It`s not that we don`t feel your pain. We do, we do. We just wish you could cope with it a little more stylishly. So on these pages we`ve collected some home remedies that are big on visual appeal.
Please note: not one of them is flesh-colored.
While it`s premature to consign the trusty Ace bandage to the garbage can, a growing number of self-heal products turning up on the market have what almost passes for a fashion or design sense. And they`re turning up in conspicuous consuming catalogs like those by Sharper Image and Hammacher Schlemmer-the very same books that cashed in on the fitness movement in the 1980s.
Another passing trend? Perhaps not. Most trendwatchers agree that the fitness boom bottomed out a few years ago (mainly because the boomers themselves got older). But in the `90s, ”health care” are buzzwords and
”affordable” is the key.” According to experts, eight of every 10 visits to internists and pediatricians are for minor conditions that would either go away by themselves or could be self-treated.
The bulk of the self-treatment-type products turning up these days are targeted to on-the-run and weekend warrior types-hence the scores of massage devices.
But there`s a new market niche that looks ready to explode: consumers who toil in painful workplaces. They want back supports for killer chairs and wrist supports for carpal tunnel syndrome. But they don`t want something that makes them feel like they`re ready for a nursing home.
Contemporary-looking products are certainly one of the reasons why the Self Care catalog has been so successful. Started by a physician in 1986, Self Care is now mailed to 2 million homes,” according to Christine Rickard, marketing coordinator.
All this doesn`t surprise Dr. Terri Dallas, director of the pain clinic at Day Surgicenter, 18 S. Michigan Ave.
”People are more into health care,” she says. ”They`re taking care of themselves, and if that doesn`t work, then they come to a physician.”
Along with products like those pictured here, Dallas also recommends old standbys-aspirin or ibuprofen (with the caveat that they can cause stomach upset). And remember: cold packs for new injuries, heat for chronic pain.
”The mom remedies are best,” she explains.
Mom? Now there`s a marketing concept if ever we heard one.
