Fish oil helps banish blues

Nov 30 2008 Dr Gareth Smith

Q I'VE been receiving treatment for depression for a few months. My mood has improved but not as quickly as I'd like. What else can I do aside from take more drugs?

A SUPPLEMENTS rich in omega-3 fatty acids - also found in oily fish - help depression. They make the cell membranes in the brain work more efficiently, increasing the amount of neurochemicals that pass between cells.

Take three grams a day.

Also, snack on pumpkin seeds. They are a natural source of tryptophan, the building block of the happy chemical serotonin.

Exercise can also help lift the mood. Try going for a 30-minute walk daily.

Q I'M a man in my 60s and in good health but lately I need to urinate more frequently, about every 15 minutes. What could be wrong with me?

ATHIS is usually a sign of a bladder infection.

These are less common in men but are increasingly common with age.

Antibiotics will cure it.

Given your age, it could be an enlargement of the prostate gland. This is at the outlet to the bladder and if it swells it can be difficult to fully empty the bladder, making you feel you need to go to the loo all the time. Visit your GP for check-up.

Q I HAVE cataracts in both eyes. I'm 72. How long do they take to develop and if I need surgery, can they operate on both eyes at once?

A A CATARACT is caused by the lens inside the eye becoming cloudy, like frosted glass.

Many people over 60 have a degree of clouding of the lens but it is only when vision becomes significantly impaired that anything has to be done.

The operation is relatively simple and involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial one.

Usually only one eye is treated at a time in case there are complications.

Q I KEEP feeling a really bad tingling in my fingers and it is driving me mad, especially in the morning. I have to shake my hand furiously for it to go away. What could be causing this?

A IF the feeling is just in your hand and not your arm then the most likely diagnosis is carpal tunnel syndrome. This is caused by pressure being put on the median nerve as it passes into the hand through the wrist.

Sometimes there is inflammation in the band of fibre that covers the inside of the wrist under the skin and this swelling pushes on the nerves underneath.

This pressure causes pain and pins and needles in the hand. Your doctor can give you a splint to wear at night but if that doesn't help you may need a steroid injection into the fibre band.

Q I'M only 30 but have been diagnosed with fibroids. I am terrified I will need a hysterectomy as my mother had one when she was my age. Is this likely?

A FIBROIDS are benign (non-cancerous) tumours that grow in the uterus and are made up of muscle fibre.

A hysterectomy is a last resort for sufferers who are not post-menopausal.

It is likely your doctor will try to shrink the fibroids with medication.

If this doesn't work, they may operate to remove the fibroid alone rather than take out the whole uterus.