Q I have asthma and am on medication to help regulate my blood pressure and cholesterol. I am allergic to penicillin and various other medications, but MedicAlert tags only allow for a few conditions to be noted on them. Can you tell me which is the best way to provide a greater amount of information for emergency medical staff?

PM, from Basingstoke

A MedicAlert’s extensive range of jewellery can indeed be engraved with medical information, but the larger tags and bracelets can only carry about 10 words, so space is tight, even accounting for the use of medical abbreviations. In your case, it’s vital that any tag you have lists your asthma, diabetes and penicillin allergy. It should also include other crucial data, such as any medication and your GP’s surgery number.

If you run out of space, you can brief the MedicAlert service so that medics can access all the information via a 24-hour emergency phone number shown on the tag. Membership costs £20 per year. The Zaptag emergency-record disc — a small, waterproof USB memory stick that can be attached to a keyring or necklace — can hold more information. However, paramedics will need a computer to access this. Visit www.medicaltags.co.uk for more details.

Q My wife suffers from type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy (PN), which mainly affects her feet. She controls the diabetes with medication, but nothing seems to ease the PN. Any suggestions?

JP, via e-mail

A Diabetic neuropathy is caused by nerves having prolonged exposure to high levels of glucose in the blood, which damages them. When this affects the toes, legs, feet and hands, it is called peripheral neuropathy (PN). Symptoms include pain, tingling or burning sensations, a lack of sensitivity, and cramps. Many people with diabetic PN benefit from taking Pregablin, which stabilises pain-nerve activity. Your wife’s GP can prescribe this.

Q Our 18-month-old son has recently lost weight. The health visitor says it’s due to too healthy a diet with too much fruit, vegetable and fibre, and says it’s often seen with misinformed parents. Is this true?

AD from west London

A That depends on how much weight he has lost and over what time. This need not be a cause of worry. An increase in activities such as walking may have contributed to it. If his weight remains static over the next month or so, he should be checked by a GP for other problems. The average toddler needs 1,300 calories a day: a rule of thumb is 40 calories a day for each inch of height. His diet should contain all the main food groups — protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. A fat-free diet is not good for toddlers, but neither is one comprising mainly of biscuits.

Write, with your initials and home town, to drknow@sunday-times.co.uk . All questions are answered by a practising doctor

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