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

Sugar Substitute Relieves Joint Pain

Posting Date: 07/26/2004

Q. My wife has recently developed diabetes and watches her sugar intake carefully. She uses Equal to sweeten her coffee or iced tea.

We read that Equal might be helpful against arthritis pain, but her doctor has never heard of this. He prescribed Vioxx, but it is too expensive. Aspirin and ibuprofen are cheap but they give her heartburn. Is it true that Equal might work? If so, how much does it take?

A. Research published in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (May, 1998) showed that aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) worked about as well as aspirin to relieve pain and inflammation. Unlike traditional anti-inflammatory drugs, aspartame does not irritate the stomach. The dose that researchers used ranged from four to eight tablets daily (76 to 152 mg).

One reader with a chronic back problem reported the following: ?I began using aspartame for my backache and within a few weeks was free of pain for the first time in years. Then a holistic healer told me to avoid aspartame-containing products. Within four days my back started hurting again. I went back on aspartame, and the pain and stiffness disappeared.?

Q. My 3-year-old dog (an adorable Maltese/Shih Tzu mix) constantly licks a front paw, especially during the summer months. Can a Listerine mixture help this?

I think she is licking due to itching or allergies, as I can find nothing wrong on her foot. How do I make the Listerine mixture?

A. Our veterinary consultant, Dr. Andy Frost, suggests that such paw licking is often a consequence of an allergic reaction. You may need to work with your vet to see if a change to a hypoallergenic diet would help.

If the problem is caused by an infection, vets sometimes prescribe an antibiotic or a topical antifungal solution, depending on the microorganism. We don?t have scientific data on the Listerine mixture, but readers have told us it works for ?hot spots,? or moist dermatitis.