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Dr Tom Smith answers your health questions

Do you have a question for Dr Tom?

Email it to csutcliffe@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk
Write to Dr Tom, Lancashire Telegraph, Newspaper House, High Street, Blackburn, BB1 1HT.

Is lump and pain in back anything to worry about?

3:47pm Friday 17th April 2009

I get a sore back when I bend over forwards. I seem to have a lump protruding from my spine at the point I feel the pain. Is this anything to worry about?

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Does a migraine in a hot shower indicate epilepsy?

3:44pm Friday 17th April 2009

I get a migraine if I have a shower that’s too hot. A friend who is a nurse has suggested I get investigated because it might be linked to epilepsy. Is this true?

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Does birth date affect your health in later life?

12:30pm Friday 10th April 2009

Does the time of year we are born make a difference to the illnesses we are prone to later in life? I’ve heard that people who later develop schizophrenia are more likely than others to have a spring birthday. Are there other connections like this?

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What can I do to help sleepless mother?

12:27pm Friday 10th April 2009

My 79-year-old mother hasn’t slept properly for months. She is always worrying about not sleeping, and she has started drinking in the evenings because she says it helps. I think it just makes her more confused at night.

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How can I get rid of my sweet tooth?

1:35pm Friday 20th March 2009

I've been recently diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic. I'm exercising more, eating wisely, and have stopped smoking, but how can I get rid of my sweet tooth? I have a very difficult time passing a sweet shop.

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Is exposure to sun good or bad for you?

1:34pm Friday 20th March 2009

I’m confused about the sun. We are told not to sunbathe because it causes skin cancer, then to sunbathe because the extra vitamin D protects us against heart attacks and internal cancers. What should we do?

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Will I be to old to go on dialysis?

1:01pm Friday 13th March 2009

I’m told I have long-standing kidney disease and that in a few years time I may have to go on dialysis. By then I’ll be over 70. Will my age stop me from getting dialysis? I wouldn’t like to be left to die slowly.

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Should school have told us about nits?

12:53pm Friday 13th March 2009

We have heard, but only in a roundabout way, not from the school itself, that there are cases of headlice in our children’s primary school. Don’t schools usually inform parents if there are cases? And don’t all the children get treated? I remember the ‘nit nurse’ used to visit mine.

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Are roll-up cigarettes less likely to cause cancer?

12:54pm Friday 13th March 2009

I roll my own cigarettes, and I’ve always believed that doing that lowers my risk of cancer. That’s because it takes so much more time to prepare them, and there is less tobacco in each cigarette. My doctor tells me that isn’t true. What do you think?

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Why do I keep getting athlete’s foot?

2:44pm Friday 27th February 2009

Why do I keep getting athlete’s foot? Why don’t we become immune to it, like we do against other infections?

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Does eating fish really help the brain?

2:43pm Friday 27th February 2009

Does eating fish really help the brain?

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What’s the use of tonsils and appendix?

2:41pm Friday 27th February 2009

What’s the point of our tonsils and appendix? They only seem to give us grief.

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Can extra vitamins shorten your life?

5:09pm Tuesday 24th February 2009

Is it true that extra vitamins, through supplements and so forth, can shorten people’s lives?

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Is garlic good for your heart?

5:08pm Tuesday 24th February 2009

Is garlic really good for the heart, and if so why?

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Why does knee pain worsen after eating fruit?

4:10pm Tuesday 24th February 2009

I have osteoarthritis in my right hip and both knees: they are painful all the time, but the pain is worsened and I come out in spots if I eat fruit. I don’t smoke, drink alcohol or drink coffee. Can you suggest anything to help me?

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As an epileptic, can I take St John's wort?

11:02am Friday 13th February 2009

I have epilepsy, which has been well controlled for many years. Recently I’ve also been depressed, and I don’t want to take a prescription medicine for it because it might interfere with the effectiveness of my anti-convulsants. A friend recommended St John’s wort to me as a more natural remedy for depression. Can I take that?

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What else can relieve osteoperosis?

10:57am Friday 13th February 2009

I’m a man aged 82 with osteoporosis, with constant pain in my back. My doctor has prescribed calcium tablets and paracetamol, but they don’t ease the pain. Is there anything else I can take or do to relieve it?

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What is causing 'choking'?

10:55am Friday 13th February 2009

I’m a 72-year-old man who for the last 11 years has been ‘choking’ regularly. Camera tests in the throat and sleep apnoea tests have been negative. The attacks really panic me, and they leave me with a pain in the centre of my chest. I’ve been taking amitriptyline for the attacks, on the assumption that they have a nervous cause, but they don’t help. What else can I do?