Practicing family physicians from the UNC Department of Family Medicine have teamed up with The Carrboro Citizen to bring you a weekly feature responding to your questions about health and medicine. Send your questions or comments to yourhealth@unc.edu
This week we respond to questions about tinnitus, headaches and athlete’s foot.
Dear HOUSE Calls, Does tinnitus run in the family?
Tinnitus is a ringing or buzzing in the ear. It is usually unprovoked and sometimes associated with other conditions, such as hearing loss. It is usually a nuisance condition and often hard to treat, but it can sometimes be a sign of something more dangerous. So please get this checked out by your doctor. Tinnitus can be inherited, and there has been a gene linked to this condition.
Dear HOUSE Calls, I suffer from headaches and sinus problems, which have been worse recently. Could this be due to extreme changes in weather?
Studies are inconsistent with regards to how changes in weather change sinus pain, pressure and related headaches. Certainly, there are some things that might muddy the issue. Extreme swings in weather are common in the spring and fall, also the most common time for allergies, which can make sinus pressure worse. Also, many people will treat allergies with decongestants, such as pseudophedrine. These medicines can cause rebound headaches. Try to avoid decongestants, and instead take ibuprofen or naprosyn for headaches and antihistamines for allergies.
Dear HOUSE Calls, I’m on my feet 12 hours a day in a kitchen, and often my feet get wet. My feet have been itchy, red and peeling. Is this athlete’s foot? What do you recommend?
It sounds like athlete’s foot. This is a fungal infection, and not just for athletes. If this is the case, over-the-counter anti-fungal creams are a great place to start. We usually recommend that you use them for a couple of weeks. Also, wear cotton socks and change them once mid-shift. Athlete’s foot is often a chronic and recurrent condition. If it does not respond or it recurs, see your family physician. It could be a type of eczema as well.
House Calls is a weekly column by Dr. Adam Goldstein, Dr. Cristy Page and Dr. Adam Zolotor on behalf of Your Health and the UNC Department of Family Medicine.