Question: What is the Draize Test?
Answer: The Draize test an eye or skin irritancy test that involves putting a substance in the eye or on the skin of an immobilized rabbit, and then observing and recording the results. Rabbits are used for this test because of the low amount of tears produced by rabbits' eyes, allowing the substance to remain in the eye instead of being washed out. The test is controversial because it is usually used for testing cosmetics and household products, and because of the differences between rabbits' eyes and human eyes. Also controversial is the subjective nature of the test in recording the results. The test is named after John H. Draize, a toxicologist with the US Food and Drug Administration who developed the test.
