Question: : I was diagnosed recently with borderline hypertension. My internist has prescribed the diuretics HCTZ and spironolactone. My reactions to those have been headache, nausea and intestinal upset.
We also have tried Coreg, Norvasc, Accupril and lisinopril. My reaction to those medications has been severe migrainelike headaches. Are there any alternative therapies for treating hypertension?
Answer: : There are many ways to treat high blood pressure, but you will need to work with your doctor to make sure the tactics you adopt work for you. As one reader of this column has noted, "losing a little weight (even just 10 pounds) could bring blood pressure down to normal with no drugs, no expense and no side effects."
Another reader had success with alternative approaches: "I am a 65-year-old female, and my blood pressure was going up. I started drinking beet juice (I make it myself), and I do breathing exercises for 15 minutes every morning. I breathe slow and deep (less than 10 breaths a minute) for 15 minutes. It took me two months, but my pressure is normal."
Question: : My kids and I have a major problem with lice. We have spent lots of time and money fighting them, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good.
Nix and Rid (at $10 an ounce) are supposed to kill lice, but the lice are still alive after using these products. Then we wait another week or 10 days to spend another $70 to $90 to do it all over again. Two of my daughters have long, thick hair that requires two bottles each.
A friend has recommended kerosene, but that freaks me out. Isn't there a more natural way to free us from nit-picking?
Answer: : DO NOT use kerosene to kill lice. It is toxic and a fire hazard.
Lice have developed resistance to many of the common treatments used against them. The Food and Drug Administration has just approved a new prescription lice medication. It will take multiple bottles to treat your daughters' long, thick hair.
The new treatment, Ulesfia, contains benzyl alcohol as the active ingredient. This compound interferes with the critters' respiration, so lice are unlikely to develop resistance.
Many parents tell us that Listerine works against lice. It contains ethyl alcohol along with a number of herbal oils that seem to kill lice. One reader reported: "I recently found lice and nits in my 7-year-old's hair. When I tried the product the school nurse recommended, it did nothing.
