How much government control can we stand? Sometimes the FDA does things that make me crazy. Case in point – the product formerly known as OUTGROW, for the treatment of ingrown toenails.
I suffer with ingrown toenails. They are painful and frankly make me a little cranky (okay, really cranky big time). The FDA required the maker of Outgrow to change its name to Outgro, and it was required to remove the active ingredient tannic acid and start using the same ineffectual ingredients of other competitors because the tannic acid made for unfair competition against other companies not using it. Now all products have 1% sodium sulfide (which does nothing to relieve the pain or harden the surrounding skin). Without tannic acid, nothing works.
Let me get this straight… there once was a superior product – one that worked SO much better than the rest… but the good ol’ FDA stepped in and made the manufacturers jump through a bunch of hoops because their product was SO much better than the rest??? Excuse me… say WHAT??? That’s perfect sense – let’s take the only product that worked effectively and make it just as ineffective as all the other products so the playing field will be more fair in the marketplace. Oh brother!
Why couldn’t the FDA require all of the products to include tannic acid instead of forcing OUTGROW to remove it??? That is just maddening to me!
As I kept researching this, the FDA suspected that folks were assuming that the name OUTGROW meant that their ingrown toenail would magically begin growing back out if they use the product. Speaking as a consumer, I never made any such assumption, but I did buy more than one bottle of it – because (and follow me here)… IT WORKED!
But now there are no effective products on the market to treat ingrown toenails. No, we are forced to live in horrible pain or run to the doctor for treatment. Have you ever gone to the doctor for treatment? I hope I never have to do that again. They numbed my big toe and cut along the whole side of the toenail. As a result of that surgery I had several complications. Sigh.
If only I would have had my old OUTGROW. But no – the FDA, (bless their sweet little gizzards), in their infinite wisdom, saw fit to steal my OUTGROW and leave me with OUTGRO which is like putting nothing on an ingrown toenail. Sodium sulfide – BAH!
Here’s the deal… the tannic acid in the old Outgrow was effective because it hardened the skin around the affected area. It made the pain go away, which, if I’m not mistaken, is sort of the point of treating it. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I’ve read that it’s possible to make your own potion with liquid tannic acid, but nobody has posted a “recipe” for this medicine – and I need to know what to mix together and how much. If any of you have that information, please leave it for me in the comments. Thanks!
Here’s my letter to the FDA:
Dear FDA,
Please let OUTGROW be OUTGROW, not OUTGRO. Please… I want the original formula to be allowed back on the shelves of pharmacies everywhere. That would make everybody in my village very, very happy! Thank you! – Linda
I’m also praying that somehow the Lord will lead someone with influence at the FDA to see this post. God can do anything, right?
I just wish the federal government would stay out of my medicine cabinet. 😦
HEART HUNGER 