SPRING is here and we can finally enjoy some lighter evenings and warmer weather.
This could all give us a much-needed physical and mental boost after a long winter.
Dr Zoe Williams answers some common questions sent in by readers
We will be getting more vitamin D from the sun now that it’s high enough in the sky, and those longer evenings could make it easier for you to fit in a little more exercise.
Try going for a brisk half-hour walk after you finish work if you can, or get the whole family to go on a bike ride or for a swim before dinner.
You should feel more energised – and regular activity can help you ward off obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, as well as improve your mood, sleep and self-esteem.
Here is a selection of what readers have been asking me . . .
Q) WHY is it that no matter how frequently I wash and exfoliate, my armpits still have an odour?
A) Hyperhidrosis is a condition characterised by excessive sweating.
Why is it, no matter how frequently I wash and exfoliate my armpits, they still have an odour?
It can affect anywhere you would normally sweat. That could be your hands, armpits, feet or face.
Bromhidrosis is defined as offensive body odour and this tends to affect the armpits and groin region, because these areas have a special type of sweat gland that is called apocrine.
These differ from eccrine sweat glands, which are all over the body, in that the sweat they produce contains oil in addition to salt water, and it is the bacteria that break down the oil which produce body odour.
Bromhidrosis is often closely linked to excessive sweating.
You do not mention how long it has been going on for but I would suggest your first port of call should be your pharmacist.
You can make appointments for a pharmacist consultation where you will be taken into a private room to explain your issue in private if it is something you would rather not say in the queue.
There are a number of over-the-counter remedies to try first, including deodorants and antibacterial washes that might help.
Alongside potential treatment, there are also things you can do yourself.
You mention you are exfoliating, which is great, but make sure you wear loose-fitting clothing in natural fibres such as cotton if possible.
Synthetic fabrics can make the issue worse.
It is also important to wash smelly clothes at a high enough temperature.
Most experts agree that a temperature of at least 60C is needed to kill bacteria in the washing machine.
When washing at lower temperatures, you could add a laundry disinfectant to your wash to kill bacteria.
Other treatments are available in the private sector or from specialists.
Botox injections disable the functioning of the sweat glands but the effect is temporary, so you need to repeat the injections every six months or so.
Iontophoresis machines can be used to treat armpits using special armpit pads, oral medicines called antimuscarinics can help, but often have side effects, and some patients may even resort to laser or surgical removal of the sweat glands.
Q) MY husband is diabetic, which is controlled by tablets.
He is in a wheelchair and has diabetic neuropathy.
He’s started getting oedema, a build-up of fluid, and has a small sore on his shin.
How do I stop it from becoming an ulcer?
A) Unfortunately, people who are living with diabetes are at higher risk of ulcers and sores, especially on the feet but also on the legs.
You say your husband already has diabetic neuropathy which means the nerves do not function well and makes minor injuries (such as from a stone in your shoe) more likely to go unnoticed and therefore progress.
Ulcers can develop from these small wounds, so checking the feet regularly is important to detect any sores.
To manage the leg sore in your husband’s case, you may need some support from the practice nurse at your GP surgery.
They can check for any signs of infection and advise on the best dressings to use.
In the meantime, clean the wound with a saline solution of salt and warm water and the pharmacist can advise on some appropriate dressings.
Make sure that the soft part of the dressing is large enough to cover the entire wound.
It is important to stay active to help with good circulation of blood to the area for healing.
If he has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity or smokes, these can all contribute to the risk of poor healing, too.
So if any of these can be adjusted or changed, it is worth considering and having a conversation with him.
75 per cent of people over 75 have these spots and they increase in number at age 40
Breaking out in red spots
Q) FOR approximately five or six years I have been getting these red spots appear on my torso, some occasionally on my arms, shoulders and breasts.
I have been to my GP on a few occasions and they didn’t seem to know what it is.
A) This is a really difficult question to answer without more information and a physical examination, because there are lots of different reasons for red spots to appear.
Some can be caused by contact on the skin surface, others can be a symptom of something going on internally.
You haven’t provided a picture but the timing, the fact that it is multiple spots and I am assuming the spots haven’t gone away, does have me wondering whether they could be cherry angiomas, which are benign lesions that arise from cells that line the blood vessels.
They can be bright red, darker red, purple, blue or black in colour, and are permanent once formed.
They tend to increase in number from the age of 40, so it’s been estimated that 75 per cent of people over 75 have them.
Go to DermNetNZ.org and have a look at the images to see if they correlate.
However, I must stress it is impossible to make a diagnosis or even a decent guess without more information, so please do go back to your GP.
An e-consult is a great place to start as you can attach pictures, so your GP might even ask a colleague who specialises in skin to take a look.
It might even get sent to a GP who has additional training in dermatology if your practice is really on the ball.