Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Beware the Holiday Lotion

Funny and true story:

The day before I left to come to Hong Kong (last week Wednesday), I talked to Fantastic Man on the phone. He was upset about how things were wrapping up on the job in PNG, and was venting a little bit. At the end of our conversation he happened to mention that he was concerned because his fingernails were turning orangy-brown, and so was the skin between his fingers. . .

I questioned him if he was using anything different, cleaning products, chemicals, etc., but he SWORE nothing had changed in his regime.

I researched the problem briefly on Google, finding nothing about orange or brown nails and skin, but yellowing could be a sign of liver damage, so I figured he'd either contracted some strange tropical nail/skin fungus, or had finally just rightly done his liver in.

Upon our arrival in Hong Kong, I closely examined his Johnson & Johnson "Holiday" lotion that he had bought on his weekend jaunt to Cairns, Australia (when he had to renew his visa). Seems it "gradually builds a beautiful, light tan" and has firm instructions to wash hands vigorously and thoroughly after use. . .

Guess who didn't read the directions. Or even the front of the bottle. Hence, his strange discolorations. It was also in his eyebrows and along his hairline.

Quite funny