DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our son, now 44, had a febrile convulsion when he was 5 years old. It happened early in the morning, so we didn’t know how long it lasted. Our family doctor, who in those days made home visits, came two hours after we had called him, and our son was still unconscious.

From then on, our son had petit mal seizures. We had him examined, and the doctor did an EEG, which showed a small brain scar about the size of a pinhead.

After all these years, we are still worried about our son. His seizures stopped a long time ago, and he is not on any medication. However, he does things that are not normal. He is too trusting, naive, gullible and easily manipulated, and people take advantage of him. He needs help. Where can he get it? – D.A.

ANSWER: Children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years are the ones at risk for having a febrile convulsion – a seizure that comes on when body temperature is 102.2 F (39 C) or higher and when body temperature rises to those levels quickly. The peak age for such seizures is between 14 months and 18 months. About 4 percent of children experience a febrile seizure.

The whole affair is usually over quickly, lasting only for a few seconds to a few minutes. Rarely does it continue for 15 or more minutes. During the seizure, the baby’s arms and legs repetitively contract and relax, or they are drawn into a tight contraction. After the seizure, the child is drowsy for a short time.

Generally, febrile seizures have an excellent prognosis and are not associated with future problems or a decline in intellectual performance. I don’t believe your son’s personality traits developed from the seizure he had as a youngster.

Does your son recognize his troubles in his relationships with others? His acknowledgement of these problems is the first step in righting them. If he cannot correct them on his own and if his life is affected by them, he should ask his family doctor to refer him to a mental health specialist for counseling.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a niece who has PXE. She is in her early 30s and has had it for several years. Any information would be helpful. – K.D.

ANSWER: PXE, pseudoxanthoma elasticum, is an inherited disorder that involves elastic fibers found in the skin, eyes and arteries. Small, yellow bumps arise in skin creases of the neck, under the arms, on the groin, behind the knee, in front of the elbow and on the mouth side of the cheeks. Changes in elastic fibers appear in the eye’s retina and can affect vision. In arteries, changes lead to leg pain when walking, easy bleeding and premature heart disease.

The goal of treatment is treatment of these complications. A cure is not at hand.

Your niece will benefit from contacting the National Association for Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum at www.napxe.org, the PXE International at www.pxe.org or both.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had to have five heart bypasses. Four months after the operation, three of the bypasses came loose. Is this normal? I had three stents put in those bypasses. Did I do anything to cause the bypasses to come loose? – R.B.

ANSWER: From what you have said, the bypasses didn’t come loose. They developed clots.

Bypasses are like road detours. They’re transplanted veins or arteries that are inserted above and below a clogged artery – usually a heart artery – so that blood can “bypass” the obstruction and flow to the heart muscle. Clots formed in three of your bypasses. To open up the clogged bypasses, stents were placed in them. A stent is a metal device that expands when it reaches the point of obstruction. Blood can then flow through the vessel.

This isn’t a common happening, but it does occur. You did nothing to cause it. You were an unfortunate victim of a mistake made by nature.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am writing to prove a point. Instead of saying “ho, ho, the merrio,” I say “ho, ho, Cheerios.” Last March I was told my cholesterol was 206. The doctor suggested medicine. I said no, but that I would eat Cheerios. In six months, my cholesterol dropped to 186. It’s true what they say about Cheerios. – A.D.

ANSWER: I’m happy for you, for your cholesterol, for Cheerios and for its manufacturer, who will love your testimonial. Cheerios is an oat cereal, and oats can lower cholesterol.

It’s nice to hear that something other than a medicine has had a health impact.

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