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How Can I Stop the Sag

Posted on: Sunday, 4 December 2005, 06:00 CST

By DR GARETH SMITH

Q I HAVE really droopy breasts. I don't want implants but would like them lifted. What does this involve?

A YOUR breasts can sag for many reasons, such as normal drooping with age, childbirth, genetics or weight gain and loss.

A breast lift - known medically as mastoplexy - sees the surgeon cut across the breast and around the areola (the darker skin around the nipple).

Some tissue and skin will be removed from the lower part of the breast and the nipple, areola, and breast tissue will be moved up.

After surgery, there will be bruising, swelling, pain, and numbness or dryness of the breasts.

The scars will be permanent. Many fade to a light line similar to stretch marks. Patients are usually able to go back to work in around a week.

Alternatively, many women have found uplift bras - such as Wonderbras - have helped.

Q I'M 48 and my doctor has told me I'm going through my perimenopause. Is this the same as the menopause? A THE perimenopause is the period of symptoms you have before your periods stop completely (the menopause).

The average age for menopause is 50-51 but the body starts preparing for it years in advance.

These biological changes are referred to as perimenopause or menopausal transition.

As a woman's ovaries produce less oestrogen, the regular pattern of the menstrual cycle becomes disrupted and the frequency of normal cycles declines.

It is not uncommon for women to experience a mixture of normal, short and long cycles during perimenopause and symptoms such as hot flushes, emotional changes and tiredness. QI KEEP getting chest infections in winter. What is the cause?

ATHERE are lots of different causes. In general, they are due to bacteria or viruses. The infection can lead to pneumonia, in which the lung is inflamed, the air sacs are filled with inflammatory cells and the lung becomes solid.

Bronchitis occurs when the bronchi, the tubes leading into the lungs, are inflamed. Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics. Viral infections will not respond to antibiotics, so only the symptoms are treated. Smoking boosts your chance ofdeveloping chest infections.

QI HAVE scabies. How can I treat this?

ASCABIES is a skin infection by a small mite, sarcoptes scabiei, which burrows into the skin. The parasite can infect any part of the body but is most common on the hands and forearms. The burrows are particularly common between the fingers.

The itchiness is caused by a hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system. A variety of treatments can be used but it takes time for it to be effective, often several weeks.

Also, you need to disinfect daily items that might be reinfecting you, such as towels, sheets and clothing.

QI HAVE suffered from hyperventilation on a few occasions. Is this due to stress or some other health problem?

ATHIS is usually a response to stress. It is common in people who suffer from panic attacks but is also found in those who are only mildly anxious.

For some reason, these people start to breathe very fast and with very shallow breaths. This prevents enough carbon dioxide from leaving the lungs, which leads to the characteristic symptoms of light-headedness, tingling around the mouth and in the handsand sometimes pain in the chest.

In someone who does not need treatment for a panic disorder, a simple solution is to breathe in and out of a paper bag, which will restore the correct oxygen to carbon dioxide balance in the lungs

Source: Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK)

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