DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter, 36, has a problem each summer with the sun. She breaks out. I understand that taking medicine can cause this. I also heard that you have a list of those medicines. Can you print it? I know my daughter is taking several medicines daily. I'd like to help her this summer. It's so distressing. - Mrs. E.W.
ANSWER: I can give you a list, but your daughter's best bet is to show her personal drug list to her pharmacist and let him or her pinpoint any troublemakers.A lot of non-drugs also appear on a list of suspects, like the fragrance additives in cosmetics. Even PABA, the chemical in sun blockers, can act adversely on sun-exposed skin. Of course, only a relatively few individuals are ever affected from drugs and products.
Here's a partial list: chlorpromazine, promethazine, diphenhydramine, thiazides, sulfonylureas, tetracycline, griseofulvin, furosemide and naproxen. These are all generic names of drugs that might be present in a wide array of medicines under commercial names. Some fairly common diuretics, diabetes medicines, antibiotics and antihistamines are included.
Summer is a good time to make a medicine cabinet search for any of the sun-poisoning culprits.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have not read anything on hyperparathyroidism. Is there a procedure for control other than removal when these glands are overactive this way? Can't they be killed with radioactive iodine the way thyroids are? Can laser guns do it? - A.S.
ANSWER: The tiny parathyroids lie behind the thyroid gland in the neck. They perform a very important function - control of blood calcium. When parathyroids get overactive, the first evidence is a rise in blood calcium. From that may follow kidney stone development, bone brittleness, decline in mental function, peptic ulcers, all depending on the seriousness of the calcium rise.
You can't selectively destroy parathyroid gland tissue the way you can the overlying thyroid itself, either with radioactive pills or with laser surgery. When necessary, the glands must be removed through conventional surgery.
Two points need to be made: Surgery is not the only answer to hyperparathyroidism, the decision again based on the degree of overactivity. Calcium supplements don't usually cause blood calcium problem the way hyperparathyroidism does. There's no comparison. The body most often gets rid of calcium intake it doesn't need.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I care for my granddaughter, 3, while her parents are on vacation. It's been so long since I took care of my own that I seem to have forgotten how poorly children eat. I didn't worry then, but today, with all the talk about nutrition and so on, I worry. Sometimes she picks at food. Coaxing doesn't help. She looks healthy. The mother warned me that she has always been picky. - Mrs. S.L.
ANSWER: Your complaint will strike a familiar note for thousands of emeritus parents like you, Mrs. L. Most children are erratic eaters, yet few get into nutritional trouble. Why this is so has puzzled the experts. Some believe an inner mechanism guides them.
You will probably find that the amount this child eats will vary from meal to meal. But if you had the patience to add up the total caloric intake, you would find it pretty steady day to day, week to week. A child might pick at lunch and load up at the dinner table (or at unscheduled times between). Your job is to try to keep the snacking at a high nutritional level - fruits, for example. NOTE: There are always exceptions to this. The final judge of nutritional adequacy is the child's growth progress. In short, is the child thriving? You can't hope to make that determination in a week of care.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My ring finger is drawn in to the palm. My dad had this. Is it inherited? What to do? - Mrs. M.V.
ANSWER: I think you're dealing with Dupuytren's contracture. Yes, it does tend to run in families.
Try this. Feel your palm just below the ring finger. Do you feel a little nodule? That's how Dupuytren's starts out. The nodule grows and sends out bands of scar tissue that end up entrapping the finger's attaching tendon, eventually drawing it down to the palm.
Some people can live with Dupuytren's if the contracture is mild. Usually, the person does seek surgical correction. Dupuytren's won't improve on its own. Meanwhile, avoid injury to the hand in any form. Trauma accelerates the scar formation I spoke of.
YOUR THYROID PLAYS a critical health role - in everything from eyesight to fertility. Booklet No. 32 explains this important and misunderstood gland. Write to Dr. Donohue/No. 32, P.O. Box 19660, Irvine, CA 92713-0660, enclosing a long, self-addressed, stamped (52 cents) envelope and $2.00.- Dr. Donohue welcomes reader mail but regrets that, due to the tremendous volume received daily, he is unable to answer individual letters. Readers' questions are incorporated in his column whenever possible.
1991 North America Syndicate, Inc.