Paying price for summer’s sins
OH those lazy days laying by the Olympic pool at the Moree Bore Baths, day after day, weekend after weekend, never-ending bliss.
And like the colours of autumn, so did my skin colour change.
White turned to pink, pink turned to red, red turned to brown and back again to white.
Painful at times, but there had to be a price if you wanted to looked bronze like Johnny Weissmuller.
Besides vitamin D is good for you, right?
And while I was pursuing that bronze appearance, many children of the 50s, 60s and 70s were doing likewise.
Mrs J told me her family enjoyed annual holidays at Surfers Paradise where, for a few pennies, you could have your body sprayed with the suntan lotion “Hawaiian Tropic” while the PA blasted out, “It’s time to turn or you’ll get a red face and even more so you’ll burn your torso”.
Nice!
As middle-age approached, and didn’t that come quickly, things started to go wrong and I had my first encounter with a dermatologist, and I’ve been “encountering” them ever since.
As my hair was saying farewell, new friends were saying hello, friends like spots and blotches and sores.
Enough was enough, and so I sought my dermatologist’s advice once more and he put me onto a cream named “Efudex” otherwise known as “Fluorouracil”.
All I had to do was to apply the cream to all of my face, avoiding conred tact with mouth and eyes, twice a day for one month.
The first week was fine, not much change to my appearance.
In week two, things started to turn nasty and my face went from pink to and finally to a crusty maroon.
One could be forgiven for thinking I had glued cornflakes to my face, such was my appearance.
I sought advice from my friendly general practitioner and she delivered the best news I’ve ever heard, “Three weeks and just application a day”. One week to go.
Finally it was all over, and that was when the real pain started because every time I put water or “soothing” moisturiser on my face I’d go into spasms akin to Bill Hayley and the Comets’ 1950s hit, Shake, Rattle and Roll.
Back to the GP, and she prescribed cortisone ointment to soothe, and soothe it did.
Six weeks later, and I am at peace, no discomfort and my face is as smooth as a baby’s bottom.
Efudex hurts, that’s true, but it also heals.
I would do it all again, although I hope that won’t be the case.
Talk to your GP.