A Simple Solution Fixed His Gas Problem
Question: My husband, a 77-year-old medical doctor who still works, suffered from severe flatulence for almost two years. Believe me, it’s no joke. He switched to soy milk and tried Beano to no avail. Doctors and pharmacists didn’t help.
Then a wise Hungarian masseuse suggested flax seed powder: one tablespoon with juice twice a day, and two capsules of fennel seed, taken two or three times a day. Both are available at health food stores. Within a few days the gas was gone. On this regimen he has been free of flatulence for six months.
Answer: Flax seed powder and fennel have traditionally been used for digestive problems. Although we haven’t seen any studies to confirm their use against gas, your husband’s experience sounds promising.
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Q: What’s the best way to sterilize a needle? Every time our 5-year-old daughter gets a splinter, there is a family argument. My husband insists on waving a lit match under the needle for about five seconds. In my family we always dipped the needle in alcohol. Our daughter gets upset when we disagree over this and sometimes refuses to let us remove the splinter at all.
A: We’re not sure either technique will sterilize a needle. A few seconds under a match may not be adequate, and a quick dip in alcohol is unlikely to kill all germs either. Soaking the needle for 10 minutes would be a safer approach, but most people don’t have the patience when there is a painful splinter.
Why not try a doctor-recommended home remedy? Dr. Russell Copelan offered the following: Cover the splinter with a little patch of salicylic acid plaster, the kind you would use to treat a wart. Some of them come with adhesive built in, but others need to be held in place with a bandage. Leave it on for 12 hours. It should ease the discomfort, and, in most cases, the splinter will work its way out after a few days.
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Q: I am worried about my husband, but he won’t take my concern seriously. He often stays up late watching Jay Leno or David Letterman on TV, or wakes up early in the morning and listens to talk radio.
I think the lack of sleep is affecting his memory and his judgment, not to mention his mood, but he ridicules this idea and says he doesn’t need much sleep. He refuses to see a doctor because he doesn’t want to take sleeping pills. Is there any way to help him get more sleep without drugs?
A: Your husband, like millions of other Americans, may be chronically sleep-deprived. Does he sleep late on the weekends? Does he fall asleep while watching TV or reading?
People who do not get adequate sleep are often forgetful, irritable, less productive and more vulnerable to accidents or injury. Insomnia may also affect the immune system and increase the risk of infection.
Prescription sleeping pills can be useful but may lead to a vicious cycle of dependence. Stopping them could result in terrible insomnia as well as anxiety, panic and memory problems.
Exercise during the day, carbohydrate snacks before bedtime, relaxation audio tapes and calming herbs such as catnip, hops or valerian can all be helpful.
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* Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Send questions to them at People’s Pharmacy, c/o King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017, or e-mail PHARMACY@mindspring.com.
