DR. ELLIE CANNON: My vision has always been sharp, but now the low light vision is poor and I see double, so what about my eyes?

I am 70 years old and have always had clear vision, but lately I have trouble seeing at night when I have occasional double vision. In the morning, however, my vision is back to normal. Am I just sensitive to light?

Anyone with vision problems, whatever they may be, should see an optometrist. They can carry out tests and suggest further examination by an ophthalmologist (ophthalmologist). A referral from your doctor is required for this.

Difficulty seeing in dim light can be a sign of cataracts, which become much more common as we age.

Cataract is the term for the clouding of the lens that sits at the front of the eye.

The condition causes a gradual deterioration in vision and symptoms may initially be relatively mild, such as: B. Sometimes blurred vision, reading problems and sensitivity to light.

Some people may find that their prescription glasses need to be changed frequently, or find it more difficult to watch TV.

An optician can determine if this is the case. If the cataracts are not too severe, stronger glasses and brighter reading lights may be needed initially. However, the condition will worsen with age, requiring patients to undergo surgery to replace the lenses.

Another condition that can cause problems at night is glaucoma – where pressure builds up in the eye and damages the optic nerves. This will normally also affect daytime vision, but again an optician can test this. Glaucoma can be treated with medication.

Problems with night vision can also be linked to diabetes and problems with the cornea, the front of the eye.

At night I get terrible cramps in my lower legs. Sometimes it wakes me up and I writhe in pain for half an hour. Otherwise I am healthy and go to the gym three times a week. can you help

Nocturnal leg cramps affect about a third of adults, and the problem becomes more common with age (stock photo)

Nocturnal leg cramps affect about a third of adults, and the problem becomes more common with age. This can be the result of intense physical exercise without gradually warming up or cooling down afterwards. This can be achieved through gentler activity and stretching.

It may also be related to low levels of vitamin D, calcium and possibly magnesium. Medications such as cholesterol-lowering statins, anti-inflammatory drugs, specific blood pressure medications and hormone treatments can also cause the problem.

We see spasms in people with nerve diseases, diabetes and poorly functioning blood vessels in the legs. But in most people, despite research, we cannot find a cause. In these cases, it is difficult for a doctor to suggest a treatment because very few effects are known.

If you have a cramp, stretching and massaging the calf muscle will help – do this with your leg straight and your foot bent upwards.

Calf and thigh stretches during the day can also prevent this from happening at night. If the cramps are very frequent and stretching doesn’t help much, a GP may prescribe a pill called quinine to try for a month. This may help, but is not guaranteed to work.

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid about 20 years ago and was given thyroxine tablets. In 2018 the GP lowered my dose and I got colder and my legs started to hurt. Because of this, I was told to take the higher and lower doses every other day, which helped a little. I wonder why the doctor is so careful. Is too much thyroxine bad for the body?

The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck and produces the hormone thyroxine. We say that when the gland does not produce enough, it is underactive and this causes a condition called hypothyroidism.

It can be diagnosed through a blood test that checks hormone levels. Symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, scaly skin, sensitivity to cold and depression, to name a few. Patients also often suffer from constipation, muscle pain and loss of libido.

Synthetic thyroxine is taken to control symptoms, but regular blood tests and medication reviews are needed to ensure hormone levels are not pushed too high, which can cause palpitations, muscle weakness, diarrhea and mood swings.

The condition has a number of causes, including problems with the immune system, as a complication of previous surgery, or as a side effect of drug treatment.

Less commonly, it can be the result of nutritional deficiencies. People can also be born with this condition.

It is thought to affect between one and two percent of the population, but some doctors believe the number is higher.

Unfortunately, there is no cure, so patients must take medication for life.

If an underactive thyroid is left untreated, it can lead to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Younger women may be at greater risk for infertility and complications during pregnancy, such as: B. Miscarriages.

Cheaper HRT is great, now reduces the cost of other drugs

Women using hormone replacement therapy will pay less than £20 a year for their prescriptions from April, saving hundreds of pounds (stock photo)

There is good news for women using HRT: from April they will pay less than £20 a year for their prescriptions, saving hundreds of pounds.

The government caved in under pressure from long-time struggling menopause activists. I think this is a brilliant idea. But I wonder what about other patient groups that have asked for the same thing.

Asthma, epilepsy and heart patients have to pay thousands of euros annually for life-saving medicines. Research shows some asthmatics have ended up in hospital after not using their inhalers to save money.

I would now urge ministers to consider extending the HRT prescription limit to a range of other conditions. Studies have shown that it won’t cost the healthcare system as much as you might think. If you do it for a group of patients, it’s only fair to do it for others.

Prostate cancer screening is tempting

Could regular prostate cancer screening finally be on the horizon? If we believe the data released last week at a major oncology meeting, then maybe.

Prostate cancer screening has always been a delicate matter. The best test we have, the PSA test, is pretty non-specific. To diagnose cancer we need to do other tests like biopsies. And these invasive procedures carry few risks.

If we biopsied every man with an unreliable PSA result, we would unnecessarily expose him to these risks. However, new research shows that the dangers of biopsies are much less than previously thought, while MRI scans can be a non-invasive way to find out who needs further investigation.

I expect within a year or two we will be able to offer prostate cancer screening as part of our national cancer screening programs.