Baltimore Sun

Usefulness of meat tenderizer on mosquito bites is a toss-up

- By Joe Graedon, M.S., and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D. King Features Syndicate In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Send questions to them via www. peoplespha­rmacy.com.

Q: I have mixed saliva and Adolph’s unseasoned meat tenderizer to immediatel­y take the itch and swelling out of mosquito bites. Just smear the paste on the area around the bite. I understand that the enzyme that the female mosquito injects in its bite to keep blood flowing is neutralize­d by the enzymes in the meat tenderizer. Apparently, that stops the itch reaction.

I have “skeeter syndrome” and am the choice victim of mosquitoes. This is the only thing that works! I would like to know what I can take that would make me invisible to those critters!

A: Most people are familiar with the itch from mosquito bites. We first learned about meat tenderizer for insect stings from an article in JAMA (April 24, 1972). Subsequent research on the papaya enzyme in tenderizer has not confirmed usefulness against stings or bites.

People with “skeeter syndrome” (an actual medical term) have more intense reactions that last longer. There are few well-tested treatments for this exaggerate­d reaction. To keep mosquitoes from biting, doctors usually recommend an effective insect repellent such as DEET or picaridin (Allergolog­ie Select, Nov. 30, 2020). Visitors to our website often recommend the B vitamin thiamine. Scientific research, however, has not shown that taking oral thiamine deters mosquitoes (Journal of the American Mosquito Control Associatio­n, June 2005). A

review of studies on this topic concludes: “... in controlled experiment­s, thiamine does not appear to repel biting insects of any species, in humans or animals, at any dose, over any period of time, and in any formulatio­n: topical, oral, subcutaneo­us, or transderma­l” (Bulletin of Entomologi­cal Research, Feb. 24, 2022).

Q: I had the bottom of one foot covered with warts. When I mentioned this to my family doctor, he said he’d heard Tagamet could cure them. It took about two weeks for the warts to disappear. A:

A small study in the journal Medical Sciences (June 2018) tested the value of the heartburn medicine cimetidine (Tagamet) in the treatment of recalcitra­nt warts. The children were heart transplant patients, so their immune systems were suppressed. Such patients are especially vulnerable to warts. Cimetidine may be an immune modulating drug. Treatment for three to six months with cimetidine got rid of the warts in all but one child.

The authors concluded: “Since many convention­al treatments for warts are painful, expensive and may cause scarring, cimetidine offers a safe alternativ­e treatment for cutaneous warts in pediatric heart transplant recipients.”

Q: You have written about the benefits of the mineral magnesium. However, there should be a cautionary comment for anyone who takes magnesium supplement­s. Magnesium supplement­s can cause severe diarrhea and electrolyt­e imbalance in those with a sensitive gut, such as people with irritable bowel syndrome. People taking magnesium should be closely monitored. A:

You are quite right that magnesium can have a laxative effect that may be unwelcome in some cases. In addition, those with reduced kidney function should avoid magnesium supplement­s, as these can strain the kidneys.

 ?? DREAMSTIME ?? The papaya enzyme found in meat tenderizer has not been confirmed as useful against stings or bites.
DREAMSTIME The papaya enzyme found in meat tenderizer has not been confirmed as useful against stings or bites.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States