Prizewinning lawsuit

Voov isn't that keen on walking yet. She can manage about two or three steps before swaying wildly and pitching forward or back. When in motion she resembles a drunken sailor. Naturally we want to see as much of this as possible. Bath time, and she's standing there buck naked as I coax her to walk to the tub. But she just stands there scratching at her side. I realize I'm doing the same thing--not the naked part, the scratching. We're quite the mirror image.

(Author takes break to give left elbow a good scratch.)

I was thinking about Perry Gottesfeld, the guy who sued the tar shampoo makers back in 2000 or so. He seems to have acted in good, if possibly misguided crusading faith in concern about public health--and his suit was apparently absorbed into one brought by the State of California. The result, of course, is that you can't buy tar shampoo in CA any more, and certain shampoo manufacturers have changed the active ingredient in their products. This despite the fact that the FDA has determined that the concentrations in shampoos pose no cancer risk.

For me, tar shampoo is the only option. The alternative is nonstop crusty itchiness. Can anyone else who uses tar shampoo imagine using a regular shampoo? Since I now have to plan my shampoo purchases online months in advance, and pay a delivery fee, I would like to present Perry Gottesfeld with a Mark Twain Steel Trap Award, on behalf of all those in California who suffer from eczema and psoriasis.

(Perry, this one's for you.)

Anyway, the point of this blog is that even tar shampoo is only a holding measure. We shouldn't be satisfied with the half-assed chronic eczema management that the medical establishment is dictating for us. Moisturize, use soap sparingly, use steroids to control flares (note: I'd been using steroids for a decade before anyone told me either about side effects or how to apply them properly), avoid triggers. Etc. And, for no good reason, you'll still wake up some morning having scratched the hell out of your hands or the inside of your elbows or whatever. There are better therapies out there to be discovered.

Next post I am going to announce another prizewinner. Stay tuned.