Ask the Doctor
Our medical expert, Professor Kerryn Phelps, answers questions on abdominal pain, vitamins, twins, fungal infections and going smoke-free.
I have a niggling dull pain in my lower right-hand side that comes and goes. Is this just sore muscles or should I be concerned? B.B., NSW. An undiagnosed pain in your abdomen should always be checked by your doctor. There are a multitude of possible causes including bowel cancer, low grade appendicitis, bowel inflammation, a hernia, ovarian cyst or other gynaecological problem.
If I eat fruit, do I need to also take vitamin C tablets or multivitamins? F.E., Tas.
Your body cannot produce vitamin C, so you need to eat foods containing vitamin C every day. If this is not possible, then I advise taking a supplement. Multivitamins are useful where diet or digestion of food is inadequate.
Q My son and daughter-in-law dress their twin baby girls identically, but I don’t think this is good for them. I think they should grow up as separate identities. Am I just being an interfering nana? A.T., Vic.
I am sure your opinion would be valued if it was sought by the parents of the twins. In infancy, dressing twins alike is often just convenient for the parents. At some point, the girls will start to express their individual preferences in their clothes and hairstyles, and that is when they will start to dress differently.
Do fungal toenail infections really take months to clear, as it says on the bottle of antifungal treatment I got from the chemist. Can you suggest anything that works faster? K.S., Qld. Fungal nail infections are stubborn and tend to recur if they are not treated consistently until the infection is resolved. You should be seeing a result within a few months, but it can take up to a year for the infection to clear with topical treatment. More severe infections will need oral antifungal medicine.
Q What should I say when the pharmacist asks if I want a generic medication? It often isn’t clear how much money I save and I wonder if the pharmacist is out to con me. If the doctor wanted me to have a generic, wouldn’t he prescribe me one? E.R, WA.
Some generic medications are pharmaceutically equivalent, while others
are not. Your doctor has the option to decline brand substitution, but they may not tick the box. If you prefer a particular brand of medication because it is familiar to you, insist the pharmacist supply that brand.