Will the real Dr. Gott please stand up?
DEAR DR. GOTT: Someone is using your name and photo to earn income at the website www.dr-gott.com. It is not clear until you get to their contact page that it's not your official site. You can see by looking at the posts that people think they are sending you a message. You may not want to spend a lot of money going after these people, but it is very illegal for them to use your photo without your permission. A letter from your lawyer demanding that they remove your photo and state in large type on their home page that it is not your official site would be a great service to your readers and also protect your privacy and legal rights.
DEAR READER: Unfortunately, for every website that uses my name and photo that I take action against, there are 12 more behind it waiting to take its place.
I appreciate you informing me of this imposter, and I have printed your letter as a warning to my readers in the hopes that it will make the rounds. My only official website is www.AskDrGottMD.com. I can also be found on Facebook. There, I (or rather, my office staff) share links back to my website and welcome comments from my readers. I cannot answer any questions posed on Facebook, just as I cannot respond to every letter or e-mail I receive. It is not a matter of not wanting to. It is a matter of sheer volume.
I would also like to take this opportunity to let my readers know that, over the coming weeks, you will notice some changes to my website. This is because I have brought on a new web designer to help spruce things up. We will work together to liven up my website and ensure that it is easy to navigate. We plan to address several concerns that have repeatedly come up in e-mails, including improving the search function and making the Health Report order form easier to access. It is currently located on the Health Report page, but the link is small, so I ask that all my website visitors please bear with us while we make these changes. I would also welcome any suggestions from you, my readers, about what you would like to see on the site. Send your suggestions to me through my website "Medical Inquiries" contact form. Please keep in mind that not all changes will be viable, but if there is an overwhelming response about certain aspects, we will do our best to incorporate it.
DEAR DR. GOTT: My wife follows your column in our local newspaper. She read about placing a bar of soap under the bedsheets, but needs more explanation. She suffers a lot of pains and seeks whatever help is available.
DEAR READER: The soap-under-the-sheets remedy is very simple. Place an unwrapped bar of soap under the bottom bedsheet nearest to the affected area. Some readers have had success using wrapped soap, as well. It was originally recommended for nighttime leg cramps but has also been found to be beneficial for other nighttime aches and pains in other areas, such as the shoulders, feet, back and neck. The soap may need to be replaced once in a while, say every three to six months, but it still retains its cleaning ability so it does not need to be thrown away. I suggest your wife try it since she has nothing to lose other than her pain.
Dr. Peter H. Gott is a retired physician and the author of several books, including "Live Longer, Live Better," "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet" and "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook," which are available at most bookstores or online. His website is www.AskDrGottMD.com. Copyright 2010, United Feature Syndicate Inc.