Dr Andy Field is a GP who is also interested in all forms of complementary medicine

Q I suffer from excessive sweating which is very embarrassing in hot weather. Is there any treatment for this?

AExcessive sweating is quite a common condition, but unfortunately very hard to treat. Most of the time it is simply down to your constitution, but there are some conditions such as thyroid disorders which can be the cause and should be ruled out. So see your doctor if you are concerned.

Simple measures such as wearing light and airy clothes, avoiding hot drinks and food and shinning the sun are important. A portable fan is also very helpful

Aluminium chloride 20 per cent solutions applied overnight two or three times a week can reduce sweating. Some people benefit from a physiotherapy treatment called iontophoresis which is used for the hands and feet. Beyond that, treatment with botulinum toxin is proven to be effective, but it is not commonly used and there are also operations which can be performed for the very severely affected.

My daughter's acne misery

Q No matter what we use, my daughter's acne just gets worse and it is stopping her from going out. Any ideas?

A Acne can be very severe and upsetting particularly at the time of adolescence when hormone levels are changing rapidly. To some extent this is a normal event because skin pores are blocked by thickening secretions.

The more you can do to optimise inner health the better your skin will be. Research shows that low fat, low sugar and high fibre diets can help with acne. So eat more fruit and veg and less junk, particularly sugary drinks, sweets, crisps and fried foods for healthier skin. If you're really motivated, a good detoxification programme involving short-term fasting and special diets can be tried, but only with expert advice.

For treatment, I recommend a benzoyl peroxide facial wash such as acnegel to unblock the pores. Some find topical antibiotics helpful but the effects are short lived because the bacteria get used to them. I often treat people with oral antibiotics and I like to change the type of antibiotic every three to six months to reduce the problem of resistance.

For more severe acne there are other creams called retinoids which are useful and in the worst cases, where long-term scarring may occur, there is a treatment which the dermatologist will use under hospital supervision.

Tell me more about candida

QI have suffered from tiredness and food intolerances for several years now and a friend told me I may have candida infection. My GP said this wasn't possible, but I would like to know how I can find out more about candida infection in case this is the cause of my problems?

A It is becoming increasingly common for people to believe they have candida or yeast infections, causing a large variety of symptoms such as depression, tiredness, irritable bowel syndrome, aches and pains, skin diseases and so on.

It's a big subject but so far no scientific evidence exists to point to candida as the cause of problems. However, many people are treated by naturopaths and other therapists with a variety of treatments such as special diets, vitamin and mineral supplements, herbal and homeopathic treatments and detoxification among many others. Suspected food intolerance is hard to diagnose, although services do exist offering the potential to find out what it is that you should avoid.

There is more to health and illness than science and doctors know about and I wish anyone luck if they wish to pursue complementary therapies or any alternative to orthodox medicine.

The Experts column runs in the Evening Press every Monday, featuring a GP, a fitness consultant, complementary therapist, motivational coach, relationships counsellor and a nutritionist. If you have any query about health, fitness or relationships, write in confidence to: The Experts, Features Department, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN, with your name, address and daytime telephone number, (these details will not be published). Also, you can e-mail questions to: maxine.gordon@ycp.co.uk. We regret that none of our columnists will be able to reply to individuals.