People’s Pharmacy: Reader recommends a bidet for hemorrhoid sufferers

Q. Lots of people suffer with hemorrhoids, and I’d like to offer advice from personal experience. Ditch the wet wipes and toilet tissue for cleaning your butt after a bowel movement. Purchase a simple bidet toilet seat. After it rinses you off, just pat dry gently with toilet tissue. This drastically reduces the risk of getting hemorrhoids. If you do get them, soaking in a hot bathtub or sitz bath at least once a day works very well.

A. Other readers agree that a bidet seat on the toilet can help reduce irritation and lower the likelihood of hemorrhoids. Research has not confirmed the benefits of bidet use, though.

A systematic review of bidet studies was titled, “Be Kind to Your Behind” (Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, May 31, 2022). It concluded that: “Bidet use may be an untapped alternative to sitz baths. The current literature provides no strong evidence to support or discourage the use of bidets in perianal disease.”

Q. I had a measles vaccine when I was a child. Now that I am reading about a measles outbreak in my state, do I need a booster shot? How would I know if my immunity has worn off?

A. The best way to find out if your childhood measles vaccination is still protecting you is a blood test for an MMR titer. This detects your body’s immune reaction to the measles virus.

Your doctor could order this, or you can order it yourself. You will find several options online; all require you to go to a commercial lab to have your blood drawn. The cost ranges from about $40 to around $200. Some insurance policies may cover it.

If your measles titer is high, you don’t need to do anything else. If it is low, though, you should request a booster shot.

Q. Whenever I catch a cold, as I did recently, my sinuses give me trouble. I use Sudafed to open up my nasal passages and breathe more easily.

When I checked my blood pressure, I found that it had climbed to over 150 systolic. If the Sudafed is responsible, what else can I use to combat cold symptoms and keep my sinuses clear?

A. There is a warning on the label of pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) packaging that states: “Ask a doctor before use if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes or trouble urinating due to an enlarged prostate gland.” Because this medication constricts blood vessels, it could easily be responsible for your elevated blood pressure. Sometimes such oral decongestants can cause nervousness, headache or heart palpitations.

Your best alternative might not be a drug, but you can find it in the pharmacy. Nasal irrigation is often very helpful in clearing the sinuses. You could use a neti pot, which looks a bit like Aladdin’s lamp, to pour purified water in one nostril and let it drip out the other. Or you could use a prepackaged sinus rinse kit that you buy in the drugstore.

You may be interested in a range of natural approaches that can help with cold symptoms, such as chicken soup, ginger tea or vitamin C. There is detailed information about such options in our “eGuide to Colds, Coughs & the Flu.” This online resource may be found under the Health eGuides tab at www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 300 W. 57th Street, 41st Floor, New York, NY 10019, or email them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”