He is worried as he has been told there is no cure. How serious is it and what are the long-term risks? Are there any lifestyle changes he can make that might help? He is 42.
A In haemochromatosis the body absorbs too much iron from food. This excess iron is then stored in various organs in the body, mainly the liver.
The liver normally stores a small amount of iron but if the stores are excessive the organ becomes enlarged and damaged.
Storage of iron can also occur in the pancreas, leading to diabetes; in the skin, leading to a permanently tanned appearance; and in the heart, leading to weakness of the heart muscle. It may also accumulate in joints, especially in the first two fingers.
The disease is caused by a defective gene but you have to inherit a copy from both parents. People who have just one copy of the defective gene are carriers and have no symptoms. It is thought that around one in 250 people are carriers and haemochromatosis is one of the more common genetic conditions in the UK.
Unfortunately there is no way of stopping the gut from absorbing too much iron and trying to avoid eating iron is very difficult.
The standard way of treating the condition is to regularly remove a unit of blood so that the body's iron stores are used to replace it. It sounds crude but it works.
People with the condition should avoid taking any supplements containing iron and large doses of vitamin C should be avoided as this promotes iron absorption.
It can help to reduce intake of red meat, offal and liver and if you do eat them to have them with milk as this can help reduce the amount of iron in food that is absorbed.
Q For several months I've suffered from bowel problems, constipation followed by loose stools. I'm not losing weight and I'm sleeping well. Apart from feeling queasy at times and having a problem with flatulence I feel fine.
A Your symptoms would fit in with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In IBS the muscles that move food residue inside the gut do not work in a co-ordinated fashion.
Sometimes they relax, leading to bloating and constipation, and sometimes they go into spasm causing pain and diarrhoea. It's a very common problem affecting around one in five people in the UK at some time in their life.
There is often no identifiable cause of IBS but the change in activity of the muscles may be linked to emotional upset or stress. Symptoms may also start after a bout of gastroenteritis or even a course of antibiotics which alters the balance of healthy bacteria that normally live inside the large bowel. In a few people intolerance to certain foods may be to blame.
Hard stools can be a sign of constipation and although you then get loose stools it may be helpful to bulk up your motions with more fibre in your diet.
Concentrate on soluble fibre (in oats, nuts and seeds) rather than bran, an insoluble fibre which can make bloating worse.
Drink a lot of water especially in hot weather and eat regular meals, slowly. Don't gobble food standing up. Regular exercise can help too.
If these measures do not work see your GP who can do some tests to exclude other bowel disorders and may refer you to a dietitian for specific advice.
Q A colleague has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Around 40 years ago he worked with asbestos. There is a tumour on the rib but only one lung is affected. The doctor pronounced his condition as incurable but there must be some treatment, perhaps abroad, which could benefit him?
A Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that usually occurs in the pleura, the lining of the outside of the lungs. It affects about 2,000 people a year in the UK and men are five times more likely to be affected than women. It usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 70 and is strongly associated with exposure to asbestos.
In the early stages there may be no symptoms but as the cancer grows it can cause shortness of breath, chest pain and a cough. Other more general symptoms such as tiredness, weight loss and sweating may also occur.
If diagnosed very early it may be possible to remove the tumour, along with the lung tissue nearby.
Unfortunately most tumours are too large and have spread too far for surgical treatment by the time they are diagnosed.
Radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be used to try to slow down the growth of the tumour and reduce pain but neither of these is curative and in most cases there is little that can be done other than to try to relieve distressing symptoms.
Mesothelioma UK (0800 169 2409/ mesothelioma.uk.com) can give you more information.
If you have a health question for Dr Rosemary please write to her in confidence at The Northern & Shell Building, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN or email health@express.co.uk Her reply will appear in this column. She regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence and due to the volume of letters cannot reply to everyone. Find out more about Dr Rosemary at drrosemaryleonard.co.uk
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