South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Common antibiotic must not be taken with caffeine, dairy
Q: My doctor prescribed the antibiotic Cipro for an infection. I took the first dose with breakfast. The rest of the morning, I felt as if I had caffeine zooming through my veins.
After my second dose, I ate some chocolate ice cream. That also made me feel wired.
Neither my doctor nor pharmacist warned me not to drink coffee or eat chocolate. They also did not caution me to avoid dairy when taking Cipro. Is there a safer alternative to this antibiotic? A: Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and similar fluoroquinolone antibiotics are usually reserved “for use in patients who have no alternative treatment options” for certain common infections. Your physician and pharmacist should have warned you to avoid all caffeinated beverages, including soft drinks. Caffeine is also found in some pain relievers like Excedrin.
Cipro slows the elimination of caffeine from the body and may trigger nervousness and a rapid heartrate. Chocolate may also pose a problem.
Ice cream and other dairy products may interfere with the absorption of this antibiotic. Antacids also interact to make ciprofloxacin less effective. Ask your doctor about an alternate treatment.
Q: I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled on your post about someone using Neosporin on their toenails. I’d spent years trying everything on my thick, crumbly toenails, including home preparations with coconut and essential oils. So, I thought, what the heck, I might as well give it a try. Within two days, there was a huge improvement. I have no idea why.
A: We have been surprised by the number of people who report success with Neosporin on nasty nails. It turns out that not all nail problems are caused by fungal infections. Sometimes, the pathogen is bacterial and responds to an antibiotic ointment.
Q: My husband must have been one of the first to take Dupixent for eczema because other prescriptions hadn’t worked. When his eyesight began to fail, the dermatologist assured him it couldn’t be the drug. He even spoke to the manufacturer, who said they had no reports of eye problems.
He saw several eye specialists and eventually was referred to a retina specialist. That doctor determined Dupixent was the most likely cause of his eye problems and took him off of it.
Many months and several extremely expensive eye treatments have followed. He’ll have to continue them for at least two years.
It doesn’t amaze us that Dupixent commercials now mention possible eye problems! The drug removed 90% of the eczema, but it wasn’t worth it.
A: There is a medical term for eye problems linked to dupilumab (Dupixent). It is DAOSD, or dupilumab-associated ocular surface disease. The most common eye side effects are conjunctivitis and keratitis. There are also reports of serious eye inflammation (Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, July 2022).
Because this monoclonal antibody suppresses the immune system, some patients have developed herpes infections in their eyes (Acta Dermato-Venereologica, April 1, 2019). The authors recommend that dermatologists collaborate with ophthalmologists when prescribing this drug for severe eczema.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Send questions to them via www. peoplespharmacy.com.