DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please provide some information on congestive heart failure. My doctor told me I have it, but she didn’t tell me very much about it. What are the symptoms? I take good care of myself. I am 84 years old. – E.K.

ANSWER: In the United States, congestive heart failure accounts for more than 1 million hospitalizations every year. The heart pumps so weakly that blood backs up into the lungs’ vessels, and the fluid part of blood leaks out into the lungs. It’s much like having someone hold your head under water.

The fluid-filled lungs are congested – the “congestive” of “congestive heart failure.” You can drop the “congestive” part. “Heart failure” is all you need in order to be understood. Fluid also leaks into the tissues of the legs and ankles, and swells them. Two signs of heart failure, therefore, are breathlessness and swollen ankles. Overwhelming fatigue and the inability to do accustomed work are two other signs.

Medicines usually can get the heart beating more strongly and relieve the congestion. ACE-inhibitors – Capoten, Vasotec, Monopril, Prinivil and Zestril are a few brand names – are standard heart-failure medicines. Beta blockers, water pills and digitalis also can be part of the program.

The booklet on congestive heart failure describes this common condition and its treatment in detail. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue – No. 103, 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: My 4-year-old grandson came down with a bright-red flush covering his scrotum and penis. He did not complain at first, but then said it itched. He ran a temperature of 102 F the day before this happened. The temperature responded to Motrin.

My daughter took the child to the emergency room and was told it was idiopathic scrotal edema.

After a week, the skin peeled, and he looked OK. A few days passed, and he came down with a fever again and the symptoms reappeared. I have never heard of this in my 70 years. Can you provide information? – A.D.

ANSWER: That’s something that doesn’t happen too often. The standard North American pediatric textbook of 3,000 pages gives it only a brief, less-than-one-sentence mention. Boys between the ages of 4 and 6 get it. The scrotum turns red and swells, and the penis also might be involved.

The diagnosis is confirmed with a Doppler ultrasound, which shows increased blood flow. It’s often treated with an antihistamine, such as Benadryl. People have speculated that it might be an allergic reaction.

I don’t know if a relapse is common. I would take the boy to a pediatrician this time and get a second opinion.

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