From night sweats to exercising with osteoarthritis – Dr Jeff answers your health questions
DR Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
See h3health.co.uk and email at drjeff@the-sun.co.uk.
Q: I’M a 33-year-old man in good health but am suffering with serious night sweats, so bad that I feel like I’ve got out of the shower and straight into bed.
I also have a lot of small cysts on my legs and had a large one removed this year, could this be something to do with it?
Tom Griffiths, Derby
A: Night sweats are not the same thing as having a fever.
With fever, the sweat is due to a rise in our body temperature that helps us fight an infection.
Night sweats are episodes of significant night-time sweating that soak the bedclothes.
Although uncomfortable, in most cases this isn’t a sign of any serious medical problem.
Night sweats are fairly common and can be triggered by something as simple as too warm a room or too many blankets on the bed.
For medical causes of night sweats we have to think broadly, as both psychological and physical problems can cause the condition.
Stress is a common cause and patients with stress-induced night sweats often have disturbed sleep or anxiety.
Once a person’s stress levels drop then the night sweats disappear.
Other medical problems to consider include thyroid disease, low levels of testosterone in men (mimicking menopause where women get night sweats), diabetes, sleep apnoea, acid reflux and misuse of alcohol.
It is very unlikely your sweats would be related to small cysts but if you have had night sweats for more than a few weeks then visit your GP.
Q: I’VE got osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, with lymphoma.
Could you advise me on which exercises I should be doing please as I can’t go out and walk.
I get about the house but struggle with stairs. I also get “dead bum” syndrome.
Is there any hope for me? I feel so depressed with it all.
Julie Rayner, Birmingham
A: As a doctor, if I could only offer one thing that is guaranteed to reduce the progression of disease, make you feel better both physically and mentally, and reduce the chances of virtually every illness, it would be exercise.
It’s the one thing that has been shown in countless studies to improve all aspects of our health.
And your exercise doesn’t need to be intense.
Walking is something you can do with fibromyalgia, lymphoma and arthritis.
It’s unrealistic to expect someone with poor fitness or multiple medical problems to be out cycling or running, but you can find something you enjoy doing and make it a habit.