People’s Pharmacy: Nail fungus treatment turned feet blue

Q. When I needed treatment for toenail fungus, my doctor suggested I soak my toes in Listerine for 30 minutes a night for 30 days. I sent my husband to Costco for a giant jug of Listerine. He returned with the minty one.

It’s blue, but I figured that wouldn’t really make a difference. It did. My feet turned blue, and no amount of scrubbing could take the color off. My husband laughed until he cried.

After switching to the regular (amber) Listerine, my toenail fungus did clear up, but the nails themselves were very dry.

A. The herbal oils in Listerine, such as thymol and eucalyptol, have antifungal activity. Many readers have found that it can help fight nail fungus. The alcohol in regular Listerine (26.9 percent) might be the culprit in drying your nails.

Q. I have suffered with stomach pain and reflux for a long time. I have tried Zantac and Pepcid without much success. I am now taking Prevacid, which my doctor prescribed to control excess acid. Even after an increase in dose, I am still experiencing gastrointestinal upset. Any ideas?

I also have a thyroid problem. My endocrinologist started me on Synthroid and recently switched me to Levoxyl. Now I am noticing side effects. It seems as if the drug isn’t working the way it used to. I know these drugs are supposed to be equivalent, but my body says something different. Should I ask my doctor to put me back on Synthroid?

A. Substituting one brand of levothyroxine (Levoxyl) for another (Synthroid) may require an adjustment in dose. But first, you and your doctor need to consider your stomach problems.

An article in The New England Journal of Medicine (April 27, 2006) shows that people with low stomach acidity do not absorb levothyroxine well and may need a higher dose. The Prevacid you are taking reduces stomach acid.

People infected with stomach bacteria called Helicobacter pylori also seem to have trouble absorbing thyroid hormone. This bug also may be contributing to your GI problems. We discuss the treatment of this infection in our Guide to Digestive Disorders. Our Guide to Thyroid Hormones has more information on levothyroxine and other drugs that might interact with it. Anyone who would like copies, please send $4 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (58 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. GT-34, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. They also can be downloaded from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Q. My husband had hip-replacement surgery in January. For two days after the surgery, he was a bit groggy. By the third day he was hallucinating.

I was trying to prevent him from injuring his new hip while he was seeing bobcats, raccoons, cattle trucks and airplanes, all in his hospital room. He threatened to divorce me because I wouldn’t take him home. We’ve been through hell.

We thought he’d had a stroke, but that was ruled out. We finally figured out it was probably the OxyContin he was given for pain.

Since this happened, I’ve heard of other people on this drug who have had hallucinations. Why don’t they get the drug off the market?

A. OxyContin (timed-release oxycodone) is a very effective pain reliever, but like other narcotics, it may sometimes cause hallucinations. Doctors should alert patients and their families about this possibility so they don’t have to go through the terror you experienced.