DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’ve been helping my daughter manage her home and three other children after she delivered a baby. The baby, a boy, has started to throw up after most feedings. He’s not losing weight, but this is trying on everyone.

The pediatrician says he might have pyloric stenosis. I am not familiar with this condition. Can you explain what’s going on and how it’s treated? — R.R.

ANSWER: The pylorus is the last part of the stomach, the part that joins the small intestine. It’s a somewhat-narrow passage. The walls of the pylorus are sturdy muscles.

With pyloric stenosis, its normally muscular walls are even more muscular. That narrows the food passage channel to a degree that food cannot leave the stomach. This isn’t a rare problem. It happens in up to three out of every thousand births. Boys are the ones more likely to develop it, and the firstborn, for unclear reasons, has it more often than brothers or sisters.

Quite often, pyloric stenosis runs in a family.

The signature sign is throwing up after a feeding. Vomiting might occur after every feeding, or it might be more intermittent. The problem shows up two to eight weeks after birth. It can occur immediately after being born, but that isn’t the most common scenario. The serious complications of this condition are dehydration and weight loss.

Projectile vomiting — regurgitation in a forceful stream of partially digested milk — is a classic sign, but it’s not always present. Seeing or feeling a hard lump, an “olive,” in the abdomen is another tip-off.

If vomiting doesn’t subside on its own, a simple surgical procedure to widen the pylorus is quite effective. The baby can usually feed 12 to 24 hours after the operation.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had acne as a teenager, and my parents, in the late 1950s, sent me for X-ray treatments. Now I’m in my early 70s. I have a lot of basal cell cancers on my face. I will be going for the removal of seven more this week.

My question is: Should I move back to the North from my present location in the South? I’m thinking that with all the sun exposure here, it’s making the situation worse.

I’ve put film on my windows to block UV rays, installed sun shades and do not sunbathe. I do have to walk my dog briefly at midday, but I wear a wide-brimmed hat. Sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my home, as I am afraid to go out.

I really wouldn’t mind moving back to the North. — J.P.

ANSWER: Basal cell skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of skin cancer. It arises in the basal layer of the skin, the bottommost layer. It doesn’t spread to other organs, but it can bore deeply into tissues beneath the skin. Having had one basal cell cancer puts a person at increased risk for another. Ultraviolet light is another risk.

You don’t have to be a prisoner in your home. You can safely go outside if you apply sunscreen to all exposed skin and reapply it frequently. Keep wearing your wide-brimmed hat.

Basal cell cancer is more common in warm climates, where sun exposure is year-round. Moving back to the North lessens your risk, but doesn’t eliminate it. Northerners get basal cell cancers, too.

You can live with greater freedom in the South if you become a devoted fan of sunscreen. The choice is yours.

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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