Q: My 3-year-old son has suffered with eczema on his legs and feet for two years. We treated it successfully with Elidel, but cancer concerns about its safety in children alarmed us. With consent from his doctor, we suspended its use.
I tried many creams to try to soothe his skin, but he cried about all of them, saying they hurt. I started using Noxzema moisturizer after reading about it on your website. Thankfully, there were no tears from him.
To my great surprise, his skin responded almost immediately. Almost all traces of eczema are gone. We have been using this product for about three weeks, in the morning and evening, without washing it off. It has truly changed my young son’s life.
A: Many other readers also have reported that Noxzema can ease their skin irritation. This nonsoap facial cleanser was developed in 1914. It was originally intended as a sunburn remedy, but early reports that it was helpful for “knocking eczema” allegedly led to the name “no eczema” or Noxzema.
Q: I have successfully taken Greenstone alprazolam (generic Xanax) to control epilepsy for more than a year. I was switched to a different generic (a round pill), and within a week of starting it I had my first seizure in two and a half years! My pharmacist was able to special-order the Greenstone, so hopefully it won’t be an issue for me again.
A: You are not the only one to report seizures after being switched to a generic version of an anticonvulsant medicine. The question of whether anti-epilepsy drugs are truly bioequivalent is controversial among doctors as well as patients (The Lancet Neurology, March 2010; Annals of Pharmacotherapy, November 2011).
Obviously, you have done well on the Greenstone generic. Our advice to people with epilepsy is to avoid switching between generics if possible.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Email them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”
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