Last week, I found myself standing half-naked on the sidewalk outside a CVS in Brooklyn, frantically attempting to apply daubs of aloe vera gel and hydrocortisone to the bit of my back between the shoulder blades all while dramatically squirming in pain. Passersby enjoying ice cream in the oppressive heat glanced at me before quickly looking away – and rightly so. I looked insane, but I had read online that these gels would relieve my pain. I slathered on half a tube and waited for relief.
Instead I was struck with only further agony: it felt like I was being stabbed by the sharp point of a thousand compasses, while lemon juice and itching powder was rubbed into the wounds.
