Woman’s Own – 19 August 2019

I wet myself

when jumping

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checked?I don’twanttowaste

anyone’stimeif it’snothing.

A

Trydrawingaroundthered

areawitha biro– thenyou’ll

beabletoseeeasilyif theredness

is spreading.If it is,youshouldsee

a doctor,asyoumayneedsome

antibiotics.If youdevelopa fever

orstartfeelinggenerallyunwell

in yourselfwiththis,youshould

certainly seek medical advice.

HowdoI get

Mumthehelp

sheneeds?

Q

I’mworriedaboutmymum.

Shelivesaloneandis pretty

muchhousebound,butfiercely

independent.Lastweek,shefell

andendedupinA&Eneeding

stitchesinherarm.She’sadamant

aboutnothavinganyhelpinher

home,andwon’tcometolive

withme.WhatcanI do?

A

Ifshe’shousebound,it’s

highlylikelya districtnurse

willbevisitingtoremovethe

stitches,sotrytobetherewith

hersoyoucanspeaktothe

nurse.Thefirststep

maybetoinvolve

SocialServices,who

canmakehome

alterationstokeep

hersafe,butif she

developsa rapport

withthenurse,she

maybeabletoslowly

encourageyourmumto

accept more support.

Abitehas

turnednasty

Q

WhileonholidayI wasbitten

byaninsectonmyfootand

I havenowdevelopeda nasty

reaction.Theskinaroundthebite

is veryswollenandred.It’sfour

daysoldnow,andI thinkit maybe

gettingworse.I don’tknowwhat

bitme,butshouldI seemy GP

anyway to get the bite

Q

Iwasvisitingmysisterlastweekend

andwaspersuadedbymyniecesto

jointhemontheirnewtrampoline.But

mybladderletmedown.I waswearing

pale-blueshorts,andit wassoobvious

thatI hadwetmyself.I haven’tbeenout

ofthehousesinceforfearofanother

episode.What’shappeningtome?

A

You’vehadanepisodeofstress

incontinence,wherethemusclesof

thepelvicfloorarenotasstrongasyou

wouldwish.Thisis actuallyverycommon,

especiallyin womenwho’vehadbabiesor

areoverweight.Thegoodnewsis that

mostcasescanbecuredbyregularpelvic

floorexercises.AskyourGPtoreferyou

toa continenceadvisor,whowillteach

you how to do these exercises.

WHYIS

MYNOSE

SO RED?

Q

ALTHOUGHI’M

TEETOTAL,I’M

OFTENASKEDIF

I DRINKA LOT,AS

MYNOSEISRED

ANDLUMPY.MY

GPSAYSIT’SA

RHINOPHYMA,A

COMPLICATIONOF

MYSKINDISORDER

(ROSACEA).IT

SEEMSTOBE

GETTING WORSE,

ANDI’MFINDING

ITDIFFICULTTO

COVERITUPAT

ALL.ANYIDEAS?

A

Intheearly

stages,a

rhinophymamay

respondtocreams

andmedicinesthat

weusetotreatacne,

butit soundsasif

youmayhavegone

beyond this. If so,

DoctorDawn

Harper

answers

allyour

questions...

TO ASK?

Afraid

Askthe

DOCTOR

youcouldaskyour

GPfora referralto

discusssurgery

usinga scalpel,

lasertreatment,

cryotherapyor

dermabrasion

toimprovethe

appearanceof

your nose.

PHOTOS (POSED BY MODELS): GETTY, ALAMY

Gentlepersuasion

mayhelpyourmum

to accept help