faith in their decisions. Surely I believe they must have been following a set protocol.

I started looking more into paraffin which is a byproduct of petroleum sludge and is a hydrocarbon.

From internet  "Paraffin wax is created as a byproduct of petroleum sludge, treated with carcinogenic chemicals and even after processing it still contains up to 11 toxic compounds and chemicals. Two of those toxic substances are benzene and toluene."

From other sites I have read they talk about cancers these toxic compounds can cause and especially brain problems. I believe this was happening on the crown of my head.

The hospital actually gave me a small 5g tube of "White Soft Paraffin" that I can rub on the wound at a later date. The paraffin comes from Perrigo Australia that used to be Orion Laboratories. I have tried to talk to Perrigo and there is no answer from both an 1800 number and a local number in Perth.

Obviously it seems is just a distribution centre although you would think the phones would have been manned in early afternoon on a week day.

So why did they try this, in my opinion, dubious paraffin oil rather than any of the fine essential oils that have been used by humanity for thousands of years?

I think because the paraffin oil is stated to be sterile and it is branded as such on the tube I have. I think they are probably cheap and sourced from a global supplier who supplies many countries around the world.

I would have liked a bit more disclosure from the hospital that they have opted for a hydrocarbon product to soak into my scalp and they could have discussed the risks.

Then I would have been within my rights to refuse the possibly toxic product and I could have used Savlon cream which has served me well for more than 60 years.

Does Perrigo or the hospitals they supply analyse these products for toxic substances or traces thereof?  Really, I believe, every batch should have some certificate shipped with the product clearly indicating any traces of toxins and exactly what the product contains.

I believe that Fiona Stanley the person would be alarmed if she knew.