Diseases & Conditions Archive

Q. Over the past few months, I have noticed a constant low-level ringing in my left ear. How can I make it stop?

A. It sounds like you have tinnitus, caused by a malfunction in the hearing nerve, either from loud noises or age-related changes. Pulsatile tinnitus, in which the sound changes in time with your heartbeat, is a special situation often related to blood vessel problems.

Get to know your triggers and ways to prevent flare-ups.

Why women need to be concerned about this growing threat to our health.

Every time you see your eye doctor, make sure you're leaving with the appropriate vision correction.

There comes a time when you start to notice your vision isn't as sharp as it used to be. Maybe you have to hold books and newspapers farther away from your eyes—the result of a change in your focusing ability, called presbyopia. Or, the world might look more blurred and faded than it once did, possibly because of an eye disease like cataracts or macular degeneration.

A Harvard Medical School doctor answers a common eyesight question

Q: Recently, I started to notice tiny threadlike shapes in my field of vision. My doctor says they are "floaters." Should I be concerned?

A: "Floaters" is a catchall term for what look like dots, threads, or cobwebs drifting across your line of vision.

Although it accounts for less than 5% of all skin cancer cases, melanoma is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. This form of cancer starts in the melanocytes, cells deep in the epidermis, or in moles on the surface of the skin that produce pigment.

Early detection and treatment are critical to prevent this cancer from spreading throughout the body.

Q. My doctor has advised me to have my inguinal hernia repaired. Should I have a laparoscopic repair or the more traditional "open" procedure?

A. Inguinal hernias happen to almost a third of men. This type of hernia occurs when a portion of the intestines or the fatty tissue surrounding it bulges through a tear in the abdominal wall and into the groin or scrotum.

Q. I have started to notice a constant twitching under my right eyelid. It appears during the day and often lasts for hours. I was told not to be concerned, but is it possible to fix this problem?

A. Involuntary eyelid twitching, often in the lower lid, is common and referred to as eyelid myokymia. These tiny contractions of the muscle are more noticeable because of the small size of the muscle and its location near the eye. There is no serious underlying problem in most cases. The most common things that trigger eyelid twitching are stress, caffeine, and lack of sleep. Reducing those triggers often eliminates the twitching.

Eating a fiber-rich diet helps to prevent constipation. There are a variety of laxatives for occasional irregularity.

Q. Now that I am postmenopausal, I have been getting bladder infections more frequently. Why is that, and is there anything I can do to prevent them?

A. You're said to have recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) if you get two or more infections in a six-month period. Postmenopausal women may be more susceptible to these infections for a few reasons. The cells in the urinary tract that help prevent infection depend on estrogen, so they don't work as effectively when less estrogen is being produced. Also, as you get older, the function of your urinary tract can change in ways that increase your risk for infection. For example, bladder contractions can be weaker, which means some urine tends to pool in the bladder. That leftover urine provides a good environment for bacteria to grow. Women with urinary incontinence, as well as those with bladder prolapse, are also at greater risk for infection.