Thursday, November 15, 2007
Q. I have had a problem with underarm odor for the past several months. It occurs even when I am not active. I use an antibacterial soap and have increased the strength of my antiperspirants. First I switched to Mitchum and now to an even stronger and more expensive one.
The problem is still there. One arm is worse than the other. My doctor has no answers. Please give me a natural solution to this and explain why it is occurring.
A. We’re afraid we can’t tell you why, but we may have a possible solution. Milk of magnesia is sold as a laxative, but readers of this column have suggested applying it to armpits as a gentle deodorant. We have tried it ourselves and found that it reduces odor surprisingly well. Please let us know if it helps you.
Q. When the skin on my fingertips cracks open, the splits are painful and take a long time to heal. I went to a dermatologist for a series of different pills and lotions, but nothing has worked.
This problem seems to happen more in the winter months. It just started again, with cracks on two fingertips of my left hand. What can you suggest?
A. Dermatologists sometimes recommend moisturizers, “the greasier the better.” By these standards, plain petroleum jelly should work great. But many readers tell us that Vicks VapoRub is especially helpful against splitting skin on the fingertips. The herbal oils in the petrolatum base seem to add a little extra power.
Another great greasy remedy for cracked fingertips is A&D Ointment. This contains vitamins A and D in a petrolatum base and seems to help fingertips heal faster.
A couple of other old-fashioned approaches to this problem include Bag Balm (again, this uses petrolatum as the base) or Udder Cream (which sponsors our radio show). Both products were originally designed to keep cows’ udders from chapping in cold weather. If you apply any of these moisturizers at night, wear light cotton gloves like the ones photographers use for handling negatives. They’ll keep the sheets from getting too greasy.
One last approach readers have recommended is sealing the cracks with instant glue. A liquid-bandage product from Band-Aid is formulated for skin and less likely to be irritating than a household adhesive.
Q. My husband’s toenail fungus was terrible. I read your article about using vinegar and water to heal the fungus. My husband started this treatment a few months ago, soaking his feet almost every night. The toenails on one foot are completely healed, and the other foot only has one toenail left that is affected. Thanks for such good advice.
A. Soaking the feet nightly in a solution of one part vinegar to two parts water is a remedy that seems to help many people fight off nail fungus. It takes patience, since the nail has to grow out fungus-free. That may take many months.
If vinegar soaks do not help, there are a number of other home remedies that can be helpful, such as applications of tea tree oil, vitamin E oil, rubbing alcohol and iodine.
For those with hard-to-treat nail fungus, we offer our Guides to Home Remedies and Nail Care with more details and a way to dissolve diseased nails without surgery.
XIn their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of The Vindicator e-mail them via their Web site:
www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
© 2007 King Features Syndicate Inc.