The Parents Zone

They say there’s no such thing as a dumb question, but that’s not true. There is such a thing as a dumb question.

“When are you guys going to start your family?”

“Are you going to try for a girl?”

“Are you pregnant yet?”

“Shouldn’t you be working on baby number two by now?”

They’re all dumb questions. Unless you know the story, it’s really none of your business. You shouldn’t ask.

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Many of my friends have stories that go along with why their families are the size they are. The stories are so varied and often filled with sadness and tragedy and heartache.

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If you were tested for the breast cancer gene mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that raise the risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers would you tell your children?

Thats the question researchers posed to 253 parents, almost all of them women, who underwent BRCA gene testing and had at least one child under age 25.

There isnt much to do with the information for that age group: kids who learn that a parent carries a BRCA mutation arent advised to have the test themselves until at least age 18, and any additional screening resulting from a positive result wouldnt likely begin until age 25, says Angela Bradbury, lead author of the study and the director of breast and ovarian cancer risk assessment at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

For those who reported passing along the results to children, researchers also asked them how the kids seemed to receive the news.

Among the 505 offspring of those surveyed, 66% were told about their parents results, most of those within a month.

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— My grandson wrote down his symptoms. Can you help him? He is 15 and plays soccer. ”Dry throat; irritated throat during hard running. Makes me want to puke. During most days, stuffy, itchy nose.” — P.

— He comes right to the point. I bet he is mouth-breathing when he runs hard. It’s the only way to get enough air into the lungs. However, some nose-breathing intermixed with mouth-breathing will keep the mouth and throat from drying out and keep the throat from being irritated. The nose filters incoming air and moistens it.

Your grandson has to practice nose-breathing. It’s not natural for runners. First

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CHICAGO — Attorney Colleen Gorman has a holiday ritual that doesn’t involve buying presents or counting down to midnight: She goes online to look for new hangover remedies she hasn’t tried.

She already has scratched off those big “prevention” pills, vitamins and chugging sports drinks, along with more quirky folk remedies including peanut butter sandwiches.

“My fiance says I should probably just drink less,” said Gorman, 28, of Chicago.

Experts say that’s good advice for everyone.

“The only way to prevent a hangover is to not get drunk,” said Boston University researcher Jonathan Howland.

That might be too radical a remedy for many revelers, but it’s the only one proven to work.

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