DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My doctor is doing tests for possible lupus. Will you write about this illness and its outcome? – C.C.

ANSWER: Lupus is not a run-of-the mill illness, but it’s not a curiosity either. It’s an autoimmune disease, one of those illnesses where the immune system mistakes its own body organs as being intruders and sets about destroying them. Just about any organ or tissue can come under attack – skin, joints, kidneys, the coverings of the heart and lungs, the heart itself, the eyes, the nervous system and blood-making cells. It’s an illness that strikes many more women than men and often appears between the ages of 15 and 50.

Since the number of target organs is great, the number of possible symptoms is also great.

A common sign of lupus is a skin rash that appears on the cheeks and bridge of the nose. It’s a red, raised rash, and it forms the outline of a butterfly on the face.

Lupus arthritis strikes the knees, wrists and hands most often, but it also can strike the hips, ankles, elbows and shoulders. Frequently the arthritis jumps from joint to joint.

The heart covering – the pericardium – and the lung covering – the pleura – can become inflamed, and fluid can accumulate in them. Both cause chest pain and pain on breathing. Heart valves also can be involved in lupus.

Listing every possible symptom of lupus is a task that can’t be accomplished in a short column. If the ones I have mentioned frighten you, let me quickly say there are effective medicines for lupus, medicines that have profoundly changed the outlook for this illness.

One peculiarity of lupus is sensitivity to sunlight. Sunlight often makes lupus act up.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 66 years old and in great health. I have been in the hospital only three times: once for a tonsillectomy, once for the birth of my son and once for a tubal ligation.

I have been practicing mediation for 40 years. For dental work, I don’t need to have my gums frozen. I meditate.

I had a colonoscopy and did have an anesthetic. After the procedure my doctor said he felt that my meditation had affected the vagus nerve, because my heart rate went from 60 to 30. He asked if I was ever dizzy or if I fainted often. I have not.

Do you think that mediation or the anesthetic caused my heart to slow? – D.R.

ANSWER: It could have been both or either or neither.

The vagus nerve controls heart rate by slowing it. The anesthesia could have stimulated the vagus nerve and caused heart slowing.

On the other hand, meditation can slow the heart. Holy men of Hindu and other religions can slow their hearts and their breathing rates and can dull their perception to pain through meditation and self-discipline. They can walk on burning coals without batting an eye. Perhaps you have reached this state through 40 years of practice. Don’t try the burning-coal bit, though.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband insists on using our stainless-steel kitchen sink as a mop pail when we have a perfectly good pail. I have asked him not to do this. He says germs don’t stick to stainless steel. Please advise. – E.M.

ANSWER: Germs do stick to stainless steel. If they didn’t, surgical instruments wouldn’t have to be sterilized.

I’m on your side, and I’m not coming for lunch until your husband starts using a pail.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Can a fractured skull cause a hearing problem or a loss of memory? – E.B.

ANSWER: If the fracture was near the ear, it could affect hearing.

A severe blow to the head also could damage memory. A fracture indicates that the blow was severe.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I spent Christmas with my daughter, who has a 1-year-old baby. The baby had a cough that sounded like croup to me. I told my daughter that she should fill her bathroom with steam by turning on the hot water in the shower and that she should sit in the bathroom with the baby. She didn’t listen to me, but took the child to the doctor the next day. She asked the doctor about steam, and he shrugged his shoulders. Is that outdated treatment? – A.K.

ANSWER: Croup is an inflammation of the larynx (the voice box) and the main airway – the trachea – usually caused by a virus. The peak ages for croup are between 7 months and 36 months. At the start, it looks like an ordinary cold, with a mild cough and runny nose. Soon, however, the child’s cry becomes hoarse and the cough sounds like the noise a barking seal makes. Stridor is an important sign of croup; it’s a high-pitched, eerie sound made when the baby takes a breath in. Almost always, the baby has a fever.

Signs that croup is turning into an emergency are stridor heard both in inspiration and expiration, a drawing inward of the breastbone on inspiration, along with agitation and anxiousness on the baby’s part. Children with these signs should be taken to the emergency room immediately.

Signs of lesser distress can be managed at home, but parents should communicate with their doctors. A bathroom filled with steam has often been suggested as soothing to the baby’s inflamed airways, but there is little proof of that. Cortisone brings quick relief. In emergency situations, it is given by shot. At home, it can be given by mouth.

Other illnesses look and sound like croup, so the safest way to deal with situations that suggest croup is to speak with the doctor, who can make an evaluation of the seriousness of situation.

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