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Topic: Inadvertently Dyed My Hand Purple. Help Solve the Mystery.  (Read 3322 times)

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Offline Louisiphone

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Inadvertently Dyed My Hand Purple. Help Solve the Mystery.
« on: January 23, 2012, 01:00:38 PM »
Hi everyone,
New here. I need some help identifying a chemical reaction that is causing one hand to be persistently purple.  Relevant points:
1. It started what I was using a blue scotch brite sponge dipped in water and white vinegar to clean chalk off a board. 
2. The pan is a roasting pan maybe several decades old.
3. The purple is a bright purple that only appears where my hand touched the sponge. 
4.  I can scrub it off to some degree, bu the weird part is that it will return and get more intense over the course of a day.  It will even return under my finger nails.
5. It does not stain pastic.

Questions: Is this some sort of metal compound from the pan that has gotten deeper into my skin than I would like?  Are any metal compounds bright purple?  Is this an acid sensitive dye from the blue sponge?  Any thoughts on the health effects?

Thanks.

Offline vmelkon

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Re: Inadvertently Dyed My Hand Purple. Help Solve the Mystery.
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2012, 03:19:13 PM »
Instead of that sponge, try something else.

What kind of pan is it? Most of them are aluminum or steel and some are copper.

Offline Stepan

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Re: Inadvertently Dyed My Hand Purple. Help Solve the Mystery.
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2012, 12:27:15 AM »
I have seen purple stains on (in) skin of people who work with gold solutions (gold chloride). It was due to formation of colloidal gold particles.

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