People's Pharmacy

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Key Trick Saves Business Meeting

Posting Date: 12/06/2004

Q. I want to thank you for saving me from a most embarrassing situation. I am president of a small corporation and we were making a pitch to an important client. I had been suffering from a cold for about a week and blowing my nose a lot before this critical meeting.

Fifteen minutes before we were to start our presentation, I blew my nose and immediately developed a nasty nosebleed. No matter what I tried to do to stop the bleeding, nothing worked. Then I remembered reading in your column about putting cold keys down the back of the neck. By this point I was desperate and figured I had nothing to lose. Within seconds the bleeding stopped. I don?t know how this trick works, but I sure am grateful!

A. We do not know how it works, either. But so many readers have written about their success, we are sure that this technique does work at least some of the time. Putting a large, cold metal key or ring of keys down the back of the neck to stop a nosebleed is a folk remedy that seems to have come to this country from Europe a long time ago.

Q. Do you have information on the popular hot drink Rooibos? I love it and drink it in both its regular and green forms. Does green Rooibos have the same health benefits as green tea?

A. Rooibos is a South African beverage from the leaves of the ?red bush? shrub, Aspalathus linearis. Unlike standard tea (from the leaves of Camellia sinensis), rooibos has no caffeine or other stimulants. It does contain antioxidant flavonoids and a relatively large amount of vitamin C. Because it does not seem to contain the same compounds as green tea, it is unlikely to have the same benefits, but it is not toxic.

Q. A man who once owned the Dallas Cowboys gave me his arthritis remedy and it's been a godsend. I stir one teaspoon of a half-and-half mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey into a 6-ounce glass of water with a teaspoon of orange powder stirred in and dissolved. Exact measure of the three does not seem to be critical. I just eyeball them, stir and swallow.