Your health questions answered

WORRIED ABOUT SALT INTAKE

Q. I am on a low-salt diet for my blood pressure and I am thinking of installing a water softener. Will the softened water contain much more salt than the hard water I am now drinking?

A. This will depend on what sort of water softener you install. If you install an ion-exchange softener and you drink two litres of water a day, your salt intake will go up by about 10 per cent. This is probably not a major increase, even if you are on a reduced salt diet. The average person consumes about 10g of salt per day, so if you drank all of your water intake at home, this might go up to 11g. There is a clear link between salt intake and blood pressure. If everyone in the country cut their salt intake in half - from 10g to 5g a day - it would have an enormously beneficial health effect. The best ways to reduce salt intake are by avoiding processed foods, and by adding less salt to your food. If you did these things, the effect of the water softener would be minimal.

SHOULD I HAVE MY GALL BLADDER REMOVED?

Q. I have gallstones which are causing me chronic pain, but I am finding it difficult to get sensible advice. I have two sets of symptoms. Occasionally I get severe pain on the right side under the rib cage. This has happened only rarely, although it once culminated in an attack of jaundice in which my eyes and skin turned yellow. The other symptoms are more subtle, but still unpleasant: bloating, constipation and colicky pains. The doctors I have seen all recommend surgery to remove the gall bladder. It seems to me that this can only make things worse, as without a gall bladder, the flow of bile won't be regulated. What other treatments, apart from surgery, are possible?

A. The gall bladder is a small sac that stores bile from the liver. The bile is then squirted into the small intestine, where it helps with digestion. It is quite possible to live happily without a gall bladder. Ask anyone who has had their gall bladder removed, and they are likely to tell you that their health is no worse than it was before. When the gall bladder gets full of stones, or even small bits of "gravel", it doesn't contract normally, and this is when pain starts. If the stone blocks the bile duct, jaundice sets in. Modern methods of keyhole surgery are quick and safe, and solve the problem once and for all.

Readers write

ML from Surrey believes her baby's fever is related to teething:

I am almost certain that my 11-month-old daughter developed fever twice in connection to teething. The first time the fever lasted just 24 hours, disappeared overnight, and the morning after the tooth had cut through the gum. The second time the fever lasted 48 hours, but again I am sure most of it was in connection with another tooth cutting through (fever disappeared as the tooth actually cut the gum).

Please send your questions and suggestions to A Question of Health, 'The Independent', Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; fax 020-7005 2182 or e-mail to health@independent.co.uk. Dr Kavalier regrets that he is unable to respond personally to questions.