The Doc Replies

Our expert answers your medical questions

I have nasal polyps. What are they?

The lining of your nasal passage has become chronically inflamed and swollen. We’re not quite sure what causes this, but the problems it causes can be very irritating. Symptoms include a blocked, runny nose, a poor sense of smell and taste, and a nasal drip down the back of the throat. If you’ve developed asthma as an adult, rather than if you had it as a child, then you’re much more prone to nasal polyps. They’re usually quite simple to diagnose – a quick look up the nostrils with an auriscope is enough. Treatment tends to be steroid nasal drops for around four to six weeks but it’s important to follow the full course. Sometimes the drops don’t improve things, and I’ll have to refer the patient up to the ear, nose and throat clinic for further treatment. They will sometimes consider surgery to remove the polyps. These wee growths tend to come back though, so you should keep using a nasal spray after surgery.

I had something called sausage finger. What is it?

Dactylitis is swelling of the fingers and toes that can cause them to have a sausage-like appearance, and it’s sometimes called sausage digit. Dactylitis can be a symptom of several different medical conditions, including things like tuberculosis, sarcoidosis and infection. You usually have to treat the underlying condition to help dactylitis – although ibuprofen or similar drugs can treat the inflammation.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing recently, but the outside of my elbow is painful. There’s a swollen, soft lump that’s quite tender.

I’d like you to get this checked out by your GP but it sounds to me like it may be something called Student’s Elbow – or olecranon bursitis as it’s formally known. It affects students, but it also used to be known as miner’s or plumber’s elbow. Anti-inflammatory drugs can help, but you might need steroid injections, too.