MEET DR. DONOHUE

In this era of do-it-yourself medicine, many folks with real or imagined ailments are risking their health by trying drugs and herbs and diets and exercises they have heard about or read about or found on the Internet. They need solid help and advice and warnings against dangerous fads.

That’s what readers of this newspaper get every day from Dr. Paul Donohue. Folks who skip the comics pages may miss him, because that is where his column appears, down in the lower right-hand corner. Like one of those old-time family doctors who made house calls, he patiently answers readers’ questions, taking time to explain in plain English how the body works. He tells why something hurts or why no one knows. He says what to do about it or, if nothing can be done, tells how to learn to live with it. He often advises seeing the doctor and gives the mailing or Internet address for foundation or association that can be helpful.

Dr. Donohue is an internist, which he describes as “the specialty that emphasizes diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases.” He holds a subspecialty of infectious diseases. He earned his M.D. at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and holds a master’s degree in public health from Tulane University, He did advanced work on infectious diseases at the University of California, Davis. After medical school, he served two years in the Army Medical Corps, earning two bronze stars as a battalion surgeon, one of them for valor during combat. He started the column nearly 20 years ago. It now goes to more than 175 newspapers.

A recent column told how to cope with cold winter weather, including how to spot frostbite. He said to look at your fingers for the deathly pale color that means ice crystals are forming beneath the skin. If the pain stops, it means nerves are frozen. Avoid permanent muscle or tendon damage by immersing the affected part or the whole body in water at 104 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. He recommended cross-country skiing for one of the best heart workouts, as well as good exercise for leg and upper-body muscles.

For rheumatoid arthritis, he agreed that a certain antibiotic sometimes works. But he said to be sure the doctor keeps close tabs on any side effects: “No arthritis drug is risk-free. No drug is risk-free.”

When a reader is wrong, Dr. Donohue straightens things out. An 89-year-old woman questioned her doctor’s advice to use a nasal spray for what she understood to be osteoarthritis. Dr. Donohue told her he was certain her doctor had said “osteoporosis” and that the nasal spray was Miacalcin, to help build more robust bones.

Dr. Donohue’s no-jargon style in presenting technical information makes for good reading as well as helpful advice. And he can spice his column with a bit of humor, as when he wrote about “the trickle-down theory of post-nasal drip.”

So read his column, but see your own doctor.