Expert reassures about raisin remedy
Q. I read an inquiry from a bus driver who was worried that eating gin-soaked raisins to ease joint pain would trigger a positive breath alcohol result. As a certified BAT (breath alcohol technician), I would like to reassure that bus driver.
If the alcohol content in nine raisins is truly only one drop, it would not be enough to trigger a positive breath alcohol test. You wrote about a North Carolina sheriff who was arrested for driving while intoxicated after eating several handfuls of gin-soaked raisins. They must have been really big handfuls if he blew a 0.07 alcohol reading.
Even if the bus driver was tested immediately after eating nine gin-soaked raisins and blew a positive result of .02 or above, a second confirmation test would be administered in 15 minutes. The 15-minute wait is to allow any residual mouth alcohol to dissipate.
It is virtually impossible to blow a false positive on the confirmation test after 15 minutes. Since confirmation test results are final and those results would be 0.00, our driver should be in the clear.
A. Thank you for the explanation. The story about the North Carolina sheriff a decade or so ago did occasion some speculation. We imagine that if the daily dose of nine raisins was consumed during off-duty hours, there should never be a concern about the breath alcohol test.
Q. I have a patch of eczema on my chin area that has not responded to any of the expensive steroid creams that have been prescribed.
A friend told me that her dermatologist had her give her son fish-oil caplets when he had eczema. I have started taking fish oil, but I have not seen much improvement.
Do you have any thoughts on what could get this eczema under control and make it go away?
A. Eczema can be chronic, and the dry, red, itchy patches can make life miserable. Scientists have done controlled studies on two improbable approaches that proved helpful: drinking oolong tea or taking probiotics such as Lactobacillus GG.
We discuss these treatments along with Pycnogenol, Noxzema, CamoCare Soothing Cream and many other alternatives in the Guide to Skin Care and Treatment. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (59 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. S-28, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.
Q. In 2003, I started taking CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10) and flaxseed-oil capsules. Five months later, my vision improved, and within the year I stopped using glasses completely.
I wore glasses for 40 years, bifocals for 15 of those. At one time my far vision was 20/200. My vision is now 20/20, and I read without glasses. My astigmatism has disappeared. At 62, I’m delighted to have regained my vision.
A. Your experience is remarkable and inexplicable. We found one study suggesting that flaxseed oil might be helpful in reversing inflammation in children’s eyes (Ophthalmology, December 2007), but nothing to parallel your story.
XIn their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of The Vindicator or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Favorite Home Remedies From The People’s Pharmacy.”
2009 King Features Syndicate Inc.