DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am in constant pain from chronic pancreatitis. I also have diarrhea and am losing weight. The doctor tells me to take Tylenol and not to eat fatty foods. I do, but I still have pain and diarrhea. What kind of specialist should I see? – F.D.

ANSWER: The pancreas has two functions. It’s the source of insulin for blood sugar control, and it’s also the source of digestive enzymes necessary for food breakdown. The organ is located behind and beneath the stomach in the upper left side of the abdomen.

Chronic pancreatitis is pancreatic inflammation that lasts and lasts. The pancreas becomes a skeleton of its former self. Digestive enzymes are no longer produced in sufficient amounts to digest food. As a result, food rushes through the intestinal tract, and diarrhea and weight loss ensue.

Chronic pancreatitis can also diminish insulin production, and the person develops diabetes and requires insulin by needle.

Staying away from fatty and fried foods can bring some pain relief and can lessen diarrhea. However, diet cannot get rid of all the pain and all the diarrhea. Digestive enzymes are available in pill and tablet form. They could greatly improve your condition.

You also need a check for diabetes and the appropriate therapy for it if your blood sugar is high.

The pain of chronic pancreatitis is difficult to manage. Pain medicines stronger than Tylenol are justified and in your case demanded. Sometimes opening the pancreatic duct can relieve pain, and sometimes that can be done with a scope and accompanying instruments. There are surgical procedures designed to alleviate pancreatic pain. Removal of the pancreas is one of them.

The specialist to see is a gastroenterologist. You should beat a path to one’s door immediately.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Why do women get so many urinary tract infections? I have been told not to take baths because they cause urinary tract infections. Is that so? – W.R.

ANSWER: Urinary tract infections include infections of the kidney and of the bladder. I am limiting this discussion to bladder infections, the more common site of urinary infections.

One reason why women outnumber men when it comes to bladder infections has to do with anatomy. The urethra is the tube that drains urine from the bladder to the outside. A woman’s urethra is only 1.6 inches (4 cm) long, while a man’s is 8 inches (20 cm). Bacteria can easily traverse the shorter female urethra to arrive in the bladder. Furthermore, the female urethra opens in a spot that has a large bacterial population.

Baths do not lead to urinary tract infections in women or men.

Information on urinary tract infections can be found in the pamphlet on that topic. Readers, both men and women, will find useful information there. The report can be ordered by writing to: Dr. Donohue, No. 1204, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.50 U.S./$6.50 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My father-in-law has bronchiectasis and coughs constantly. My in-laws baby-sit for our children quite often. I wonder if my father-in-law can spread germs to the children through his coughing. – G.K.

ANSWER: Bronchiectasis (brong-key-EK-tuh-suss) is permanently stretched-out-of-shape bronchi – breathing tubes, the airways. That turns the airways into breeding grounds for germs. A cough that brings up yellow phlegm is its chief sign. Not infrequently, the phlegm will be stained with blood.

This is a mechanical problem that often is traced to a prior infection. In the days before antibiotics, bronchiectasis was a common sequel to pneumonia. Even in the antibiotic era, bronchiectasis can result from lung infections.

Your children are not in danger of catching anything from your father-in-law.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.