Contraception and birth control Archive

Ask the doctors

Q. I've found that I bruise more easily as I've gotten older. Is that normal?

A. If you're noticing more black-and-blue marks on your body, it's most likely not a skin or blood problem. Age-related changes to your skin and underlying blood vessels can make you more prone to bruising.

A daily low-dose aspirin may help prevent stroke and certain cancers, but the therapy carries certain risks you'll want to discuss with your physician.

It used to be that you would reach for an aspirin only if you had a headache or an achy joint, but current research shows that low doses of the drug may reduce your risk of stroke and even help prevent colorectal cancer.

So, does this mean you should head to the pharmacy, grab a bottle, and pop a tablet every morning to ward off disease? The short answer is, maybe — but only after you have a detailed conversation with your doctor about the potential benefits and risks. A low-dose aspirin regimen is certainly not appropriate for every woman.

Gender differences in the brain's reward system could mean that women who need help kicking alcohol may need different types of treatment.

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Men and women aren't created equal — at least when it comes to drinking alcohol. If you drink a glass of wine, you will typically have a higher blood alcohol level than a man who drinks the same amount, because of differences in the way your body processes alcohol. And if you drink more than the recommended amount, you may also be more susceptible to health problems — including liver disease and brain changes — than a man who does the same.

A new study from researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University has added another potential concern to that list, by showing that alcoholism may also have different effects on the reward systems in men's and women's brains.

On call

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Q. I was an active runner before my hip replacement. Is it okay to return to jogging several times a week?

A. Hip replacements help relieve pain and improve function for people with worn-out hip joints. However, replacement joints also can wear out over time and require what's called a revision surgery. Therefore, activities that may increase stress or wear on the joint are often discouraged.

On call

Q. I am 72, and over the past year I have begun to lose my sense of smell. Is this a normal part of aging?

A. Some loss of sensitivity to smells — also known as anosmia — is normal as we get older, but there may be another explanation. The ability to smell depends on a healthy lining of the nasal cavity, open nasal passageways, and normal function of the olfactory (smell) nerves. A problem with one or more of these can lead to loss of smell. The most common causes are nasal problems, like nasal polyps, blocked sinuses, and seasonal allergies. These can be detected by a routine examination, although you may need to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist for a more extensive exam.

When you live with physical pain, changing your reaction to it can help you better manage discomfort and obstacles.

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Dealing with chronic physical pain, no matter the source or severity, is a constant challenge, but sometimes the emotional pain that comes with it can be just as trying. In fact, more than half of people with pain feel they have lost control of their lives, according to the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

"In general, men tend to be less verbal about seeking help with their physical pain," says Dr. Ellen Slawsby, director of pain management at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital.

A certain amount of healthy fat is good for your heart.

Low-fat, no-fat, fat-free. Fat has been shamed for so long, it's easy to think there's no place for it in a heart-healthy diet. But the opposite is true. "It's a myth that lowering fat intake is healthy," says Dr. Frank Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "The key is to use more healthful unsaturated fats and less of the detrimental saturated fats."

The good and the bad

To understand the role of fat in heart health, you first have to look at where it's found in food. There are two types of fat: saturated and unsaturated.

In the journals

The erectile dysfunction drugs collectively known as phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, such as sildenafil (Viagra), may not cause melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, according to a study published online May 19, 2017, by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In 2016, the FDA put PDE5 inhibitors on its watch list of medications with possible safety issues after some studies suggested they might increase the risk for melanoma. In response to the FDA's action, researchers analyzed data from five large-scale studies of the issue, involving 866,049 men, published between 2014 and 2016.

The results of two studies found that using the drug abiraterone in combination with other hormonal therapy drugs to treat aggressive prostate cancer produced more favorable results than the first-line therapy alone.