A Squeeze of the Hand

We recorded forty-five-minute dialogues for thirty straight days around New York City. Half these talks took place at a Union Square health-food store that we call “W.F.” Other locations included MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera House, Central Park, Prospect Park, and a Tribeca parking garage. What follows is our twentieth conversation. Here sickness, emptiness, a train delay, and an argument seem to prefigure disaster and the project’s sudden end. But this disaster—much like the two-character Japanese word for “crisis”: the first one meaning “danger,” the second, “opportunity”—offers clarities perhaps best expressed by a Japanese proverb:Luck turns Wait

Toxic Effects of Skin-Lightening Products in Canadian Immigrants

Background: The cultural practice of skin bleaching is highly prevalent in Africa. Most reported cases of toxic effects of skin-lightening products occur in this region. Objective: To describe cases of misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cosmetic skin-lightening products occurring in Canadian immigrants. Methods: Two cases of Canadian immigrants with severe complications from OTC skin-bleaching agents were identified in a community-based dermatology practice in Toronto. The case histories were reviewed and analyzed. Results: A 28-year-old African-Canadian woman developed extensive striae from long-term use of a topical cream containing clobetasol that she had purchased in a Caribbean health food store. A 55-year-old African-Canadian woman developed exogenous ochronosis from the use of a topical bleaching agent she had purchased in Ghana. Conclusion: Cosmetic skin lightening with unregulated topical products occurs in Canada. Dermatologists working in Canada need to be aware of this practice to provide appropriate directive care.