Alcohol May Alter Effect of Medicine
Question: I enjoy a drink before dinner and a glass of wine during dinner. I take the blood pressure medicine verapamil at bedtime. Are there any interactions I should know about?
Answer: Verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan) increases blood alcohol levels. This could magnify the effects of your drinks. If you had to get up at night, you might be unsteady and fall.
People often do not realize that many medicines may interact with alcohol to produce unpleasant reactions. Acetaminophen, aspirin, cimetidine (Tagamet), ibuprofen and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) are a few drugs whose effects may be altered by alcohol.
Q: I have found that applying antiperspirant to areas such as the groin and under the breasts can prevent fungal infections and itching, 90% of the time. My only concern is an e-mail rumor about antiperspirants causing breast cancer. Should I worry?
A: The fungi that cause jock itch and related problems thrive in warm, moist places. When you use antiperspirant to prevent sweating, you deprive these organisms of the moisture they love.
Some dermatologists recommend applying antiperspirant to the feet to prevent foot odor and athlete’s foot. A double-blind study conducted on more than 600 cadets at the U.S. Military Academy found that those who used antiperspirant on their feet for three nights before a long hike were less than half as likely to get blisters.
Although the claim linking antiperspirants to breast cancer has circulated widely on the Internet, there is no good science behind it.
Q: After a strenuous two-week walking tour of Europe, I got home and began experiencing increasing numbness and tingling on the bottoms of my feet.
When I developed similar sensations in my hands, I sought help from my orthopedist. Finding nothing to cause my symptoms, the orthopedist sent me to a neurologist for tests, including a back MRI looking for spinal stenosis. He ordered a nutritional analysis and discovered that I suffered from vitamin B-6 toxicity.
My multiple-vitamin supplement contains a lot more than the recommended dietary allowance for several B vitamins. They are supposed to be water-soluble, but somehow in my system, the B-6 built up to toxic levels, causing the neuropathies. About a week after discontinuing that supplement, the symptoms disappeared.
A: Vitamin B-6 is known to cause nerve damage at high levels. Most people tolerate doses up to 25 milligrams or even 50 milligrams a day without trouble. The symptoms you describe (numbness and tingling in the extremities) are typical of neuropathy.
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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 People’s Pharmacy, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019, or e-mail them at pharmacy@mindspring.com.
