Q I would like to know if being a hepatitis B carrier is of any serious concern, particularly for a guy in his early 20s. And I would also like to know if it is all right to marry a person who carries hepatitis B in his system (he is not infected but is just a carrier) and if it is not, then what should be done.
This is of serious concern to me because the person I am going to marry has been honest enough to tell me about this. I need your advice.
A A hepatitis B carrier usually means a person who carries the virus but does not have an active liver disease. For such a person, there are no significant health concerns. However, a regular follow up, once a year or so, should be maintained to monitor the infection.
It is perfectly all right to marry a hepatitis B carrier, provided the intended spouse gets vaccinated before marriage and is tested to make sure that he or she has developed immunity against hepatitis B. Dr Saeed Hamid
Aga Khan University Hospital
Q I am a 29 years old female and unmarried. Two years ago I felt a lump in my left breast. After a check up the doctor recommended a biopsy that showed that it was fibroadenomas, and that it is not dangerous. But now two years after surgery, I am still feeling pain in the stitches and I fear that a lump will develop again in the breast.
Kindly give me some information about that. Why did it happened? Will the lump develop again? What should I do? Why it is necessary to remove that benign tumour from body? My doctor told me that this kind of a lump becomes large during pregnancy.
A Fibroadenomas are benign tumours of the breast seen in young females in their teens and twenties because of some developmental changes. They may appear later in life also. After surgery one can experience mild pain or discomfort at the scar site. If any lump develops, one needs to prove that whether it is benign or malignant and if proven benign, one may leave it if it is not painful and the size is not increasing.
Fibroadenomas behave like normal breast and they do increase in size during pregnancy and lactation, and decrease after that once feeding is stopped. Every women should examine herself once a month after the periods and if any lump is found, should consult the doctor for appropriate management. Dr Rufina Soomro
Liaquat National Hospital
Q I am 25 and have a very serious problem of allergy. Till the age of 19 I had no such problem but then it began suddenly, aggravating with the passage of each day. The aqllergy appears in the form of infection in the throat. In the beginning, it was only during travelling, but now it might be from anything like dry fruits to camera light (believe it or not).
Why does it happen? Can it be due to a major surgary I underwent at age of 19 for kidney stone. No one in our family has such a problem. Can it be cured with vaccination?
A An allergy is a hypersensitivity to a foreign substance that is usually harmless but produces a violent reaction in the allergy sufferer. Allergies are generally the body’s effort to eliminate something it considers unsuitable.
There are different types of allergies. Some of the most common types are: asthma, nasal and throat allergies, skin and food allergies etc. Common allergens include pollens, dust, dust mites, mold spores, different foods and animal dander. Chronic allergies are a bit more serious than episodic allergies. An individual with chronic allergies may have nasal and throat allergies and will also start to be affected by non-allergic stimuli. These can include dry air, cold air, smoke and particles in the air. An individual with chronic allergies can prevent allergic reaction by avoiding the allergens which affect him or her
One can develop allergy at any age but it usually starts in early years. In your case it has no relation to the kidney surgery. Allergy can be a familial disease but it may be seen in single individuals.
The symptoms of throat allergy are irritation of the throat, feeling of foreign body and fatigue. If you have throat infection then pain, difficulty in swallowing and fever are the symptoms. Please be careful as most of the patients with allergy and infections are difficult to differentiate.
Vaccination is one of the treatment accepted worldwide for allergy but it is long term treatment with lot of risks of injection reactions, so usually it is recommended for very serious life threatening allergies only. Dr Mubasher Ikram
Aga Khan University Hospital
Identities of the questioners are being withheld on request.
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