This Saved My Neck!

This is what I have been using in place of my soap and shower gel for the past 7 days: Pinetarsol.  If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a soap-free, non-drying cleanser that actively relieves red, itchy skin and moisturizes too!  And it’s imported all the way from Australia.

Why have I been using it?

SIGH.  About 2 weeks ago, I started to develop an angry itch and rash on my neck area.  The bumps felt slightly raised and would not go away even though I diligently moisturized every single day.  The rash did not go away even when I eliminated all skincare products except my regular moisturizer.  When it began to spread to my collar bone area, I saw my skin doctor immediately.

He diagnosed it as neck eczema, and when I remarked that I had never gotten eczema on the neck, he replied that there was a first time for everything.

Hmmph.  So much for being medically technical.

Anyway, the rash went away after about 2-3 days of using Pinetarsol and applying a cream prescribed by the doctor.  I’m as happy as a lark, except that for the past week, I have been smelling like bathroom cleaner!  Yes, that’s what Pinetarsol smells like.  It’s quite a watery solution, and is brown in color.  It contains pine tar, hence the name, and apart from the smell which is NOT AT ALL like soap, it does cleanse well.  The smell wears off a while after your bath though.

Well, thank goodness the itchy rash is gone.  But I’m not going back to that skin doctor again.  Had a row with him because he would not give me an itemized bill…I mean, that’s like not letting me know what I am charged for, right?  Does anyone know if I can bring this up in some consumer rights society or something?