Everybody burps
MY three- year- old son burps a lot. It sometimes prevents him getting to sleep or wakes him in the night.
Burping is completely normal. It happens because we have either eaten too quickly and swallowed a lot of air or we’ve produced gases as we chew. The wind has to come out, so burping is the result. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about but have a chat with your doctor as it’s affecting his sleep.
I’VE had irritable bowel syndrome for two years. The pain has worsened and now I have blood in my stools. I have piles that bleed, but I’m sure it’s not them.
IBS is extremely common. The bowel is made of smooth muscles which contract to push the food through. Sometimes the bowel is over or underactive and the result is pain, constipation or diarrhoea. Sometimes a change of diet can help or some medicines can relax the bowel. Red blood usually means you’re bleeding from the very end of the bowel, usually due to a little cut or piles. It’s possible your IBS has just caused a little bit of trauma at the tail end and resulted in bleeding but get your doc to make sure.
I LOST weight over the last year and now have purple stretch marks. They don’t hurt, but are hard to hide so I can’t wear any revealing clothes. Is there any treatment I could have?
Unfortunately there’s no medical cure. People often get stretch marks after pregnancy or because of weight gain followed by weight loss. They tend to fade with time and go from being very obvious when they first appear to being much whiter and less obvious. I don’t think creams help. A CIRCLE of my hair fell out recently. My doc said it was a minor form of alopecia and prescribed steroid cream. Now the hair is growing back white! My hair is brown so it’s quite obvious. Will it change back?
It sounds like alopecia areata, where
you lose a patch of hair. Sometimes it’s down to skin problems or perhaps an autoimmune disease. The part of your skin that colours your hair has possibly been damaged. I think it’ll stay white in that area, but it would be perfectly safe to dye it if you wanted.
I HAD thrush for a few weeks. It didn’t clear up and the doctor told me I had a prolapse which would need an op, but didn’t give me any more details. I also have piles and trouble controlling my bowels, which can be very embarrassing.
Childbirth can cause weakness of the pelvic floor muscles resulting in a prolapse, which can affect bowel and bladder function but they don’t always need surgery. Sometimes you can avoid an op by using pessaries which are fitted in the gynaecology clinic and changed at your GP’s surgery.
I HAD a nose bleed last week for more than 20 minutes. It was pretty heavy and the blood was bright red. About 15 minutes, I felt something was stuck at the back of my throat. When I lifted my head, I felt something in my mouth so I spat it out and it was a bright red blood clot.
During a heavy nose bleed the blood can collect at the back of the nose and clot. You often swallow them, but the fact you were aware of it and spat it out is nothing to worry about. If you continue to have heavy nose bleeds you may need to have your nose cauterised.
I WAS given amoxicillin 500 capsules after I had a cyst removed from my scalp. But I hate swallowing tablets and chewed them. They have no taste. Does chewing an antibiotic affect its usefulness?
I am sure chewing these capsules won’t have caused any problem. However, some medications are in capsule form to avoid them being inactivated by stomach acid and their contents are absorbed further along the gastrointestinal tract. It’s worth checking with your doc when you are being prescribed in future just in case this affects the way the medicine is absorbed. Many medicines are available in liquid form if you find this easier.
I’VE had shingles for nine months. What’s best treatment and how long should it take to heal?
If your shingles appeared nine months ago then I presume the rash has now settled down as this usually happens within a few days. However, pain from shingles can certainly go on for some time and there are a variety of painkillers which can be used to help with symptoms.