The anti-vivisectionists say we should allow no experiments on animals and the animal utilitarians, or vivisectionists, claim that we can do anything to animals if it is for the ultimate good of humanity. Perhaps they are both wrong. Much can be learned from tr

The Draize Eye-Irritancy Test was designed to assess a substance's potential harmfulness to human eyes based on its effects on rabbits' eyes. This test was developed in the early 1940s by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This test is typically performed on six rabbits per substance tested. Technicians restrain each rabbit and place a measured amount of the test substance in the lower lid of one eye. Usually no anesthetics are given. the rabbits eyes are than examined at different intervals. If severe injury has resulted, the rabbits may be observed for signs of recovery for as long as twenty-one days. Technicians record signs of damage, such as redness and swelling of the conjunctiva ( the sac covering the eyeball), inflammation of the iris, and clouding of the cornea. Using a standardized scoring scheme, the degrees of damage to the conjunctivia, iris, and cornea are compared to graded levels of irritations. Scores for each of these parameters are than totaled. Based on the total Draize score and the symptoms' duration, the test chemical is classified by the degree of irritation it causes: none, mild, moderate, or severe. At best, the Draize test yields a crude measure of a substance's irritancy; it is not designed to yield information about possible treatments or antidotes. the Draize is inhumane. Substances such as oven cleaners and paint removers cause obvious pain and suffering. Because animal and humans differ in medically important ways, results from the Draize test do not necessarily apply to humans. Rabbit eyes differ significantly from human eyes: rabbits possess a nictitating membrane ( a third eyelid) and have a slower blink reflex, a less effective tearing mechanism and a thinner cornea than humans. These differences make rabbit eyes more sensitive than human eyes to some chemicals and less sensitive to others. The test is unreliable. Several laboratories may perform the test on the same chemicals and report different results. Manufactures argue that they conduct the Draize test to protect the public from unsafe products. Since 1986 legislation has been introduced in several states to limit or ban the Draize test for particular products ( especially cosmetics), but no bill has yet passed.

Technical advances to eliminate LD50 testing are also available. More Sophisticated methods, such as in vitro techniques, are the beginning of the move in the right direction. In contrast to in vitro methods which use the whole animal, in vitro methods use only the cells or tissue of animals or humans.

This project has educated my family and I to be more caring consumers and we will use are buying power to pressure companies into banning animal testing within the commercial market. I have learned to write to companies that still test products on animals and let them know that I would not be buying their products and urge them to choose alternative instead. We must remember unseen they suffer, unheard they cry, in agony they linger, in loneliness they die. You can make a difference, you can be their voice.

Since the animals are not treated, these tests provide little useful knowledge for the treatment of humans who are exposed to the harmful substances. Dr. Gil Langley, a scientific neuro-chemist, states that: "

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, Drug Administration, Percent L50, Gil Langley, Designs Technical, Safety Commission, Diffusion- Tiny, Estee Lauder, Eye-Irritancy Test, Assay- Irritants, animal tests, draize test, cosmetics household products, animal testing, household products, cosmetics household, human eyes, human cells, products animals, product safety, neutral red, safety cosmetics household, perfectly healthy animals, piece lipstick eye, consumer product safety,