Get flu and COVID-19 vaccines before the holidays

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Hello, dear readers, and welcome to our monthly letters column. The upcoming holidays mean an increase in socializing and public gatherings. If you have yet to get your flu shot or COVID-19 booster, act quickly. It takes about two weeks for the resulting antibodies to build up. Speaking of the holidays, we’ve had several letters asking for strategies to minimize the annual weight gain. We will be writing about that soon. Now, onward to your mail.

  • We recently wrote about small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO. It’s a condition in which excessive bacterial growth in the small intestine causes a range of digestive problems. We heard from a reader who wonders why her doctor recommended a SIBO test: “I have had a partial colectomy, and I am experiencing some symptoms like SIBO,” she wrote. “Being that I do not have my intestines, can I still have SIBO?”

    When you had a partial colectomy, a portion of your colon, also known as the large intestine, was removed. However, SIBO occurs in the small intestine, which is a different part of the bowel. There is evidence that SIBO can be a complication in surgeries that involve the colon. That is likely why your doctor has requested the test.

    Screening for SIBO is easy and noninvasive. It involves drinking a sugar solution, then testing the breath to measure levels of methane and hydrogen, which are indicators in bacterial balance in the gut.

  • A column about synesthesia brought an intriguing question from a reader. For those who are unfamiliar, synesthesia is a neurological condition where information from one of the senses is interpreted by a different sense. A common example involves sight and hearing, where colors are perceived as sound, or sounds perceived as colors.

    “I often feel pain when I visually see others get hurt, and also sometimes when I see a new injury,” they wrote. “It’s not the same pain the person is feeling, and it is not specific to their bodily location of injury. It is a generalized streak of pain that runs right through me. Is this a form of synesthesia?”

    Yes, this a rare form of an already rare condition. Known as mirror-pain or mirror-touch synesthesia, it can cause the generalized sensation you describe or can mirror someone’s injury.

  • We recently discussed “back schools,” which are programs that mix education with physical training to manage lower back injuries and prevent future ones. We heard from a reader looking for a back school.

    “I basically created that type of program for my chronic conditions with several health providers,” they wrote. “How do I know if my medical center offers this kind of help?”

    A good place to begin your search is with the doctor and other staff overseeing your care. If not available at your medical center, you may be able to get a referral to a physical therapy practice that offers the program.

Thank you, as always, to everyone who took the time to write. Please know that we read all of your letters and will continue to answer as many as possible.

(Send your questions to [email protected], or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1955, Los Angeles, CA, 90024. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.)

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