On warfarin? Go easy on cranberries

Q. I take the anti-coagulant Coumadin, and I have read that drinking cranberry juice might increase my risk of bleeding. Would that hold for cranberry sauce as well? I love it.
A. There is still no consensus that cranberries interact with warfarin (Coumadin), but British health authorities have issued a warning about this combination. It is likely to apply to cranberries and cranberry sauce as well as juice.
A small taste might not hurt, but we would discourage you from overdoing it. The consequence could be a dangerous bleeding episode.
Q. My 3-year-old son continues to have problems with ear infections, even though he got ear tubes when he was 8 months old. He now has another infection, with chest congestion and a cough.
I was looking for home remedies for coughs when I found your Web site. I read about putting Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet. Within 10 minutes of applying it, he was asleep without a cough. Thanks!
A. We can't explain how smearing Vicks on the soles of the feet could take away a cough, but many others have told us it works. Be sure to put socks on him to protect the sheets.
Q. A man who wrote in about terrible leg cramps was told about all kinds of wacky home remedies like soap under the bottom sheet. I can't believe you didn't tell him about the one thing that would work: quinine! It gives instant relief with one pill.
A. Quinine was once available over the counter to prevent leg cramps, but now requires a prescription. The Food and Drug Administration decided that quinine pills are too dangerous for people to take without medical supervision.
Quinine can still be found in tonic water. One reader discovered the hazards, however: "One evening I drank 5 ounces of tonic water; the next morning I was in the emergency room with a frightening skin reaction. I was hospitalized for many days.
"My platelet count dropped to 1,000. Now it has gradually come back up to 266,000. I was diagnosed with ITP [idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura], triggered by the quinine in the water. It nearly killed me."
Although ITP is rare, this life-threatening blood disorder can be triggered by quinine. We describe other ways to treat restless legs or cramps in our Guide to Leg Pain.
XIn their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
& copy; 2005 King Features Syndicate Inc.