My feet feel like they are burning at night and it disrupts my sleep. Soaking them in hot water seems to help but only temporarily. What can I do?

Dr Ellie replies: Burning foot syndrome is a recognised condition where people experience pain and heaviness in their feet, particularly at night time.

Symptoms tend to be related to the nerves – the fibres that send electrical signals from the body to the brain.

The nerves are responsible for how we experience sensations such as heat and pain.

Burning feet can sometimes be caused by a vitamin B deficiency – a crucial nutrient found in foods including meat and fish.

It is also linked to chronic alcohol problems, diabetes and thyroid disease.

A GP can carry out blood tests to identify if one of these could be the cause. Treating those conditions may help combat the symptoms.

Burning feet can sometimes be caused by a vitamin B deficiency – a crucial nutrient found in foods including meat and fish

Soaking the feet in cold – rather than hot – water does provide patients with some relief.

However, patients with no clear cause of their burning foot syndrome can also be given medication.

This includes amitriptyline, gabapentin and pregabalin, which block abnormal nerve signals. This should reduce the pain and improve sleep.

I'm 74 and have discoid eczema. It seems to get worse in hot weather. The creams don’t seem to make a difference. Could my statins and blood pressure tablets be to blame?

Dr Ellie replies: Discoid eczema is an itchy skin condition which triggers circular red patches. Sometimes, new prescription drugs can trigger it.

It can occur anywhere on the body, excluding the face. The patches tend to be dry and crusty.

As we age, the skin barrier becomes less effective, which means that it can get dehydrated and irritated. This is how discoid eczema occurs.

The key to tackling discoid eczema is rehydrating the skin. One way to do this is using an emollient – which is another word for moisturiser. Some common emollients you can buy from most chemists include E45, Diprobase and Cetraben.

Patients need to use these regularly – a minimum of twice a day. They should also use the creams in large amounts.

For a discoid eczema patient, a large 500g tub of emollient shouldn’t last longer than a month.

Most pharmacists will stock multiple ones and should be able to help patients pick the one that is right for them.

Alongside emollients, a GP can prescribe steroid creams for the patches to reduce the inflammation. But these will only work if the skin is well hydrated with an emollient.

It’s also important to identify triggers that make the eczema worse. Lathery soaps, bubble baths and certain types of washing detergents can cause this issue.

Heat is also a known skin irritant, so it’s important to keep rooms in the house cooler. Some patients also find that using a humidifier will stop the skin drying out when the heating is on.

If a skin condition started at the same time as a medication, this could also be a trigger. It might be worth discussing switching to an alternative medicine with a GP to see if the symptoms improve.

However, never stop taking prescription drugs without telling your family doctor first.

I am due to have a trapeziectomy on my right thumb, but I’m worried that I could suffer nerve damage. Is this procedure safe?

Dr Ellie replies: Nerve damage is always a possibility after an operation, but the chances of it occurring are low.

The trapezium is a little bone on the wrist right at the bottom of the thumb. It is a common site for osteoarthritis – the painful joint problems caused by long-term wear and tear.

Not only does osteoarthritis in the trapezium impair movement of the thumb, it often leads to constant pain because of how often we use our thumbs. A trapeziectomy is a procedure which involves completely removing the small bone.

For the majority of people this is both safe and effective at reducing pain (patients also retain the majority of movement in the thumb even without the bone).

Research suggests that around 15 per cent of people who have a trapeziectomy develop some form of nerve damage in the skin around the thumb, which can lead to numbness or tingling. A third of patients also have continued pain or weakness after the operation. For these reasons, surgical procedures like this would only be offered to the most severely affected arthritis patients. Given the intense pain this condition can cause, most people opt for surgery and take the small risk of side-effects. But that is a decision entirely for the patient – and no one else – to decide.

GPs must not ignore underweight adults 

I strongly agree with the growing calls for GPs to pay more attention to older patients who are underweight.

Last month, former health secretary Dame Patricia Hewitt, 76, revealed she nearly died while on holiday after suffering dehydration. She was in hospital for six weeks. Doctors said her low body weight – 7st 11lb – was in part responsible for her severe symptoms and slow recovery.

When patients are underweight, their body lacks energy reserves which can be crucial when patients fall ill, particularly if they eat less, further weakening them.

Yet GPs too often focus on tackling obesity and forget to identify underweight older adults, who could be referred to a diet specialist for treatment. We need to do more to help these patients. Have you fallen sick due to being underweight? Write and let me know.

Will a second NHS app help? 

I'm sceptical of the Government’s latest plan to improve NHS cancer care.

Earlier this month, a new app, called Cancer 360, was announced. It is meant to bring cancer patients’ medical data into one place. The Government says it will ‘cut waits and save lives’. But I am confused by this plan (not to mention the bold claims about the good it will do for patients).

It’s true cancer patients often struggle to easily access their records. This is because many are seen by various doctors in separate departments – sometimes in different hospitals. But why isn’t this information being brought together within the NHS App?

Why on Earth are we adding another app to the mix? It’s likely Cancer 360 will face the same problems as the NHS one. Hospitals will not be required to take part in the app, meaning many patients will fail to see a difference.