DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our 11-year-old daughter begged us for a kitten. We got her one. She is devoted to the kitten and takes care of it by herself. She feeds it, grooms it, plays with it and takes care of the litter box. I am amazed and happy about all this.

About a month after the cat arrived, my little girl complained of pain under her right arm. I looked and she had a red swelling there. The doctor said it was cat scratch disease, but he didn’t give her any medicine or me any information. Should she be on something? Should we get rid of the cat? – L.H.

ANSWER: Cat scratch disease is caused by a germ that doesn’t make cats sick but can cause humans to have the kind of illness your daughter had. After a bite or scratch from an infected cat, usually a kitten, the bitten skin develops a mosquito-bite-sized bump that often goes unnoticed. In another week or so, lymph nodes that drain the area swell, turn red and become tender. Since most scratches are on the arm, nodes under the arms are the ones usually affected. For most, that’s the only sign of illness. A few might have a low-grade temperature and a headache. A very, very few become seriously ill.

The lymph nodes go down in a matter of months.

Treatment isn’t always needed. In the cases where it’s called for, azithromycin is the antibiotic frequently chosen.

People should not worry about having cats as pets. This illness is not something new, nor is it something to be feared. You don’t have to get rid of the cat. The infection clears on its own in most cats.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: During the past year, both of my eyes turned pink-purple in color. My eye doctor says it’s due to my arthritis. Is this rare? Have you heard of this, having unusual red eyes? – J.H.

ANSWER: You must have rheumatoid arthritis, the less-common kind of arthritis. It has greater health implications than other forms of arthritis like the more-commonplace osteoarthritis. Not that osteoarthritis isn’t a debilitating illness, but rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease. “Systemic” implies that it involves many organs other than joints. Osteoarthritis affects only joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis can have an impact on the eyes in about 6 percent of those with the illness. The tough outer coat of the eye – the sclera – becomes inflamed. The sclera is the white of the eye. Both eyes can suffer.

Medicines, some in eyedrop form, often quiet the inflammation.

The arthritis booklet discusses rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and lupus. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue, No. 301, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Every time I take a deep breath, I get a terrible pain in my chest. The pain is alongside the breastbone and about one-third of the way down my chest. If I put any pressure on that area, it hurts. My husband says to take Advil and to forget it.

What do you think this could be? Would Advil help? – S.E.

ANSWER: Advil would help if you have costochondritis. It’s an inflammation of the cartilage that ties each rib to the breastbone. It can happen to one or several cartilages.

The cause of the inflammation isn’t known.

Symptoms are exactly as you describe. Deep breathing is painful, as is twisting the chest or coughing.

You should have this confirmed by your family doctor. Sometimes a shot of cortisone into the inflamed area can speed healing.

If the area is also swollen, many call the condition Tietze’s syndrome.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a 63-year-old son who had Perthes disease as a child. Can you describe this malady? My son now has back pain. Could it be related to his Perthes disease? – H.C.

ANSWER: Legg-Calve-Perthes (have to give all three doctors their due) has a peak incidence between the ages of 4 and 8. It’s an interruption of the blood supply to the topmost part of the thigh bone, the part that forms the hip joint. The child complains of hip pain and limps. Bone deprived of blood crumbles. Most former Perthes patients experience a regeneration of the bone and are able to carry on quite well in time. In adult life, some of them have hip arthritis.

Back pain is not a common complication of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease.

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. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com

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