DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please print something about urinary tract infections. What causes them? How do you prevent them? I’m 86. — M.W. ANSWER: Women get more urinary tract infections than men. One reason is that the female urethra, the tube that drains the urinary bladder, is smaller in women than in men. Furthermore, the female […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 75-year-old female recently diagnosed with MAI, mycobacterium avium-intracellulare. An irregularity was seen on a routine chest X-ray. A CT scan suggested the diagnosis. Later the results were confirmed by a bronchoscopy, in which some contents of the irregularity were cultured in the laboratory. My doctor said that this mycobacterium […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What’s your opinion on golf being real exercise? I believe it has next to nothing to offer when it comes to conditioning or to health in general. It’s more a scenic ride around a nicely manicured park where people play at a game that strikes me as being nothing more than croquet. […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Wow! I have been reading your column for years and was shocked at your answer to D.C.’s question about leaving her body to science. Your response was to rant about organ donation, a wonderful idea, but hello … You can find many websites that you could have recommended. — C.J. ANSWER: C.J. […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am in my mid-50s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and somewhat overweight. My doctors have told me my heartbeat is too slow. Apparently, most people have a heart rate of 60 to 100 at rest. Mine is 47. While being prepared for a colonoscopy, the nurse asked if I was an […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’m a relatively young woman at 43 years old. Until six months ago, I was the picture of health. I have three young children, had a part-time job and exercised daily. Then I had to put on the brakes. I had little energy to do anything. My hands started hurting. My husband […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My mother, 79, was diagnosed with diverticulosis more than 10 years ago. Last year she experienced discomfort — abdominal pain and constipation, but no bloating, diarrhea or cramps. She saw the family doctor, who prescribed a stool softener and laxative. When this didn’t work, she saw a gastroenterologist. Based on my mother’s […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am told by my doctors that I have macular degeneration. They’re giving me shots in my eye. They shots are supposed to halt or slow down the process. I already have had many shots, but I really can’t see that much better. What do you think of them? Is it worth […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I know you’ve written about percentage of fat in the body. I was mildly interested in it then, but now I’m very interested in it. Will you repeat that article? I’m starting to obsess about my weight. I have told myself that most of my weight is muscle, but I’m not as […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband recently died at the age of 93 from acute leukemia. I had never heard of it before, nor have others to whom I mentioned it. He was doing fine at 93. Life was good. Then he got an infection in his left arm, and that’s when we learned of the […]