People’s Pharmacy: Vaccines may boost body’s ability to fight viruses that cause warts

Q. When I searched the internet to see if COVID-19 vaccines by chance made warts go away, I found your article. I had a wart at the base of my left index finger for 15 or 20 years.

I got the Pfizer vaccine in February and March and the booster in October. I just noticed, in January, the wart is completely gone. Could the COVID-19 vaccine be responsible?

A. We have heard from quite a few readers that they, too, had warts disappear following COVID-19 vaccination. Your question prompted us to search the medical literature for similar reports.

We found two cases (Transplant Infectious Disease, August, and Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Oct. 26).

One patient had a “15-year history of treatment-resistant warts that regressed during COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) treatment.”

The other was a young woman who’d had warts on her thumb for two years. They disappeared after she was vaccinated.

Dermatologists have been experimenting with injections of other types of vaccines (measles-mumps-rubella, known as MMR) directly into hard-to-treat warts (Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, Jan. 8).

The success rate has been significant. This suggests that vaccines can stimulate an immune response against the viruses that cause warts.

Q. For years, I have been taking metoprolol along with lisinopril, amlodipine and losartan for high blood pressure. I have occasional bouts of anxiety in which my heart races.

What has me really upset, though, is that I am losing my hair on my head at an alarming rate right now.

I see that this might be a consequence of beta blockers like metoprolol. I want to stop this drug, but I’ve read that you can’t stop such meds suddenly.

I have also developed a dry cough that wakes me up in the middle of the night. Is this also related to the metoprolol?

A. Four blood pressure medicines may be excessive. In particular, we are concerned about combining an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) with an ARB (losartan).

This combination may increase the chance of complications, including kidney problems, excessive potassium levels and blood pressure variability (Archives of Internal Medicine, Oct. 8, 2007).

Hair loss can be a side effect of a beta blocker like metoprolol. This drug is not likely to cause a cough, but that is a common adverse reaction of lisinopril.

Please ask your physician to re-evaluate your regimen. To help you prepare for that conversation, you may want to consult our eGuide to Blood Pressure Solutions.

This online resource can be found under the Health eGuides tab at peoples[harmacy.com. It also lists a number of nondrug ways to help control hypertension.

Q. I saw my doctor because the corners of my mouth were cracked and extremely sore. Imagine my surprise when I read on the prescription label “diaper cream.”

As a former child care provider, I am aware that a lot of diaper rashes are caused by a fungal infection. The cream helped clear up my mouth within a few weeks.

My doctor also recommended a B-complex vitamin. Since starting it, I have had no further problems with the corners of my mouth.

A. There is no single explanation for those very painful cracks at the corners of the mouth (angular cheilitis).

Doctors may blame them on yeast overgrowth or a vitamin deficiency. Antifungal creams such as miconazole are often effective.

Over-the-counter hydrocortisone may also speed healing.