People’s Pharmacy: Milk of Magnesia is acne home remedy

Q. Have you heard of using milk of magnesia on severe acne? My son has cystic nodular acne. He is 16 and has been under a dermatologist’s care for many years.

We have spent thousands of dollars, to no avail. He has recently tried a home remedy: applying milk of magnesia to his face at night before bed. He looks the best he has in four years. Can you tell us why this is working so wonderfully well?

A. Milk of magnesia (aka MoM) is a solution of magnesium hydroxide and is best known for its laxative action.

We don’t know why MoM might combat acne, but we have heard that this laxative can help clear up seborrheic dermatitis. In this condition, yeast on the skin causes redness and flakes, rather like dandruff, but on the forehead and chin as well as scalp and eyebrows. Here is one reader’s report:

“I have been using milk of magnesia on my face for the past two months, and my face flakes are gone! I pour it in my hand and massage it on my face (forehead, eyebrows, around the eyes, nose, cheeks and chin) while showering, and rinse it off at the end of the shower. End of problem. It’s a great, cost-effective alternative to expensive Nizoral, and it works better, too.”

Q. I developed a dry cough soon after my doctor diagnosed me with hypertension and put me on Altace. I would cough and cough until I would gag and throw up into my trash can at work, because the coughing would just come on so suddenly that I didn’t have time to make it to the ladies’ room. I even had to carry a small trash bag in my car because I was afraid that I would throw up during my commute to and from work.

I asked my doctor for another medicine. He prescribed lisinopril, and I am still having the same problem. What’s going on?

A. Both of your blood pressure medicines are ACE inhibitors and can cause a persistent cough in susceptible people. We are surprised that your doctor didn’t mention this side effect.

A survey of participants on the iGuard.org Web site revealed that only one patient in four on lisinopril had been told that the drug could cause coughing. More than a third of the respondents had a chronic cough.

The iGuard.org Web site offers personalized estimates of drug risk and interaction concerns. To give you more information about other hypertension drugs, including nondrug approaches, we are sending you our newly revised Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (58 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. B-67, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from the Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Q. I have back problems and have been taking Vicodin daily for pain. For the past six months, my breathing has been terrible. I have had to stop and catch my breath with any little thing.

I’ve been off Vicodin for a week and my breathing is much better. Could the Vicodin be responsible?

A. The prescription pain reliever Vicodin contains acetaminophen and the narcotic hydrocodone. According to the manufacturer, in sensitive people or at high doses, hydrocodone can produce respiratory depression and irregular breathing. We don’t know if that is what you experienced, but you should report it to your physician.