Echinacea

You recently had a question from someone who didn't take any prescription drugs. He wanted to know if he should sign up for Medicare Plan D. Your advice was abysmal. You discouraged him by writing, "paying a monthly premium for years could add up." This applies to any insurance. I am advising my pharmacy customers to treat Medicare D like insurance and sign up now rather than later. Those who take prescriptions should choose a plan that covers more of their drugs rather than the cheapest one. We goofed.

So echinacea is out: A study last week found that the popular herb didn't cure the common cold after all. Which leaves the still-sniffling masses with a burning question: Why, in this age of Wi-Fi and stem cell magic, can't science conquer the lowly cold? The answer: The viral culprits are much craftier than you might think. Colds are caused by a group of bugs known as rhinoviruses. There are 101 strains, and every time a rhinovirus infects you, your immune system produces protective antibodies.

Q. I was horrified to read that herbs are contaminated with animal parts. Is it true that you could catch mad cow disease from herbal remedies? Our family is vegetarian, and the idea of consuming animal tissue in any way is repugnant. A. Herbs, which are plants by definition, are not contaminated with animal parts. There are no cow brains or other parts in Echinacea, garlic, ginkgo or other herbal preparations. The confusion arose because of a letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.

New York designer week doingsNever mind the glamour. There's the grind of business being done between the brief fashion presentations that more than 60 designers stage in New York each season. Store buyers watch and stake huge budgets on what they hope their customers will want to wear. Reporting on the emerging trends draws more than 1,700 international press and photographers to a jammed marathon of hourly shows. It makes for a lot of fashion watchers watching each other.What they're wearing nowOnly the uninitiated would expect fashion editors and stylists to turn out in full fashion drag for the New York collections.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said in an editorial Tuesday:LET'S say you're healthy. You hear other healthy people sing the praises of ginseng, garlic extract, St. John's wort, echinacea, Vitamin E. You can get these things over the counter, without seeing a doctor.Or let's say you're sick. What the doctor prescribes doesn't work. So you try another route -- alternative medicines, vitamins, herbs.For years, established medicine ignored and decried these medicines. They were off the official radar.

Q. I am basically healthy, but I become ill with a temperature and throat irritation three or four times a year. Nearly every time I visit our five grandchildren for a few days, I come home with a throat infection, fever or related illness. By now I am almost hesitant to travel the 400 miles to visit them. What can I do to bolster my immunity? I take additional vitamin C in the hope it will help. I try to stay away from adults or children who are ill. I also wash my hands regularly. A. Several herbs appear to boost the immune system.

Q. My husband is a workaholic. Even when he is sick as a dog he drags himself to the office because he thinks he's indispensable. Last week, he came down with a doozy of a cold. The only medicine we had was NyQuil, so he took a big dose, drank three cups of coffee and drove to work. He made it safely, but I think this was a dumb idea. Is there a better cold remedy for daytime use? A. Taking NyQuil (nighttime cold medicine) and driving to work is not a good idea. The alcohol in the NyQuil (25 percent)

People think of gardeners as traditionalists, unimpressed by the latest fashion. But the good earth crowd is just as seduced by trends as the most die-hard mall rat. The difference is that their weaknesses are not platform shoes or accessories, but the hot new plants.Hot plants can be the latest hybrids of old favorites that offer a new color, improved bloom, fragrance, hardiness, size, ease of maintenance or disease-resistance. Or they can be imports that create excitement by their sheer novelty.

Looking for an alternative to the flu shot? As vaccine stocks dwindle, there are hints that people are turning to herbal, homeopathic and other alternative remedies. Oscillococcinum, an alternative flu remedy made by the Boiron Group of France, bolted to the top of Drugstore.com's sales chart soon after the vaccine shortage was announced, company officials say. Vitacost.com, an online vitamin and supplement retailer, briefly sold out of its oscillococcinum supply. "There was a big spike," says president Allen Josephs.