Q. I have been with my partner for 10 years and we are finally talking marriage. But we just found out he has herpes.
He swears he has not been with anyone but me in our 10 years, but isn’t this a sexually transmitted disease? He claims the doctor said he could have gotten it a long time ago. This doesn’t make sense to me.
I am real upset. He used the medicine and the blisters are gone, but I’m still afraid to have sex with him. I could catch herpes, couldn’t I?
A. Your partner could well be telling the truth. Herpes can remain dormant for many years and emerge decades later.
There are effective anti-viral medications that can prevent outbreaks. Nevertheless, your partner should use condoms to avoid passing the virus to you.
Q. Do Tums react with any medicines? I take Tums for calcium. Sometimes I take them together with other drugs.
A. Calcium carbonate in Tums can interfere with the absorption of antibiotics such as tetracycline or ciprofloxacin (Cipro). The thyroid supplement levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl) is also affected by calcium. None of these compounds should be taken within two hours of Tums.
Q. I have questions about importing prescription drugs from foreign countries. I wrote to my senator, who responded that Canadian drugs may be harmful because we don’t know if they are pure, plus it is illegal to buy them.
Why is it illegal to buy from Canada and not from Mexico? I never read stories of illegal sales of prescription drugs from Mexico. Are big drug companies just putting pressure on Canada because of the volume of sales?
A. It is illegal to buy medicines from Canada, Mexico, France or any other country in the world, even if the pills are manufactured in U.S. plants. That’s the position of the FDA.
This may soon change, however. Many states are actively challenging the federal government on what they see as protection for the pharmaceutical industry. Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services, who oversees the FDA, has recently done an about face. He has advised President Bush not to stand in the way of legislation legalizing drug importation.
Q. We are using more and more plastic containers these days. I am concerned that some of the chemicals in plastic are leaching into the foods and liquids that are in them.
For example, I drink distilled water. However, lately the water tastes so much of plastic I stopped drinking it. Drinks from plastic containers always taste different than those from glass containers. This can’t be good for humans, though I am sure the plastic industry will refute this.
Do you know of any studies on this issue? Any information you can send would be appreciated.
A. You’re right that the plastic industry maintains that there is no problem. But some researchers report that chemicals in plastic may migrate into foods and beverages. Polycarbonate baby bottles, for example, may leach an estrogenic compound called bisphenol A as they degrade.
For an in-depth discussion of the health effects of plastic, we would like to send you a one-hour conversation with leading researchers. Anyone who would like a CD of this radio interview may send $15 to Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, Dept. CD-470, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717.
