DEAR DR. DONOHUE: For 20 years, I have bowled in a league and had no problems until this year. Now I have such pain at the base of my thumb that I can hardly hold the ball. And my bowling has become a disaster. What do you think this is? What can I do about […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: In the past you raised the subject of a high potassium reading and said it could come from the way blood was collected. Will you repeat that for me? If I remember correctly, it was caused by the method used in collecting the blood. Is there an explanation for a high reading […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I recently got into a discussion about circumcision with my granddaughter, who recently gave birth to our great-granddaughter. She mentioned that if her next child were a boy, she would choose not to have him circumcised. She claims her husband made a study of the procedure and says it is mutilation, the […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’d like to tell my story about tetanus shots. When I was 14 or 15, I worked on my grandfather’s potato farm and was dirty from head to toe. We picked up potatoes and put them in crates. My cousins, of which I had many (I am one of 52 grandchildren), all […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please help. I am a 55-year-old female diagnosed with C. diff infection in September of last year. I feel my nurse practitioner is a little too nonchalant for me. Since the diagnosis, I have asked questions that my practitioner cannot answer. For instance, can a person be a carrier without having symptoms? […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My son, 57, salts most every food in his diet. He told me that his doctor said, “Eat all the salt you want.” I looked him in the eye, and it was hard not to believe him. I did say I found it hard to believe. My son gets regular checkups every […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’m 17 and play basketball. A basketball hit the tip of my left ring finger and pushed it downward. It really hurt. Our team trainer looked at it and called it a jammed finger. He taped it. My mom insists I see a doctor. I feel silly going to a doctor for […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: For almost two weeks I had the itchiest fingers. I didn’t see anything, so I thought it might be the soap I was using. I changed soap and laundry detergent, but the itching persists. I spoke with my neighbor who said I might have scabies. I almost fainted. I am writing to […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have recently been diagnosed with LPR, laryngopharyngeal reflux. Can you explain it and what the prognosis is? — E.M. ANSWER: Laryngopharyngeal (luh-RING-oh-fair-in-GEE-ul) reflux is the throat version of heartburn. It’s the upward splashing of stomach acid and digestive juices into the throat (pharynx) and voice box (larynx). The result is a […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: We are grandparents in our early 80s with a 9-year-old grandson living with us. He is a bed-wetter, but in every other way normal, intelligent and healthy. We take him to the bathroom about three or four hours after bedtime, but often are too late. You addressed bed-wetting before, but a repeat […]