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DO YOU HAVE A HEALTH QUESTION? Send your health questions to elevate@ ebony.com.

Dave Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified physician and translational researcher. He is also a sought-after workshop presenter, speaker, health coach and CEO of Health Mastery Concepts.

The 2-MinuteCheckup

Dave Montgomery, M.D.

My son always comes home with a cold after his first month back at school. How do I shore up his immune system before the school bell rings?

Q :

E L E VA T E Health

I l l u s t r a t i o n b y D A N I E L K R A L L

Doesn’t this drive you crazy? It’s a mys-tery how children can be at home all summer and maybe have the sniffles for a short time, but as soon as school starts, a full-blown cold ensues. Well, not to worry. Pediatricians say this is normal. In fact, up to 50 percent of chil-dren have recurrent upper respiratory infections. One report says the average child can have anywhere from four to 12 infections per year. And when you fac-

tor in that the infections can last any-where from eight days to two weeks, you quickly see that children can spend half the year with some sign of a cold.

In general, a child should have normal overall appearance, demeanor and activity. Sometimes, however, children have true allergies, other serious illness-es, or—in rare cases—immune system problems. Some red flags to look out for: pallor or dark circles under the eyes;

swelling or infection in the eyelids; thick or off-color nasal discharge; a produc-tive or wheezy cough; and weight loss. Ask your pediatrician if you aren’t sure.

Q: I have excruciating migraines. Are there foods that I should eat or avoid to lessen the pain?A lot of people feel your pain—but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Migraines are quite common, occurring in about 12 percent of the population, and they run in families, which suggests that genetics are at work. Current think-ing among migraine researchers sug-gests that migraines actually stem from rogue waves of electrical brain activity that lead to nerve inflammation and, in turn, cause pain. No one food causes migraines in all people. In fact, the most common triggers seem to be stress, menstruation, not eating and inadequate sleep. In addition, specific odors, smoke, wine or alcohol, exercise and even sexu-al activity can cause headaches.

Tune into your body and take note of the circumstances surrounding your headaches to see if you can identify a pattern. If you find triggers, I bet I won’t have to suggest that you stay away from them. But for those triggers that seem unavoidable, see your doctor.

Q: Is there such a thing as a “male menopause”? Please tell me no.I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the answer is yes. A gradual decline in testicular function comes with age, and it’s called “andropause.” In a majority of men, there is a significant decrease in the hormone testosterone (also known as an androgen), which occurs during middle age and is usually characterized by decreased sexual potency, a lower libido and, in some cases, personal-ity crisis or depression. While it’s still debated in the medical literature, some evidence suggests that men do undergo changes similar to those experienced by menopausal women. In men, the shift is often less dramatic, if clinically evi-dent at all, partly because the decline in testosterone is much slower (1 to 2 percent per year after puberty) than the hormonal changes that occur in women. In some men who are found to have unusually low testosterone levels, hor-mone replacement can provide relief; however, you should ask your doctor if this is right for you. There are major risks to men with hormone replacement, including worsening of an enlarged prostate or aggravating prostate can-cer. And there’s one other small problem with taking testosterone without a pre-scription—it’s illegal in 50 states!