Archives

Dear Doctors: My husband was given a small jar of an electrolyte powder by a friend and has decided to take it on a daily basis. He is 76 years old, sedentary, a bit overweight and has high blood pres... more

Hello, dear readers, and welcome to a bonus letters column. We will begin with the reminder it's still not too late to get your flu shot or the updated COVID vaccine. As we mentioned before, it is saf... more

Dear Doctors: My husband and I help my aunt with doctor visits. She has a persistent wound on her foot and was diagnosed with cellulitis. She has confused it with cellulite and isn't taking it serious... more

Dear Doctors: What causes dark circles under the eyes? I have always had areas of darker skin under my eyes, but as I'm getting older, it has been getting more noticeable. Could it be something to do ... more

Dear Doctors: I am a 46-year-old woman, and I recently moved to be closer to my family. I have a new doctor who surprised me by talking about grip strength. She said it's an important measure of healt... more

Dear Doctors: I recently heard on social media about something called sleep inertia. It came up in a conversation about how to get a better night's sleep. Is this real, or was it invented? I often don... more

Hello, dear readers, and welcome to our monthly letters column. With chillier weather in much of the country, we're getting a lot of questions about flu and COVID-19 prevention. And to everyone who wr... more

Dear Doctors: After my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, she learned that she has a BRCA gene, and that it put her at risk of getting it. Now she's urging all of her girlfriends to get gen... more

Dear Doctors: My nephew is 12 years old and was diagnosed with hypertension. I was surprised because I didn't realize this could be a problem for kids his age. I don't remember having my blood pressur... more

Dear Doctors: Our 9-year-old daughter fell off her skateboard and hurt her arm. It seemed like just a bad sprain, but after getting an X-ray, she was diagnosed with a greenstick fracture. What is that... more

Dear Doctors: What is your opinion of the brain and memory supplements that we see advertised on TV? I'm also curious about other supplements, like the ones that are advertised to help with vision or ... more

Dear Doctors: What is a geriatrician, and how do you know if you need one? My mom is 78 and is starting to be frail. She feels like her regular doctor doesn't listen to her and rushes through her appo... more

Dear Doctors: I've been having a lot of bloating and intestinal gas. A friend says this can mean that you have too much bacteria in your small intestines. How does that happen, and how do you fix it? ... more

Dear Doctors: We set up a carbon monoxide monitor in our new house, and it went off right away. It turns out the vent to the hot water heater was blocked. I've heard that even a little bit of carbon m... more

Dear Doctors: I started using the rowing machine at our gym a few months ago. It's a good workout, but the outside of my left hip has started to ache. A friend says he experienced the same thing, and ... more

Hello again, dear readers, and welcome to a bonus letters column. We're addressing a handful of topics from recent columns that have generated quite a few letters.... more

Dear Doctors: What does the term “biological age” refer to? How do you go about figuring out what your biological age is? I will turn 80 at the end of the year, am physically active and I eat a vegeta... more

Dear Doctors: A co-worker is doing something called a parasite cleanse. She says if you have symptoms like gas, muscle aches, insomnia and feel hungry all the time, it means you have parasites. How wo... more

Dear Doctors: I’m a 69-year-old African American male with high blood pressure. I get conflicting advice from my primary care doctors, and my BP readings are never taken under the same conditions. I'm... more

Hello, dear readers, and welcome to our monthly letters column. We'll begin with the news that lab-confirmed cases of influenza have been reported throughout the United States, which means our flu sea... more

Dear Doctors: I have been told I have a stage 2 rectocele and that there are two ways to approach treating it. One is insertion of something into the rectum; the other is surgery. Can you please discu... more

Dear Doctors: What is compartment syndrome, and how does it happen? I developed this following an embolism from hip replacement surgery. I had eight days on wound vacuum-assisted closure, plus physica... more

Dear Doctors: I had a kidney transplant two years ago, and I have developed thyroid nodules. Are they dangerous? I would like to ask about radio ablation to remove them. Is it an established procedure... more

Dear Doctors: I am a 51-year-old woman, and I eat a very good diet and exercise six days a week. When I went into menopause, I got hot flashes. Drinking a cup or two of unsweetened soy milk each day h... more

Dear Doctors: I get crushing headaches every fall, which I've always assumed are part of having allergies. But a specialist at our local medical center diagnosed me with cluster headaches. She says ox... more

Dear Doctors: Your column regarding an older man's doctor who denied him a PSA test struck a nerve. He was just told no without an explanation. As I get older, I find that my doctors don't listen to m... more

Dear Doctors: Lately, we've been seeing a lot of ads on TV for a medication to treat thyroid eye disease. My daughter, who is 23, suffers from dry eyes, and now she's sure she has it. What is thyroid ... more

Dear Doctors: My husband and I just hit 65 and are interested in information about preserving memory. I just read about a study that says using your sense of smell more often can be helpful. Do you ha... more