Copyright People’s Pharmacy

Q: I read about a treatment for nighttime urination (nocturia).  The suggestion was a teaspoon of pectin in 3 ounces of grape juice every day.  My physician prescribed an 81-mg aspirin per day after I had a possible TIA.  I didn’t think there would be a problem taking it with  grape juice and pectin.  I tried half a teaspoon of pectin in 3 ounces of grape juice once a day.  It worked perfectly: no middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom.  Awesome! However, I have had a problem with intermittent nosebleeds, which have always stopped after a short time. I had a nosebleed after starting the pectin, and this one definitely did not stop quickly. I am reducing the quantity of pectin to find the minimum level that solves the nocturia problem.  The good news is that pectin and grape juice fixed a really bothersome problem for me.  But the bad news is pectin and aspirin appear to prolong bleeding, at least for me.

A: You have thrown us a couple of curveballs.  The idea of using pectin, such as Certo, mixed into grape juice has a reputation as an arthritis remedy.  We have never heard of using it to reduce nighttime urination. Thanks for sharing this.  Aspirin, of course, is recognized as a “blood thinner.”  It keeps the sticky blood platelets from clumping together to form a clot.  To our surprise, purple grape juice also inhibits blood platelets (Journal of Nutrition, January 2000).  This may explain why the combination caused your bad nosebleed.  There are some other options for dealing with nocturia.  Readers of this column report that eating a handful of raisins in the evening can be helpful.  Another possibility might be beets or beet juice.  You will find details about both of these approaches along with a beet soup recipe in ou eGuide to Favorite Home Remedies.  This online resource may be found in the Health eGuides section of www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.