DEAR DR. DONOHUE: In 1970, when in college, I had a friend who bruised so badly that she looked like a battered woman. The doctor at the health care center told her to take vitamin C because it strengthens cell walls. She did, and the bruising stopped.

My father died of ischemic stroke and had suffered from heart disease. My mother has had several hemorrhagic strokes. I am 60 and started taking baby aspirin. I am bruising more. I am thinking about adding vitamin C to my program. Will it interfere with the baby aspirin’s blood-thinning effect? — N.L.

ANSWER: Ever hear of scurvy? It’s not seen much these days, but in the 15th through 18th centuries, it was a common disorder and was rampant among sailors. Dr. James Lind, a British naval surgeon, experimented with groups of sailors, giving them a variety of treatments. The group given a daily lemon and two oranges recovered quickly from all the signs and symptoms of scurvy. Those signs are small and large bruises, bleeding from the gums, coiled hairs, joint pains and impaired wound healing. Perhaps this was behind the college doctor’s prescription of vitamin C for your friend.

Vitamin C is involved with the synthesis of collagen, one of the major support tissues in the body. It’s a powerful antioxidant, neutralizing oxidants, which are byproducts of cell metabolism that wreak havoc in the body. It aids in the absorption of iron. It keeps the immune system healthy. It stops the bleeding and bruising of scurvy by strengthening capillaries, the smallest of blood vessels. I find no information that it interferes with aspirin’s anti-platelet effect. Platelets form clots that sometimes occur in arteries and obstruct blood flow. The result can be a heart attack or a stroke.

With your mother’s history of hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes, you should consult your doctor before launching into daily aspirin.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My 51-year-old son has been diagnosed with a Zenker’s diverticulum. He has seen many specialists, but none has spoken of a cure. He has difficulty swallowing. Is there any relief? — M.F.

ANSWER: The loss of tissue elasticity, along with weakening of the swallowing muscles, sets the scene for the bulging of the throat lining through the throat muscles to create a pouch. That’s a Zenker’s diverticulum. Food gets caught in the pouch, and no effort on a person’s part can dislodge it. Difficulty swallowing and an increased production of saliva result. Food decomposes in the pouch. Eventually it’s regurgitated into the mouth and creates a foul odor.

Surgery corrects the situation. A newer technique is the use of a flexible scope, introduced through the mouth, that permits repair without an incision.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 63-year-old male. I work out three or four times a week, doing aerobic exercise as well as weight training. From November to April, I officiate basketball at the college level. Last year, during a routine physical, I was diagnosed with low testosterone. My doctor scheduled me for bimonthly injections in his office.

Recently a friend told me that her husband was diagnosed with low testosterone and that his doctor prescribed a pill. Is testosterone available as a pill? — T.V.

ANSWER: Testosterone is available as a pill. However, oral testosterone isn’t the best way to correct a deficiency. It doesn’t reliably provide sustained blood levels of the hormone. To overcome this obstacle, doctors choose other methods of delivering it or prescribe a testosterone that has been chemically altered.

Testosterone does provide good blood levels through injection, a skin patch or a tablet placed between the gum and the cheek.

If injections are not your cup of tea, ask your doctor about these other methods of delivery or the substitution of an altered testosterone molecule.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Three times I have suddenly become sweaty and completely flustered. The first time it happened was in a convenience store. The other two times, I was shopping for food in a grocery store, and these attacks were much worse and lasted longer. I became sweaty, my hands shook and I felt like I was about to die. I had to sit down for 15 minutes or so before I got control of myself.

Has this got something to do with food? The three times it happened, I was in places where food is sold. Could it be an allergy? — S.M.

ANSWER: It’s more likely panic attacks. As many as 10 percent of the population suffer from them. They’re exactly as you describe. The heart races, sweat pours off the face and body, and the hands tremble. People believe they are about to die.

Panic attacks often are a family affair. The genetic influence is strong. An imbalance of brain-messenger chemicals is another element in their occurrence. And it might be that some buried memory in your subconscious is leading to an outpouring of hormones, like adrenaline, that puts you and your body on alert that a catastrophe is about to befall you when the reality is that no such thing is going to happen.

See the family doctor. A few physical conditions produce similar symptoms. One is a rare tumor called pheochromocytoma. Another is an overactive thyroid gland. However, your description is classic for panic attacks. You’re in a nonthreatening place and doing a nonthreatening act.

Your doctor or a mental health professional can get you over this. Talk therapy can unearth any subconscious fears triggering the attacks. Calming medicines are another part of therapy. Alprazolam is such a drug. A therapist can go with you to the places where the attacks happened to convince your brain that no calamity is about to strike.

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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