DEAR DR. ROACH: I am scheduled to play tennis with my friend tonight. His son tested positive for COVID-19 and is symptomatic as of yesterday. He has not seen his son for at least one week before the diagnosis. Is my friend safe, and would it therefore be safe for me to play tennis with […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 78 and have some difficulty swallowing. I must take calcium and magnesium tablets, and they are very large. I have to chew them to get them down properly. I have actually choked on pills in the past. But chewing some tablets gives a terrible taste. Any suggestions? — P.P.L. ANSWER: […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: A friend was diagnosed with high blood pressure several years ago and has been on a hypertensive drug since then. However, over the past years, he has lost over 50 pounds and is no longer overweight. He works out every day. He never exercised prior to his diagnosis. He seems to be […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m an 88-year-old woman in good health except that I have had a lot of leg and back pain in the past two or so years. I had spinal stenosis, and I have arthritis as well. A vascular surgeon performed a lower extremity duplex Doppler test last month. It showed an ankle-brachial […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Would you explain what postnasal drip is? How damaging is it, and can it be cured? My wife has it and coughs a lot. Her eyes water, and she always feels poorly. — M.G. ANSWER: Postnasal drip isn’t a diagnosis, it’s a symptom. The nasal passages have an opening in the front […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In your recent column referring to the shingles vaccine, you do not mention younger adults. My son had a very bad case of chickenpox when he was only 6 months old. He is now 40 years old, and earlier this year had an attack of shingles that affected the area behind his […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Is there a difference between COVID-19 treatment in academia vs. the real world? I had a telemedicine appointment the other day to see my internist, and he said to call right away if I developed symptoms consistent with COVID. He would order tests for me and start me right away on hydroxychloroquine, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Why don’t you inform your patients about Fosamax causing a stroke? This is well studied, and my mother is currently hospitalized from stroke, most likely from Fosamax. Doctors need to learn how to be doctors and stop handing out medication. Doctor incompetence killed my father and now is working on killing my […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Recently I had a sudden onset of appendicitis and was operated on the following day laparoscopically. The surgeon explained to me that the surgery took longer than usual because of scar tissue from a total hysterectomy 10 months earlier. He said my appendix was enlarged and inflamed around the site and had […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am under the care of an ophthalmologist, and on a routine exam I was told that I have pinguecula of the eyes. What does this mean? I was given artificial tears and am to follow up regularly. The eye doctor is going to reevaluate in three months. I am very worried. […]