Alpha and Vaseline
Chris L Johnson
Description
Collection
Title:
Alpha and Vaseline
Creator:
Chris L Johnson
Date:
1/30/1999
Text:
On Fri, 29 Jan 1999 06:50:55 -0800 Joe Harvey < <Email Address Redacted> > writes:
>
>
>Chris, you have been around this business longer than I have and I
>have respect for those that have come before me. I was recently given a
>seminar by the good folks at Ohio Willow Wood regarding the Alpha liner.
They
>made it very clear not to use Vaseline with the Alpha. It does
something
>to the gel that degrades it we were told. Can you give me your thoughts
on
>that from your experience.
>Thanks
>--
>Joe Harvey
>Student of Prosthetics and Orthotics
>HTTP://www.jps.net/jharvey
Yea, yea, they've told me too. Prehaps it's like the sweetener and
cancer in rats. Give em a whopping spoonful a day and something's bound
to go wrong. I use little Vaseline, only enough to coat the skin for
protection and enhance tack. Perhaps at this amount there will be no
problems? Interesting too, I seldon ever cleam my Alpha. Perhaps once
every month has been fine in winter, with a bit more often cleaning in
the hot months. I think they recommend evry day, alternating between the
two liners. (Those with infection tendencies should be more cautious,
obviously).
Empirically, I know two things: I wear the liners a long time with no
degradation of the gel where it contacts the skin, and I have pretty much
zero skin problems. The other day, I wore a silicone-based liner for
only one day and had my skin react at the posterior proximal brim. Only
one day! Odd. Again, I do not understand the chemisrty of it, only that
what I have been doing works well for me.
In the motorcycle culture are those who dare no use of pressure washers
for fear of water in bearings, etc. I have 6 motorcycle and a pressure
washer built right into my home. I compete off road in Observed trials
as well as tour and wash my bikes often. Of course I also do my
maintenance. But the point is, I've been using pressure washers
faithfully for 25 years with zero problems. I keep bike a long time and
they are clean and not dissolving before my eyes. Thus there may be a
lesson to learn in how people approach caution: for some, it is a digital
rule, go or no-go. For others, it's a flexible thing based on
experimentation and learning to work all the details to ensure that
things work well as a whole.
I realize I have waxed philosophical, but perhaps the no-Vaseline thing
can be viewed in the same light? A rational explanation of the
deleterious chemical interaction between petroleum jelly and the gel
would be appreciated. I'd like to know why since I have had no problems.
Chris Johnson, Engineering Director,
College Park Industries, Inc.
<Email Address Redacted>
www.college-park.com
>
>
>Chris, you have been around this business longer than I have and I
>have respect for those that have come before me. I was recently given a
>seminar by the good folks at Ohio Willow Wood regarding the Alpha liner.
They
>made it very clear not to use Vaseline with the Alpha. It does
something
>to the gel that degrades it we were told. Can you give me your thoughts
on
>that from your experience.
>Thanks
>--
>Joe Harvey
>Student of Prosthetics and Orthotics
>HTTP://www.jps.net/jharvey
Yea, yea, they've told me too. Prehaps it's like the sweetener and
cancer in rats. Give em a whopping spoonful a day and something's bound
to go wrong. I use little Vaseline, only enough to coat the skin for
protection and enhance tack. Perhaps at this amount there will be no
problems? Interesting too, I seldon ever cleam my Alpha. Perhaps once
every month has been fine in winter, with a bit more often cleaning in
the hot months. I think they recommend evry day, alternating between the
two liners. (Those with infection tendencies should be more cautious,
obviously).
Empirically, I know two things: I wear the liners a long time with no
degradation of the gel where it contacts the skin, and I have pretty much
zero skin problems. The other day, I wore a silicone-based liner for
only one day and had my skin react at the posterior proximal brim. Only
one day! Odd. Again, I do not understand the chemisrty of it, only that
what I have been doing works well for me.
In the motorcycle culture are those who dare no use of pressure washers
for fear of water in bearings, etc. I have 6 motorcycle and a pressure
washer built right into my home. I compete off road in Observed trials
as well as tour and wash my bikes often. Of course I also do my
maintenance. But the point is, I've been using pressure washers
faithfully for 25 years with zero problems. I keep bike a long time and
they are clean and not dissolving before my eyes. Thus there may be a
lesson to learn in how people approach caution: for some, it is a digital
rule, go or no-go. For others, it's a flexible thing based on
experimentation and learning to work all the details to ensure that
things work well as a whole.
I realize I have waxed philosophical, but perhaps the no-Vaseline thing
can be viewed in the same light? A rational explanation of the
deleterious chemical interaction between petroleum jelly and the gel
would be appreciated. I'd like to know why since I have had no problems.
Chris Johnson, Engineering Director,
College Park Industries, Inc.
<Email Address Redacted>
www.college-park.com
Citation
Chris L Johnson, “Alpha and Vaseline,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 1, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/211103.
