Q. I am 74 with fine hair. A month ago I came down with a case of lice after a visit to a barber shop.
My doctor recommended Rid. I used it twice with no success. I bought a product on the Internet and it did no better. We have washed the sheets and clothes every day, vacuumed, etc. Any recommendation?
A. Most people think of lice in terms of children at daycare or summer camp. But lice don’t care about age. Anyone can be susceptible.
In some communities, lice have become resistant to the usual treatments. Alternative approaches include HairClean 1-2-3, a product containing coconut oil, anise oil and ylang ylang oil in an alcohol base. To locate it, check the Web site: www.hairclean.com or call (800) 448-1448.
The alcohol base may add to its anti-lice power. Another product that contains alcohol and has been used against lice is old-fashioned Listerine mouthwash. Massage it into the scalp, cover the head with a towel and leave the Listerine on for 15 minutes. Then shampoo it out. You may have to do this every few days to kill off the emerging lice.
Q. I am just recovering from a terrible cough and infection that my doctor diagnosed as walking pneumonia. This is the second time I have come down with pneumonia, and my doctor has warned me to stop taking Prevacid. He prescribed it for reflux. Now my heartburn is back, but he says he won’t prescribe another drug. Can I take Prilosec OTC or is there something else that will work?
A. Medications like Prevacid, Prilosec, Aciphex or Nexium reduce stomach acid very well. So do OTC drugs like Tagamet, Pepcid and Zantac.
Researchers have wondered whether reducing acid so dramatically might allow bacteria and viruses from food and water to survive in the stomach. Stomach acid normally kills germs, but if they survive they may get into the lungs.
Your physician may be reacting to an article (JAMA Oct. 27, 2004) linking acid-suppressing drugs to pneumonia. That is why you probably should avoid Prilosec OTC and other powerful reflux medicines.
Antacids don’t modify stomach acid long enough to cause complications. Sipping Chamomile tea, chewing gum or sucking on hard candy are surprisingly effective for heartburn. Many readers tell us that a spoonful of yellow mustard, though it may not be palatable, can stop heartburn quickly. So can baking soda in water, although the sodium content is too high for long-term use.
We are sending you our Guide to Digestive Disorders for more information on heartburn remedies. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $2 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (60 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. G-3, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
Q. Hand sanitizers are very effective and do not require wetting or drying off hands. But they are worse than soap for some people.
My six-year-old daughter can not use them. Every time she does, her skin turns bright red and hurts.
Every year I tell her teachers that she will not be using hand sanitizers. No soap that she has used ever caused this problem. I just thought you might like to know that some people have to use soap instead.
A. Frequent hand-washing, whether with soap and water or waterless sanitizers, is the best way to avoid colds and flu. Other readers also report that sanitizers may be irritating.
