As the summer is soon to arrive, I was wondering what type of clothing should I wear to protect myself from the sun? Also, what color works best, light or black? I seem to be getting conflicting answers on the Internet. I am a fair skinned male. Thanks for your help!

A couple of months ago I developed a hard, bony growth on my instep. I noticed that the top of my foot was hurting, and when I took my shoe off, there was a red lump the size of a quarter (it's not red all the time, just from rubbing against the shoe). A friend of mine who is a nurse said that it's probably a ganglion cyst and the best thing to do would be to, and I quote, "hit it with something really hard," like a dictionary, or a hammer. It should break up immediately, she told me. She hasn't seen it, by the way — this was over the phone.

I'm surprised that she thinks it's a cyst, because it's awfully hard — I would have just thought that it was a bone spur. What do you think? And is smacking a cyst with a dictionary really the way to go?

As an avid contact wearer, I use saline solution to rinse my contacts daily before each use. Recently, a friend told me that many commercial saline solutions contain preservatives, which could affect the overall health of my eye. Is this something I should be concerned about? The saline I use has always felt comfortable so I never thought it could pose a problem.

I am a young, white, tan, female and I have noticed that my stomach has become discolored. It is almost spotted-looking. Is this the side effect from birth control pills, or does it sound like a more serious problem?

A friend of a friend told me all about this ultraviolet/blacklight tattoo method. It was deemed unsafe earlier when it first came out, but apparently now it is completely safe. This friend of a friend said she does these tattoos all the time now and is really good about not scarring. So I'm not worried about anything like scarring being seen, I'm just worried about getting cancer and other accusations when ultraviolet tattoo first came out.

I just found out that a friend requires a kidney transplant. I've heard that we are all equipped with two kidneys and can live with just one. How do I find out if I can donate a kidney? What's involved in a kidney donation? Thanks!

What natural food or herb can help soothe stomach ulcers?

I recently started taking birth control pills to help with my acne. But since it is considered a low dosage kind (Low Ogestrel, to be specific), I wonder if it is still an effective and safe contraceptive. Can I take this kind and not have to worry about getting pregnant?

I read that disposable contact lenses are actually worse for your eyes than the normal one-year ones because they allow less oxygen to go to your eyes, and the only advantage is that there are less cleansing problems. Also, it is claimed that inadequate oxygen to your eyes (possibly caused by prolonged wearing of contact lenses) leads to a condition when extra blood vessels sprout around the iris, which leads to sight problems at old age. Is that true?

I am very concerned because I normally wear (one-year) contact lenses from 8am to 8pm, and maybe to 12am during reading periods. I don't feel very comfortable with glasses because they give distorted visions and fatigue. I thought switching to disposable contact lenses would do my eyes good. My current lenses contain 38 percent water. Is this good enough?

The muscles in my back become extremely tense/tight throughout the term as I am cramped down studying all the time. What should I do?