Anti-seizure med should be monitored

Dear Dr. Gott: Have any recent studies been done on Dilantin? I’ve been taking this medication for about 20 years and am concerned about my liver and kidneys.

Dear Reader: Dilantin is an anticonvulsant drug for treating seizure disorders. The usual dose for adults is about 300 milligrams a day; periodic blood levels should be checked and the dose regulated to achieve an appropriate therapeutic level.

When used properly under medical supervision, Dilantin is a safe medicine. However, there are many infrequent side effects, including confusion, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, liver damage, rash, low white-blood-cell counts, anemia, swelling of the gums and a lupuslike syndrome (causing kidney damage).

Of more importance, Dilantin may adversely react with many other drugs, including alcohol, anticoagulants, tranquilizers, aspirin, hormones, anti-diabetes pills, certain anesthetics, antacids, steroids and antidepressants.

Most patients don’t have to worry about side effects from Dilantin, because such reactions are so infrequent. Nonetheless, the prudent physician usually will order periodic blood tests to monitor the situation and make sure that the blood level of Dilantin remains in the acceptable therapeutic range.

You are probably safe; however, you should share your concerns with your family physician or neurologist.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Epilepsy: The Falling Sickness.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: When my children were young, I was told never to use bubble bath in their water, especially for the girls. Is this a major cause of vaginal and urinary infection?

Dear Reader: No, it isn’t. This is an “old wives’ tale,” in a class with the ancient belief that eating snow leads to polio. The sudsing compounds in bubble baths do not enter the vagina or the urinary tract. Therefore, such products are entirely safe for children to use.

Dear Dr. Gott: Is leukoplakia a form of cancer? What are the symptoms and/or side effects?

Dear Reader: Leukoplakia, an opaque, pearly white, flat, nontender and irregular discoloration within the mouth, is considered to be premalignant; that is, it is a lesion that may become cancerous over a period or years, although it is itself not cancer. Leukoplakia is more common in smokers and should be biopsied for diagnosis.

If general measures, such as stopping smoking, don’t eliminate or reduce the size of the leukoplakia, excisional surgery should be considered.

Ordinarily, this pre-malignant disorder, which commonly affects the lining of the cheeks, the gums or lips, causes no symptoms.