When told of this change, patients usually find offending substances at home. Neither of us has any way to predetermine this. Though highly theoretical, there are facts in this paper. Guaifenesin has proven our most effective medication to date. Any source of salicylate will block guaifenesin's benefit at a renal, tubular level, as it does in gout.
All plants make varying amounts of salicylate.
Salicylates are readily absorbed through the skin. Even small amounts in cosmetics and other topicals will negate or slow the effects of all agents we have used. We have many maps made during treatment that illustrate lesions becoming static or worsening in previously improving patients who, unwittingly, began using such preparations. Once warned, some patients find that over one-half of their usual skin preparations could have been deleterious. Susceptibility to blockage seems genetically determined and highly variable.