DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 60 years old and continue to play basketball twice a week. I play through a number of nagging pains and ailments. One problem I have never had is Achilles’ tendinopathy. I attribute this to stretching after I warm up and after I am through playing. If you agree, pass this […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I quit smoking one year ago. I had a cough when I was smoking, and I still have it, but it’s much milder. I saw a doctor, who tells me I have COPD. I do pant when I have to climb stairs or do chores around the house. The doctor put me […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I would like to see a column on arthritis. Thank you. — M.D. ANSWER: “Arthro” means joint; “itis,” inflammation. A large number of illnesses fall into the arthritis category — gout, joint infections, ankylosing spondylitis (spine arthritis) and psoriasis. When most people say “arthritis,” they are speaking of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. […]

To Readers: A recent discussion of nighttime leg cramps brought an avalanche of readers’ remedies, as it always does. I can’t submit all for publication, but I’ll try to include more throughout the year in future columns. I also cannot vouch for their effectiveness. I am sure they aren’t harmful. Try them if you wish. […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 50-plus-year-old male. Recently I had a scare. I suffered from blood clots in my left leg and was hospitalized for them. Then about a week before Christmas, I found myself unable to catch my breath. I felt like I was dying. I called an ambulance, and they took me […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My neighbor fell backward, and the back of her head hit a railroad tie. She unknowingly bled beneath her skull for a month until she passed out. The doctors found a crack in her skull and said she should have died. I read that a brain injury causes something like “alkaloids” to […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Stretching before I play any sport has become a must-do for me. However, even with stretching, I pulled a leg muscle last week while playing softball. Is stretching all that great? I thought warm-ups prevented those kinds of injuries. — H.H.  ANSWER: Stretching and warm-ups are two different things.  Warm-ups do what […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I think I have hay fever. I am sneezing all the time, my nose itches and my eyes itch. There’s no hay around where I live. How did the name arise? I have taken antihistamines, which help some, but they make me so drowsy that I can’t stay awake. Someone told me […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our son fought amyloidosis, which took his life on Oct. 10, 2009. We hope you make this disease a topic for a column. Our family’s mission is to aggressively spread the word and hopefully save lives. We are meeting with the director of the Amyloid Treatment and Research Program from Boston University […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Will you explain C. diff? Is there a cure? I am told high doses of antibiotics cause it. How can it be prevented? — Anon.  DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I work in a nursing home where two residents were diagnosed with C. diff. I had taken care of them for one month before […]