MoM dries up poison ivy

Q. Long ago, I heard on your radio program that milk of magnesia (MoM) can be applied to underarms as a deodorant. I tried it, and it worked!

Later, I heard it is good for pimples. So when, two years ago, I had my usual summertime attack of poison ivy, I thought: If MoM is good for drying up perspiration and pimples, it might work on poison ivy, too.

It is GREAT! It stops the pain immediately and dries it up within a day. MoM is so much better than calamine lotion, which takes many applications while the poison ivy lingers on.

A. Thanks for sharing your experience with topical application of milk of magnesia. The active ingredient in MoM is magnesium hydroxide, which is also found in many antacids.

Q. My husband has toenail fungus on all 10 toes. They are really nasty-looking. We have spent $900 on three rounds of pills to treat the fungus, but it still looks the same. Do you have any suggestions? I sure don’t want to catch it myself!

A. Although pills such as itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral) and terbinafine (Lamisil, Terbinex) may work against nail fungus, they can be expensive, and they may cause serious side effects.

The home remedies we suggest have not been studied scientifically, but they work for many people. Because they are inexpensive, if one doesn’t do the job, your husband can try another.

We are sending you our Guide to Nail Care with instructions on using Vicks VapoRub, hydrogen peroxide, Listerine and vinegar and other topical remedies to fight fungus. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (64 cents), self- addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. H-31, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Q. I read in your column that pure pectin powder in grape or cherry juice helped aches and pains. What exactly is pure pectin powder?

The natural-food stores and vitamin centers I’ve checked do not know what it is. I am using fruit pectin like Sure-Jell, sold for canning. Is this it? If not, where do I get it?

A. People have been telling us for years that a tablespoon of liquid fruit pectin (Certo) mixed in a cup of grape, cherry or pomegranate juice can help ease joint pain. Others have been experimenting with powdered pectin. We recently heard from one reader: “I use pure pectin powder [Pomona’s Universal Pectin]. I sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon gently on a cup of juice and then run the mixture in the blender for a minute or two. ... Certo costs about $3 for a jug of juice. Pure pectin powder works out to about 50 cents a jug.”

Another person spotted this advice on our website and asked where to find the powder. The answer is to order it online from www.pomonapectin.com.

The Sure-Jell you are using is similar, but in addition to pectin, it contains dextrose and citric acid. Others have told us they have had success with this type of product as well.

2011 King Features Syndicate, Inc.