Doctor Dawn Harper answers all your questions
DAWN HARPER
WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY TONGUE?
Q Over the past few weeks my tongue has looked weird. There are smooth red patches that seem to change shape and sometimes my tongue feels sore, especially if I eat anything spicy. Otherwise, I’m fit and well. Is this something I should be worried about?
A This doesn’t sound worrying, but you should see your doctor. You may have a fungal infection, which is easily treated with antifungal lozenges, or you could have a condition called geographic tongue, which often goes away without the need for treatment. Your doctor may also offer you a mouth rinse to numb the tongue or a topical steroid to reduce the inflammation.
PAINKILLER CONFUSION
Q I take paracetamol regularly for a long-standing back problem. I got out of the car awkwardly the other day and tweaked my back. My doctor gave me some co-codamol to help with the increase in pain and they said something about not taking paracetamol, but I’m finding the co-codamol is making me constipated. Is there any medication halfway between the two that I could try?
A Co-codamol comes in three strengths. Every tablet contains 500mg of paracetamol and 8, 15 or 30mg of codeine. Depending on the strength of co-codamol you have been given, you could try a weaker formulation (the 8/500 tablets are sold over the counter in pharmacies). Or you could swap one tablet of co-codamol for one of paracetamol. Just make sure you don’t exceed 4g of paracetamol in any 24-hour period.
Afraid to ask?
FED UP OF ITCHING
Q As a younger woman, I suffered a lot with thrush and recently the symptoms have come back wit
