Can Drug Turn White Hair Black?

Q. I am a naturally blonde woman, age 57, taking Zocor and Zetia to lower my cholesterol. Since starting Zetia (about 6 months ago), I am sprouting a head of black hair.

Where I used to find white mixed in with the blonde, I now find black. This seems very strange. I asked the pharmacist and he didn't see anything like this in the listed side effects of either drug. What do you think is going on?

A. We too found nothing in the medical literature about Zetia changing white hair black. There is, however, an ambiguous reference in the Zocor labeling regarding "changes to hair/nails."

Very few medicines actually change hair color, but this side effect has been reported with a leukemia drug called Gleevec. French physicians reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that some cancer patients treated with Gleevec had their gray hair return to its original dark color.

Anyone who has experienced a change in hair color with Zocor, Zetia or the new combination of both (Vytorin) may share the experience by writing to us.

Q. I would like to comment about the ongoing controversy over germs on wet toilet seats. If people who don't sit down would lift the seat, or at least wipe it off after using the toilet, the next person wouldn't get a wet bottom or worry about catching anything.

I am unable to squat over the seat and, with my bladder issues, am usually in a hurry. I would be so appreciative if people showed this consideration, and left the bathroom cleaner than they found it. That's what I was taught to do.

A. This certainly is an emotional issue for many people. The anonymity of public restrooms may allow some people to behave thoughtlessly.

Crouching over a toilet seat is not a good practice. Research has shown that it prevents complete bladder emptying and may contribute to urinary tract infections or incontinence. You can buy disposable toilet seat covers in the pharmacy and carry them with you in case the person using the stall before you was inconsiderate.

Q. For years I have taken a baby aspirin daily. A friend told me that I could take a regular aspirin every other day and get the same results. It's much less expensive to do that. What do you think?

A. Research supports your friend's suggestion. The big study demonstrating that aspirin cuts the risk of heart attack nearly in half was the Physicians' Health Study. The doctors taking aspirin got a standard 325 mg tablet every other day. The investigation was cut short because the benefit of aspirin was so great.

We are sending you our Guide to Key Aspirin Information, with a discussion of benefits and risks as well as interactions and myths. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $2 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (60 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons' People's Pharmacy, No. A-12, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.

Anyone taking aspirin regularly should be under medical supervision. Please double-check with your doctor about the ideal dose for you.

Q. My daughter and I have achieved perfect control of our trichotillomania with the drug Lexapro. Please pass this on to your readers.

A. Compulsive hair pulling (trichotillomania) sometimes responds to drugs for obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression. Anafranil, Lexapro, Luvox, Prozac or Zoloft may be helpful