DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 62 years old and have no health problems except seasonal allergies during spring and fall. I exercise regularly and eat only healthy vegetarian food and fruits. My symptoms are watery eyes and nose, itching, chest congestion, sneezing, coughing and difficulty sleeping at night due to pollen in the air during […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am anxious to know your opinion regarding removal of surgical hardware. Fourteen months ago, I broke and dislocated my wrist. It was a serious injury and required surgery. They put in a cadaver bone, a plate and eight screws. My recovery has gone quite well, and I have pretty good mobility […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Do you find in your practice that “normal” A1C for non-diabetics changes with age? — D.D. ANSWER: The hemoglobin A1C is a measure of how much sugar is on a hemoglobin molecule. Blood sugar will attach to hemoglobin, and the more sugar in the blood, the more that will become bound to […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Since topical applications of creams like Voltaren or Aspercream are absorbed into the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body, and do not go directly to the site of pain, is there an advantage to using them over oral NSAIDs? — T.A.W. ANSWER: I disagree with your premise. Although topical NSAIDs do get […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 77-year-old female of Hispanic heritage. For many years I have been on cholesterol medication. It has always bothered me, but in the past year, the night cramps in my legs have been intolerable. With each new prescription of a higher dosage, it has gotten worse. After I stopped taking […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: What exactly is collagen, and why do I see so many ads supporting its use as a youth supplement? — R.F. ANSWER: Collagen is a structural protein found in your skin, bones, tendons and ligaments. Collagen is constantly broken down and replaced by the cells in the connective tissue of the body. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 65-year-old woman. As a child, I had what we called “lazy eye.” My condition was that my right eye was aligned noticeably outward. I believe this is referred to as “exotropia.” I had surgery to correct it at the age of 12, and surgery was successful — my right […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read recently that a coronavirus vaccine is scheduled for release in late October or early November in the very early stages of clinical trials. Although the manufacturer has offered assurances that the vaccine is safe, this seems awfully early. I understand that only one vaccine in history has been released this […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have read everything I can find on Heberden’s nodes. I have one on the middle finger of my left hand, my writing hand. I have had this node for about three months, and I believe it is still growing. For sure, it is not diminishing in size. I saw a physician, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband had a hemorrhagic stroke in 2014. He is 75 years old. His blood pressure in the past five days has gone from 123/64 with a heart rate of 50 to 142/77 with a heart rate of 45. It will be in the green for days and then read in 140s […]