DR JEFF FOSTER is The Sun on Sunday’s resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
See h3health.co.uk and email at drjeff@the-sun.co.uk.
Q) I HAD a bad cold a few weeks ago.
It has cleared up but I keep noticing a horrible smell and getting a nasty taste in my mouth. Could this be some kind of infection?
Geoff Hind, Bradford
A) There are lots of causes for changes in our sense of smell. Most of the time when we do notice a change in what we can smell, it is rarely for the better.
The common causes of altered sense of smell combined with a horrible taste are often infective and can include sinusitis, the common cold, or any infective condition that affects the upper airways.
These conditions result in an increase in mucus production, which can taste unpleasant or produce a foul smell.
However, not all are infective and a really common cause of altered or unpleasant smells are nasal polyps.
These are benign fleshy outgrowths that occur in the nasal canal and can obstruct the nasal passage.
The obstruction triggers an inflammatory reaction and alters smell and airflow.
Overall, if you do not have an acute infection, I would advise you get your doctor to look up your nose.
Q) I’M a 44-year-old married woman. Every time I have sex, I have blood spotting for a day or so afterwards.
I’m not suffering from any dryness issues or pain during sex. Why is the bleeding happening?
Claire Grayson Godalming, Surrey
A) Post-coital bleeding (bleeding after sex) is actually more common than we think and there are a variety of causes, the majority of which are completely benign.
However, due to the fact some causes can be more serious, if it happens repeatedly it is important to always get it checked.
In women who are not yet menopausal, vaginal dryness (atrophic vaginitis) is a much less common cause and other conditions to think about include sexually transmitted diseases and pelvic inflammatory disease.
However, I must stress that not all causes of post-coital bleeding are related to this, so please do not assume your partner is having an affair.
Other causes include simple friction, tears post childbirth, cervical or endometrial polyps (non-cancerous growths in the womb or the lining of the womb) or cervical ectropion, also known as erosion.
Only very rarely would this symptom be due to a more worrisome cause such as cervical cancer.
The important thing is to stay up to date with your cervical smears, and if you have had more than one episode of bleeding in a row to get it checked.
