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WBZ Medical Reporter Dr. Mallika Marshall will answer selected viewer e-mail questions during WBZ-TV News at 5pm and right here on this page of our web site.
Please try to keep your emails as brief and generic as possible. Bear in mind for legal reasons, the type of medical advice Dr. Marshall can offer is limited, and she cannot recommend individual physicians or diagnose specific conditions without seeing a patient in person. Be sure to include your name and hometown.
Dr. Mallika's advice should only be used as a guideline. Always talk to your doctor first before making any decisions about your own personal healthcare.
Email Dr. Mallika
Watch Dr. Mallika's Latest Reports
April, Hudson:
I was only 50 when I had shingles and was told this was unusual. And they seem to be contagious. Is this true?
Dr. Mallika:
Shingles is a painful, sometimes itchy rash caused by reactivation of the chicken pox virus in someone who had either chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine in the past. It's quite common in people 50 or older, just like you. In terms of contagion, if you come into contact with someone who has never had the chicken pox or the vaccine, then yes, they could get chicken pox from you. But someone is not going to get an outbreak of shingles just because they were around you when you had shingles.
"Health Concerns", Nashua:
My husband is on the blood thinner coumadin. He's also on Nexium. Is it safe to take them together?
Dr. Mallika:
Nexium is a medication used to treat acid reflux and stomach ulcers and it belongs to a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors. Some of these drugs can actually increase levels of coumadin in the blood. But according to my research, Nexium is one that is less worrisome. Either way, you should check with your pharmacist and just have your blood monitored regularly to make sure you're coumadin levels aren't out of whack.
Dana:
I'm having problems with underarm perspiration. I've tried a variety of deodorants and nothing works. What can I do?
Dr. Mallika:
Excessive sweating can be a real nuisance but you're not alone. First of all, look for deodorants that contain an anti-perspirant specifically. If those don't work, you can ask your doctor for a prescription strength antiperspirant. These can be irritating but you can apply them at night and wash them off in the morning. If your sweating is related to stress, blood pressure medications called beta blockers can help or anti-anxiety medications like sedatives. Botox injections are another option, but these are quite painful as you can imagine.
Phyllis:
Can you tell me the average time that Aricept actually works for patients? My mom has been on it for three years and she may be getting worse.
Dr. Mallika:
Aricept is the most popular drug used to treat the symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. It stops the breakdown of a chemical in the brain used for important mental functions and has been shown to improve memory in some patients and has allowed them to be managed at home for longer periods of time. However, it's not a cure and it hasn't been proven to slow the progression of the disease. Unfortunately, even on Aricept, patients with Alzheimer's will continue to get worse over time.
Linda, Sudbury:
How serious is a low red blood cell count and low hemoglobin, especially if other results in the CBC are in the normal range?
Dr. Mallika:
CBC stands for complete blood count and it's a routine test that doctors do to look for evidence of anemia or sometimes infection. Having a low red blood cell count or low hemoglobin is indicative of anemia. And the seriousness all depends on how low those numbers are.
Common causes of anemia include iron deficiency, vitamin deficiencies, blood loss, hereditary diseases like thalessemia or sickle cell and kidney disease. But whatever the cause, if your blood count is low enough it can take a toll on your body and cause debilitating symptoms like weakness and fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath and palpitations. So if you have anemia, talk to your doctor about likely causes so that you can fix the underlying problem and feel your best.
Eleanor:
Celebrities are touting compounded bioidentical hormones. Do they have the same risks as synthetic hormones like Premarin?
Dr. Mallika:
Many postmenopausal women are turning to bioidentical hormones because of concerns about conventional hormone preparations. What usually happens is that a woman submits a sample of her blood or saliva to a lab to measure baseline hormone levels and a prescriber will select individual hormones and doses to be compounded as pills, gels, tablets that dissolve under the tongue, or suppositories. But there's no evidence that these products are either safe or effective. Sometimes the quality of the hormones is poor. In fact, the FDA has begun to take action against seven compounding pharmacies that, they say, make false and misleading claims about their products.
Trudy, Wellesley:
Why do we sneeze?
Dr. Mallika:
Sneezing can certainly be a sign of illness such as a cold or allergies, but it also appears to be a normal bodily function that is present throughout the animal kingdom. It's a complex reflex triggered by nerves in the nose that detect swelling, particles, like dust or pepper, or substances that you may be allergic to. The end result is a forceful expulsion of air through the nose (and mouth) to get rid of whatever invaded - so forceful that particles are sometimes blown out at more than 100 miles an hour. There are lots of rumors about sneezing such as your heart stops when you sneeze, or placing your finger below your nose will stop a sneeze in its tracks. These are just rumors.
Jenny, Dorchester:
I have had pain in the back of my knee for two weeks and was told it could be a baker's cyst. What is that?
Dr. Mallika:
A baker's cyst, also called a popliteal cyst, is a pocket of fluid that forms a lump in the back of the knee. People often complain of a feeling of stiffness or pressure behind the knee especially when the knee is completely bent or straight. Arthritis is the most common cause but it can also follow a knee injury. The best way to treat it is to avoid certain activities like squatting or kneeling, wrap the knee in an ace bandage, and ice it to reduce the swelling. In some situations, the fluid can be drained with a needle and injected with steroids to reduce the inflammation. On rare occasion, surgery is performed to remove the cyst all together.
Estelle, Boston:
I've had a fever for a couple of days. What could be causing it?
Dr. Mallika:
Fever can be caused by a variety of conditions in adults such as medications and overexposure to heat, but the vast majority of fevers are caused by infection, usually viruses which are often accompanied by sore throat, cough, runny nose, congestion, upset stomach, vomiting or diarrhea. But bacterial illnesses can also cause fever, like ear infections, urinary tract infections, skin infections, and strep throat. The best way to treat your fever is to use over-the-counter fever reducing medications like acetominophen or Tylenol and ibuprofen like Advil or motrin. Aspirin can cause bleeding problems in adults and something called Reyes Syndrome in children, so it should not be your first choice for the treatment of fever. You also shouldn't jump in a cold bath or bathe in alcohol which will only make you feel uncomfortable and will generally only cool your skin. Fevers can also cause dehydration, so make sure you drink lots of fluids.
