Barbie drug

This is the colloquial name for a medication called melantonin which produces a darkened skin similar to the tan sported by Barbie doll in her beach mode.  It does look oddly unnatural.

There are two forms of melantonin. Melantonin-I was designed to treat a very rare genetic disorder.  It is melantonin-II, a drug on which work was suspended because the side effects were so dire, that is being used to give an instant sun tan.  The Australian Government warns people not to use it and lists side effects as increased moles and freckles, nausea and loss of appetite (it is also used to lose weight), flushing of the face, involuntary stretching and yawning, and spontaneous erections.  The UK health authority lists acne, kidney, brain and heart problems.

But it is very tempting to some to take a miracle drug to achieve beauty.  One advertising jingle says ‘A nasal spray a day keeps the paleness away’. That dreaded paleness!