DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m 71 and have had both Moderna COVID-19 vaccination shots. When I called my doctor to inquire about a Moderna booster, I was told one was not available now but that I could take the Pfizer booster. Can you confirm this? I’m a little wary of taking another type of booster shot. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: How reliable are home COVID-19 tests? I’ve read one article that said that if you tested negative you could be certain that you did not have COVID-19, but if you tested positive there was a significant chance of a false positive. Another article said exactly the opposite. What are the facts? — […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am told by doctors that the natural immunity your body develops by having had the COVID-19-19 virus is just as, or even more, effective at protecting you as one of the three vaccines that you are pushing people to get. Like I’ve read up on, natural immunity is science also. Will […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 67-year-old male who was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I have had both Moderna doses for COVID-19. I have read all along that people with diabetes are at a much higher risk for complications with COVID-19, and I’ve read that the breakthrough infections, for the most part, are not nearly as […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 69-year-old woman in good health. For a couple of years, I have had increasing trouble sleeping because of having to get up during the night to urinate. It is now four to eight times per night. I am careful not to drink much after early afternoon. I have a […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: The rims of my ears both get so sore I can’t even sleep on them. What can I do? — W.W. ANSWER: There are many causes for pain in the cartilage of the ear, including trauma and infection. However, when both ears are involved, it raises the concern for a rare but […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have sciatic pain. I do my best to mitigate the pain with exercise. The only painkiller I can tolerate is aspirin. I have been approved for physical therapy, but that doesn’t start for another six weeks. When I stand up, the pain is intense, and I just force myself to walk, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Does our skin make vitamin D from sun exposure through a car’s windshield? Sometimes I expose my stomach for about 10 minutes while driving or riding in a car, but I’m not sure if the skin responds the same way through glass as it does with direct sun exposure. — S.R. ANSWER: […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My father died two years ago at age 73. For about six months, he had been experiencing excruciating back pain, which surgery didn’t help. A few years earlier, he had been treated for bladder cancer. He was due to have a follow-up appointment with his cancer specialist but didn’t because he was […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am one of four daughters, ages 69 to 61. Our dad is 95 and still lives independently, although one of us four girls comes each night to have dinner with him. He doesn’t drive anymore, and we do all of his shopping and errands for him. He is frail and has […]