Dr Rosemary

I am nearly 76 years old and for the past five years or so, I have had a tight, thumping sensation between my ears in my head.

These days I doze off involuntarily during the day for a few minutes. On waking the feeling intensifies, as if my head is being held in a vice and someone is using my skull as a drum.

I have asked for help from three different doctors at my surgery but none of them has offered any treatment or suggested what could be causing this. I do have sinus problems and my nose runs when I eat hot food. I would be grateful for your advice.

AFIRST, having your nose run when you eat hot food is not a symptom of a sinus problem. Rather it’s caused by the blood vessels in your nose reacting to the heat, be that because the food is spicy or just hot. I think it is unlikely to be linked to the constant pain in your head.

Without seeing and examining you and checking your blood pressure, it is difficult to guess at the underlying cause but your symptoms fit in with a bad tension headache.

Although this can sometimes be due to stress or tiredness in older people especially, it is often linked to arthritis in the neck. This leads to spasm of the muscles that support the neck and head and can cause a persistent headache at the back of the head.

Although it can be very difficult to tackle the underlying arthritis, the tension in the muscles can often be eased with physiotherapy and neck exercises. Go back and see a doctor at your surgery and ask if a problem in your neck might be to blame.

I have a constant ache on my rear left side just inside the ribcage. The doctor took a blood sample which proved clear. Is there anything I can do, as the ache is worsening?

AI’M trying to work out exactly where your pain is and I think it may be in what doctors call the loin area. The most common reason for loin pain is a problem with the kidney on that side from an infection or a stone. More rarely, a tumour in the kidney can cause discomfort.

Go back to your doctor and ask whether a urine sample or an ultrasound examination of your kidney might be helpful.

I am a 73-year-old man and I have noticed that my left breast is larger than the right. There is no lump. Is this something to worry about?

AWITH increasing age, both men and women tend to have more body fat and this weight alone can lead to an increase in breast size.

But in addition, fat cells produce small amounts of the hormone oestrogen, and in men, testosterone levels also tend to fall. These combined hormone changes can also lead to a growth of breasts in men.

Though breasts are rarely symmetrical, it is unusual for one to be obviously larger than the other, and though it is rare, breast cancer can occur in men. So please go to have your chest checked by your GP.