I have persistent and painful mouth ulcers that usually occur when I'm run down. What should I be taking?

The traditional topical remedy for mouth ulcers is myrrh which has excellent wound-healing properties thanks to the high concentration of chemicals known as sesquiterpenes in the oil.

To make your own mouthwash, simply dilute 5ml (a teaspoon) of myrrh tincture in a glass of warm water and swish around the mouth two or three times a day. This treatment can also help alleviate and prevent gingivitis or gum disease.

You have already identified that you get these ulcers when you are feeling run down so you might want to take a supplement to support your immune system through times of increased stress. Echinacea is now available in both tablet and tincture form and which you use is really just a matter of personal preference. Mail order from herbal specialists, Herbs of Grace (01638 712173/715715; www.herbsofgrace.co.uk)

I have arthritis and am looking for a natural remedy to help alleviate the pain and improve joint mobility. What can you suggest?

There are so many different formulations on the market for improving joint health, trying to pick the right one can be confusing, so I tend to recommend an American supplement that combines joint-supporting agents with anti-inflammatory herbs to tackle both the joint deterioration and the pain with a single pill.

Lifetime's Advanced Joint Support Formula combines glucosamine, chondroitin, methylsulphonylmethane (MSM) and Type II Collagen with a therapeutic dose of the anti-inflammatory herb, bromelain, and is suitable for both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis.

The inclusion of the Type II Collagen is what makes this particular supplement stand out because it provides hylauronic acid (HA), a natural substance found throughout the body but which is most abundant in cartilage and the synovial fluid around the joints. As we age, levels decrease making supplementation important.

Advanced Joint Support Formula costs £29.95 from Victoria Health (0800 413596; www.victoriahealth.com). Take as directed on the packet.

Incidentally, for dog owners, similar active agents, including Type II Collagen, are also included in a brand new wafer supplement for older dogs affected by joint deterioration. ArthroPet, which I have just started giving to Ellie, my elderly Jack Russell who has an arthritic back leg, costs £19.95 for 60 wafers and is now available in the UK from the same supplier. She won't eat it as a wafer so I crush it with the pill splitters you can buy in healthstores and mix it with her food.

My four-year-old son gets recurrent chest infections. I try to feed him a healthy, balanced diet and he takes a multi-vitamin every day. What else should I be doing?

You can further support his developing immune system by giving him a remedy made from black elderberry and formulated specifically for children. Sambucol for Kids is a liquid extract of elderberry with propolis and vitamin C that unlike the bitterness of many herbal tinctures has a pleasant blackcurrant flavour to make it more palatable for children.

When my daughter was younger, I would mix it with one of her favourite fruit juices and start dosing her at the first signs of any infection. Give children aged between one and six one teaspoon daily and double this dose for older children.

This remedy is widely on sale in health shops but if you cannot find it locally, mail order from Revital (0800 252875; www.revital.com) where a 120ml bottle costs £8.49.

I always take insect repellent away with me, but I always end up getting bitten by mosquitoes. Repellent is horrible, stings your eyes and melts your nail varnish. Any suggestions?

One of my all-time favourite stories is how Scottish scientists researching the repellent properties of an Indian plant called Neem decided to test its effectiveness by sticking their hands into a tank of mosquitoes and waiting for them to bite.

They discovered that covering the skin with Neem oil not only reduced the number of mosquito bites but also the severity of the body's reaction to them. The UK herbal company, Bioforce, has now formulated a Neem repellent which is also effective against midges, in an environmentally friendly pump spray. This range is again widely on sale in good health shops but for local stockists call Bioforce on 01294 277344.

Life on the knife edge: thread vein removal

This particular guinea pig got her first broken veins on her cheeks at the age of 10, when the vile nuns at her boarding school hurled everybody out of doors to play lacrosse on the clifftops in the January gales. Over the years they've got worse, and more have come along from random activities like zapping blackheads too violently. Ever done that and watched, horrified, as a red vein zigzags down the side of your nose? Awful.

There are, says the lovely Marie Duckett, many factors that contribute to broken veins: baths and steam rooms that are too hot; hot food; extreme weather; knee-high tights; trauma; pregnancy; crossing your legs for prolonged periods and the seat edge of a chair can bring them out at the back of your knees. And, of course, sun damage.

The most common ones Marie deals with are on the face and chest, and the system she operates is Veinwave, which entails injecting a current of heat that coagulates the vein and causes it to collapse; it is then absorbed by the body.

I have to tell you this is far from painless - particularly round the nose - but a liberal application of local anaesthetic cream does help, as does squeezing the clinic's handy pink plastic pig.

It's not a good idea to go anywhere glamorous straight afterwards, and no violent exercise for 24 hours, but you can disguise the red dots with make-up for the next few days and after a couple of weeks, hey presto, no veins! It does make a bare summer-face look much more possible.

I had two sessions; costs start at £250 per treatment.

Veinwave at Fiona & Marie. LPSA, 30 Devonshire Street, London W1 (020 7908 3773)

· Before following any medical or dietary advice in this column, please consult your GP if you suffer from any health problems. Susan Clark's website is www.whatreallyworks.co.uk