Question: Blood testing shows my hemoglobin high. My doctor says it's from smoking too many cigarettes. I am a 47-year-old man. What are the consequences of having high hemoglobin? In view of my doctor's answer, what would you advise me to do?
- R.A.H.
Answer: Hemoglobin lies at the core of each red blood cell. It grabs onto oxygen in the lungs and disperses it throughout the body.
Red-cell numbers normally reflect rises and falls of hemoglobin counts.
Believe your doctor. High hemoglobin often occurs in cigarette smokers. Carbon monoxide in the smoke blocks oxygen attachment to the red cells' empty hemoglobin slots. The body panics, interpreting low hemoglobin as a signal to increase red cell production. Hemoglobin rises, and so do red cells.
If you smoke, quit. Then all should return to normal in short order. It's a reward you can count on.
Other conditions can occasion similar phenomena. Chronic lung disease or polycythemia vera can lie behind a high hemoglobin level. In the latter condition, all blood cells rise - red, white and platelets.
For M.S.: Thanks for writing to me. I don't know where that telephone number came from. You are correct. It is not the correct number for Canadians to call for information about being a bone-marrow donor. The correct number in Canada is (800) 668-2866. Thanks for checking it out for me.
In the United States, the number for the National Marrow Donor Program is (800) 627-7692. I checked it out myself.
There is a great need for marrow donors.
Question: Years ago I suffered from cold sores continuously. Then I found an article in the Saturday Evening Post recommending foods for fighting herpes. It recommended a diet high in lysine. In the 13 years since, I have not had a single cold sore. If you don't feel the diet is well enough established medically, you might at least suggest it. Lysine is available in tablet form.
- H.F.
Answer: Thank you for sending along the Saturday Evening Post article. My recent mention of lysine for cold sores loosed a torrent of mail, some referring to the same October 1983 SEP article.
For years lysine, an amino acid, was hailed as a miracle cure for cold sores. Lack of concrete studies made the scientific community unwilling to endorse the idea. There still is no reliable evidence that it works.
For the believers, though, lysine wins high praise. Anecdotal evidence occurs steadily in my mail.
A high-lysine diet contains plenty of fish, chicken and milk.
The same article you sent points out that arginine, another amino acid, counters the effect of the lysine. Arginine-rich foods include filberts, Brazil nuts, peanuts and peanut butter, walnuts, almonds and cocoa.
Readers are welcome to try the essentially harmless diet modifications for themselves, even though I continue to entertain serious doubts about any real benefits for fighting cold sores.
For more information on herpes, write: Dr. Donohue - No. 17, Box 5539, Riverton, NJ 08077-5539. Enclose $3 and a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) No. 10 envelope.