The search for shampoo

Someone gave me a pack of Nivea "sensitive" products for Christmas. It's taken me a long time to report on them as it's taken me a long time to test them.

That's not quite true. There is a shaving cream, which is just fine. It's main plant ingredient is chamomile, which we know is okay, and some palm oil product.

So I have been thinking that Nivea might have solved the problem and produced a range of salicylate free bathroom goods.

This week I tried the shower gel. It seemed okay. The Splodge, which was The Ring, did not flare up. But in the light of day I have just checked the ingredients, which are written in incredibly small print. They are radically different from the shaving cream and include sodium salicylate, citric acid and I suspect quite a lot of coconut oil.

So why no reaction? If you remember the Imperial Leather test, that particular product is choc-a-bloc with salicylate, and long before I knew anything about this problem it used to leave me bright red and scorched after a shower.

As stated earlier we do have cold viruses around so my immune system may be a little low this week. And until my encounter with the Tandoori prawns I had been successfully observing a salicylate-free life. Perhaps I will try a little again sometime.

Some advice to manufacturers: you are not "sensitive" if you include salicylates; nor are you "sensitive" if you write your ingredients in tiny print.

RAS

Flu!

 I'm not sure if my weekend excesses were responsible but today I woke up and discovered the dreaded flu bug had struck - seemingly out of the blue. My voice was all but gone and my shoulders and upper chested ached. I thought something was wrong after the weekend when I did indulge in quite a bit of wine. At the time I seemed not to suffer any ill-effects but I began to get uncomfortable by Monday. Now it seems it was a virus gestating.

I took two montelukasts over the weekend, the first in some time. I wonder whether they weaken the immune system. Whatever has happened, on this occasion my once hyperactive immune system has not saved me.

I've just eaten a Bakewell tart to get my blood sugar levels up and wake me up to do this entry. It contains jam and coconut. Based on my experience with my first cold before Christmas, I might have hoped not to suffer reactions because of the virus infection. Not this time. I think it's just aggravated the discomfort in my throat.

RAS