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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Soy sauce fails to soothe burn

Q. I burned my thumb on a pan of roasted veggies last night. I remembered your advice and reached for the tamari soy sauce. (I had a low-sodium variety.)

To my dismay, when I applied it to my thumb, it didn’t work to ease the pain as it has in the past. I was puzzled and tried it a few more times, but got no pain relief.

I looked in the cupboard and spotted Bragg Liquid Aminos (a substitute for soy sauce, also made from soy beans) and sprayed some on. I got INSTANT relief, and I mean INSTANT! I was back to my knitting in half an hour.

A. Thanks for the clue. Most readers have reported that soy sauce eases the pain of a burn, but it may require a certain amount of sodium. Bragg Liquid Aminos has 30 percent to 40 percent more sodium than low-sodium tamari. A serious burn should get medical attention, of course.

Q. I am a 39-year-old nurse who is experiencing drastic hair loss. I started taking atenolol for high blood pressure about four months ago. One month after beginning the med, I started slowly losing my hair.

I am sometimes afraid to brush my hair for fear that it will ALL come out. It comes out so easily. I worry about it every day, though I’m sure that the constant worry also contributes to even more hair loss.

I have asked the doctors that I work with, and their only advice is to start exercising and try to get off the atenolol altogether. I am going to take that advice, because my biggest fear is losing my hair.

A. No wonder you worry. Losing a lot of hair is not a pleasant experience.

As you have concluded, atenolol is probably the culprit. What’s more, there is considerable controversy about the effectiveness of atenolol for treating hypertension (The Lancet, Nov. 6, 2004).

A surprising number of medications can cause hair loss as a side effect. We have listed many in the Guide to Hair and Nail Care we are sending you. We also are including our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment, with a number of scientifically supported nondrug approaches.

Anyone who would like copies, please send $5 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (78 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. BH-631, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. They also can be downloaded for $2 each from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

If diet, exercise and other natural approaches are not adequate for blood pressure control, there are other medicines for hypertension that may be less likely to cause hair loss.

Q. I have found that drinking Earl Grey tea for a few days seems to trigger nighttime leg cramps. I used to use special soap my sister brought back from France. Her friend in Paris swore that putting it under the sheets would eliminate the cramps, and I find it helps.

When the fragrance seemed to disappear, I started using a very fragrant body lotion. It relieved my leg cramps the same as soap. I think, for me, it’s a form of aromatherapy.

A. Your report is the first we have heard of soap under the sheets being a leg-cramp remedy in another country. We have heard from many readers in the U.S. who find this approach helpful.

Earl Grey tea can cause muscle cramps in susceptible people (The Lancet, April 27, 2002). This is because the flavor (oil of bergamot) can interfere with potassium moving in and out of muscle cells.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.