KZBlog

You're both right! It's a dye and an antisceptic

I seem to be full of cultural notes these days. But a great mystery was solved for me the other day. A number of times riding the bus or walking down the street or waiting in line somewhere, I have noticed people with green spots on them. Usually on their faces but in some cases I have seen them with green streaks all over their bodies. At first I thought it was some horrible fungal disease. This was confirmed when I realized that such people were often talking about how they had just come from the doctor. Taking a closer look I realized that this stuff must be some kind of medicine. But what kind of weird disease made doctors feel that they should dye your skin green? It must be an extremely contagious disease.

Well, finally, I discovered that this stuff is a medicine and it does dye your skin green, but that isn’t on purpose. My wife cut herself with a knife the other day and asked me to bring her the “Brillant Green”. I had no idea what this stuff was but low and behold, when she applied it, I realized it was this mysterious green medicine I had been seeing. Turns out it’s an antiseptic and also a dye used mainly for wool and silk products.

Incidentally this revelation also came as good news because I didn’t know we had an antiseptic in the house. So tip #342 for expats in the former Soviet Union: if you need an antiseptic for a cut, ask for iodine OR brillant green!