DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 67-year-old male in relatively good health. I exercise regularly (four times a week). I have been taking medication for hypertension, which is getting much better since I started a plant-based diet three months ago.
About every three months or so for the last five years, there are two half-dollar-sized blood stains on my pillow coming from my right ear. I have no headaches, and my hearing is what it is for my age. My wife is concerned, but I am not. What do you think? — J.G.
ANSWER: I think your wife is wise to be concerned. This is not something I commonly encounter, and the answer is very likely to be found inside your ear by a clinical exam. I do sometimes see small infections in the ear that may bleed, and there are benign tumors of the ear canal and eardrum that may sometimes bleed as well. I have read about a very rare condition of an aneurysm bleeding from the ear. This has been going on a long time, so it’s worth an evaluation.
DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband and I recently contracted COVID and are currently recovering well, following treatment with Paxlovid. We are both over 60 years of age with no other major risk factors. I know that we both need to wait at least three months before we can get the new COVID booster shot. How long should we wait before we get our annual flu shot? — K.P.
ANSWER: You may get the flu vaccine as soon as you are feeling better from your COVID infection. You should no longer have a high temperature. For most people, that’s somewhere around a week or two after the start of the infection, but can be shorter or longer depending on who you are.
For people who haven’t gotten COVID: If you haven’t gotten your flu shot by now, it’s time to do so.
