Q. What is the difference between being in a coma and being brain dead? When are you considered officially dead? A. A coma is a state of impaired consciousness that can vary in intensity. Doctors gauge the depth of a coma by noticing whether the patient responds to outside stimuli and whether automatic processes like

Q. I move my bowels every three days and I wonder if this is normal? A. Although the advertisements for commercial laxatives would have you think otherwise, there is a wide range of what is normal in terms of how frequently people move their bowels. For some people, moving their bowels once or twice a

Q. I have a friend who told me that she got pregnant while taking birth control pills because she did not know that the antibiotic prescribed by her doctor for a throat infection would reduce the effectiveness of the Pill. Could this be true? A. Yes. Many drugs can interact with the Pill and make

Q. Is the “morning-after pill” safe? Does it work? Is there anything that you can do in the morning after to protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases? A. There are several regimens of hormones that can be used within a short period after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. The “morning-after” pill that is most often

Q. I frequently wake up with pain in my chest. It goes away in a few minutes and it’s not very painful. I think it’s only indigestion, but could it be my heart? Should I call my doctor? A. Chest pain at night could be caused by any of several problems, and although it is

Q. Are women physically and emotionally strong enough for combat? A. Through the years, women have been told that they cannot participate in many occupations, ranging from law to medicine to engineering to construction work – because it allegedly went against the laws of nature. Today we know this is nonsense, and in fact, women

Q. Every time I examine my own breasts I come across some lump or bump that I think is important, but when I see my doctor, he tells me it’s normal. In light of my experience, is breast examination useful? A. There has been a great deal of emphasis in recent years placed upon the

Q. Does Caffeine Cause “Lumpy Breasts”? A. There have been many anecdotal reports that link caffeine consumption to fibrocystic breasts, but there are no scientific studies to confirm this link. A handful of studies, however, have claimed that women with fibrocystic breasts who refrain from caffeine report a lessening in the severity of their symptoms.

I sweat so much that I know my clothes have a limited life. Furthermore, even the cleaner cant get out the stale smell this leaves. Why does this happen? A. There are many reasons for excessive underarm perspiration, one of which is anxiety, particularly in young women. Often, sweat literally pours down their arms and

I have asthma, which makes it hard for me to breath when I’m upset. My husband says is psychosomatic and that I could control my asthma attacks if I wanted to. Is he right? A. An asthma attach occurs when the air tubes of the lungs become constricted , which can affect breathing. The symptoms