Laxative cured girl’s unpleasant foot odor
Q. Years ago, I read in your column that magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) works as an underarm deodorant when applied topically. This year, my daughter came home from summer camp with a bad foot stink she’d never had before. I rubbed some milk of magnesia on her feet before bed for a few nights, and it took care of the problem.
A. Thank you for sharing this intriguing story. Seventeen years ago, we received this message from a reader: “I want to share a remedy I learned about when traveling in Brazil. Just apply milk of magnesia to your armpits. It is the best underarm deodorant!”
We tried this approach ourselves and found that it was surprisingly effective against body odor. We have not found any research to explain why magnesium hydroxide, an ingredient in some antacids and liquid laxatives, would control unpleasant smells. One possibility is that changing the pH of the skin alters bacterial balance and discourages odor.
Q. You’ve written about nighttime leg cramps, which have been troubling me lately. Even turning over in bed to relieve hip pain gets the cramps going, and I have to jump out of bed to try to stop them.
Many years ago, my doctor would order quinine. After taking it for a few nights, I’d be cramp free for months, but it was taken off the market.
I don’t understand why it can’t be prescribed any more. Over-thecounter meds do nothing for cramps. Some people take marijuana as medicine, so why not quinine?
A. Quinine was once a mainstay of treatment against malaria. Doctors also prescribed it for leg cramps. At one time, quinine was sold over the counter for cramps.
It can cause serious side effects, though. Some people develop irregular heart rhythms or life-threatening anemia. Others may experience headaches, changes in vision, tinnitus, rash, itching, nausea and liver damage. If taken during pregnancy, quinine sometimes causes birth defects.
All that led the Food and Drug Administration to ban its use in over-thecounter cramp remedies in 1994. Subsequently, the agency has prohibited doctors from prescribing quinine for anything other than malaria. The reasoning is that malaria can be lifethreatening and is therefore worth the risk of side effects. Leg cramps, while painful, are not life-threatening.
Some people find that a glass of tonic water can help relieve cramps, although it contains far less quinine than you used to take in your medicine. That may be due to the bitter taste of quinine. Strong flavors, such as vinegar, capsaicin or ginger, stimulate special channels on the nerves (transient receptor potential aka TRP channels). This activity can interrupt the muscle contractions of cramps.
We discuss many other approaches to easing leg cramps in our book “The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies.” If you cannot find it at your local library, you can get a copy from the bookstore at www.Peoples Pharmacy.com.
Q. You have written about heartburn drugs called PPIs. What are they? Is Pepcid or Tums included in this category?
A. PPI stands for proton pump inhibitor. These are powerful acid-suppressing drugs such as esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) and omeprazole (Prilosec).
Pepcid, on the other hand, is known by the generic name famotidine. It is classified as a histamine H2 blocker rather than a PPI. It is not as strong an acid suppressor.
Tums contains calcium carbonate. It buffers stomach acid to temporarily ease symptoms of indigestion.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or email them via their website: www.Peoples Pharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”