Winter health - webchat with Dr Rosemary Leonard (Mon 17 Nov)

I found that Vicks First Defence worked but the last time I used it an excruciating pain shot up into my head so I've been afraid to use it since.

My sister has rosacea on her face and finds it gets worse when she is very cold (or very warm). She gets very embarrassed by her red face and the comments and questions she is subjected to.

How can she treat this? Her GP just told her to cover it with thick make-up which she is not happy to do.

DH gets chilblains - he had never had a problem until his statins were doubled.

I rarely get colds but I do have frequent bouts of blocked sinuses. I can breathe alright but have pressure in my face and behind my eyes and a headache. Often with shooting pains behind my right eye. It usually lasts two or three days and then drains away. I don't think it gets infected, just blocked.

Can you suggest anything please. I usually take paracetamol but can't take NSAIDs.

Culag [sorry to butt in by the way]; my daughter suffers from blocked sinuses and I've suggested to her that she comes to the gym with me sometimes and uses the sauna [where some people use Olbas Oil] and the steam room [ideally the latter]. I find that the heat and the moisture really clear my nasal passages and I feel sure it would help people who have sinus problems. Also I'm sure the heat helps my joints, which really start to play up at this time of year.

Another question if I may? My ears frequently become blocked and like Culag I often have bunged up sinuses and what I assume is a post nasal drip. Up until this year I have had the ears syringed every 6 months or so - a horrible process 1- but asked to be referred to the ENT dept. where they have a wonderful 'hoover' which does the trick in seconds. Apart from steaming and applying prescribed ear and nose drops, is there anything else which can be done? When I go 'deaf' I go into complete panic mode until I can get them scooshed

Kali Bich, a homeopathic remedy is extremely effective for sinus problems. During a very painful bout of sinusitis I took this as a last resort and it cleared all symptoms.

A question if I may.
I cough each year from October to May. It's a dry cough from a tickle in my throat, lungs clear. I have had several asthma tests all negative. Told it's likely an allergy and prescribed anti histamines. Any other suggestions for those that get winter coughs.

agus thanks for that advice. My husband also suffers with sinus problems.

(We better stop talking homeopathic or naturopathic remedies on the medical thread )

Agus be very careful mentioning homoeopathy to Dr Rosemary, (Homoeopathy can be very successful in treating sinus problems, go and see a qualified registered homoeopath) she is very traditional.......doesnt even believe that diet has any effect on childhood eczema. When she came out with that statement I stopped listening to what she had to say. Sorry, find her very smug and patronising.

Many people experience SAD during the winter months and, of course, antidepressants are often prescribed for this. I have recently heard that all antidepressants are cardio-toxic to some degree. I find this very scary as I have been taking fluoxetine for several years now. Should I stop please?

Thank you.

I have a question about cold weather exercise. I am a reformed smoker but have to accept that my lung capacity will never be what it should. However, I do all I can, including singing in a choir and brisk walking outside. Is it possible, though, that when the weather is really cold, exercising out of doors could do more harm than good?

Actually, re the homeopathy thing: I go to a reputable, classically trained homeopath once a year or so. I pay him £60 and for that I have an hour of his undivided attention whilst we talk about every little thing that bothers me. By the time I leave, I feel totally unburdened and all my troubles physical and mental have just melted away. I hardly need the remedy he has dispensed (or not, depending on how things are with me). So ... what's not to like!

I consider it a good way of supporting my overall health and wellbeing and I don't see how anyone could not think so too especially as it seems to me that the medical profession needs all the help they can get nowadays keeping the population in good shape.

I very rarely go to my GP, I'm one of those 'once in a blue moon' types. Long may it last!

If I can find a natural remedy as opposed to a chemical one I will use the natural. I am not a pharmacist but I believe there are some medications which derive or have a content of natural plants. Digoxin comes to mind.

I take a battery of daily meds and thank goodness they are available.

Is there anything to be done that will prevent my grandsons (aged 4.5 and 20 months) from developing pneumonia? Both have been hospitalised with this during past winters (the older boy seems particularly prone to it) and their mother is dreading the coming cold months.

As the dark evenings lengthen and the weather gets worse, I take up my sewing. And develop a stiff neck and an aching shoulder. Any advice?

I know aches and pains are a sure sign of getting older, but how about when everything hurts all the time and I need to take painkillers ?
Is that normal or a sign of something else? Usually by the end of the day it's not so bad, but is that the painkillers working? I hate to grouch, but maybe some gransnetters can suggest what I can do about it. I'm out and about most days and work 2 days a week. I'm 73.

busilizzie I know what you mean, sometimes, when I have a "turn" I wonder "Is this what being xxx old is supposed to feel like?" I mean, how do you know ...?

*busilizzie+ Listening to my friends all aged over 70 we all have aches and pains mostly in the mornings, which go away when we move about. I feel 95 when I get up and sometimes I go to bed again for 10 mins after breaksfast and then it lifts and I get dressed and by lunchtime my aches and pains have usually gone. If not I take mild painkiller.
It could be the bed or the mattress but I think it is really just age.

Well, apart from the aches and pains and constant small cough these days,
I seem to be reasonably o.k.
But, why is it so difficult to get an appoinment with a GP these days?
Ever since they introduced this stupid, off-putting phone-call-back system?
Is this a suitable question for Dr.Leonard?

I know how you feel MiceElf. I like sewing too and also find myself with a stiff neck, aching here and there when I've spent a bit too long at it. This is very basic but I find that ibuprofen helps as it deals with muscular/skeletal aches & pains.

The advice to people who work all day with computers also applies to those who sew and knit for hours on end. Take a break and do some exercises such as shoulder rolls which will loosen you up before you start on another stint.

Hoping I can ask two questions

1) Would you recommend the flu jab for people otherwise in good health? Adults and children

2) I find when walking on a windy day that my ears really hurt. Not keen on wearing hats down so low that they cover my whole ear. I can live with the pain if it's not doing any harm but wasn't sure whether it might actually cause problems?

From this time of year until spring I live in dread of norovirus aka winter vomiting bug

I would like to know

- best ways to protect yourself from getting it
- best ways to get over it if you do get it
- best ways to stop it spreading throughout the household
- best way to clean up vomit safely

Thank you!

Zeezaa Have you tried one of the headbands from a sports shop? They are shaped so that they cover your ears but don't come down over your forehead. My ears ache if the wind blows into them too, and I keep one of the bands in my bag or pocket (they roll up quite small) The top of your head is still open to the air, so you don't feel as enclosed as wearing a whole hat.