People's Pharmacy

For more up-to-date information on drugs, herbs and home remedies visit The People's Pharmacy Home Site at peoplespharmacy.us

Listerine Dazzles With Different Uses

Posting Date: 03/22/2004

Other readers have exercised their ingenuity. Some have used Listerine as a lice preventive: ?We were in the Army and moved a lot, but my kids never got lice. Teachers asked me why, since all the other children did. I put Listerine on their hair and scalp a week before school started. Be careful to keep it out of eyes.?

Others maintain that Listerine, with its combination of essential oils, works to discourage toenail fungus: ?I applied Listerine to my toenail fungus twice a day. It was very bad, and now, after four months, it is 98 percent gone.?

Perhaps the most unusual use of Listerine is to calm the pain that follows shingles: ?My aunt has had shingles and constant pain for ten years. Nothing her dermatologist or the pain management specialist prescribed has worked, but the first night she tried Listerine on her skin, she was pain-free for the first time in years. She is still pain-free after 6 days.?

Listerine has not been approved by the FDA for any of these novel uses. Nevertheless, many readers still value it as an inexpensive old-fashioned remedy.

* * *

Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.org.