Summer brings a change in lifestyle and along with it some health issues, many of them could be a bit embarrassing. Recent episodes on Dr. Oz show covered some of the most pertinent ones that could save us a trip to the doctor’s office. Dr. Oz answered some of the most embarrassing Summer Questions.
Dr. Oz: Peeing In The Pool
Summer means fun in the pool and kids often do not want to answer nature’s call during their time in the pool as that would disrupt their pool activities. One of the most common (and embarrassing) questions parents have is, how to tackle the problem of kids “peeing in the pool”. Dr. Oz was addressing the concern of Daryll, one of the guests on the show with two and a half-year-old twins Abigail and Brody.
While it’s not cool to ‘pee in the pool’, however, there is nothing to worry about. The chlorine present in the pool water is sufficient and capable of neutralizing the microbes present in human urine, he explained. The real problem, he said, is when kids “poop in the pool”. It is important to know that the solid ‘poop’ is not a problem at all. The bacteria seem to reside deep inside of the piece of poop and just removing the piece from the pool while increasing the chlorine flow can maintain the sterility of the pool.
The real problem would be when people have soft stool or diarrhea. This kind of stool is hard to remove from the pool as it spreads in the water. In this case, the pool should be closed for at least thirteen hours. The chlorine present in the pool water may not be sufficient to reach all of the bacterial content right away and hence will not be able to decontaminate the pool water fully.
Dr. Oz: Skin Rashes
Another guest Jennifer mentioned about heat rashes underneath her bra and between her breasts. This is a very common occurrence in athletes or people who maintain a very active outdoor life in summer. The reason for the heat rashes is the accumulated sweat underneath the layer of skin called epidermis where the sweat glands are located. Considering that sweat secretion is the body’s own way of cooling down, the more warm the weather is, the more sweat is produced. For people doing exercise or other strenuous physical activity, chances are more than sweat production will be more than normal during those times.
As with Jennifer and many of us, this is more of an occurrence where there are folds or flaps of skin rubbing against one another causing friction. This is called ‘chafing‘. Breasts are a very good example and combined with a sports bra, the sweat secretion is even more impeded leading to its building up beneath the skin which then pops it out as heat rash.
Dr. Oz recommends any ointment that has allantoin as a preventive measure. It is to be used on the skin to reduce friction or ‘chafing’ to prevent rashes and for people who already have a rash, calamine lotion is the best way to go.
Dr. Oz: Poison Ivy In Sensitive Body Parts
Embarrassing situations can also occur when camping outdoors. Courtney, who is an avid camper was on the show discussing how she ended up having poison ivy on her lady parts or genitals. Poison ivy once touched can creep onto our clothing and every other thing we touch afterwards. One visit to the bathroom after touching a poison ivy can easily spread it to our private parts. However, the resultant itch and embarrassment can be remedied quite easily.
Dr Oz suggests ground oatmeal added to warm bath and soaking it up for thirty minutes can take care of most of the symptoms.
Dr. Oz: Greening Of Hair
Another embarrassing situation from the summer pool, particularly for the blondes, is the greening of hair. People think it comes from the chlorine in the pool that somehow adds a green color to their hair once they take a dip. However, that is not correct. Dr Oz demonstrated in the show that chlorine does have a contribution to the effect by way of creating cracks on the hair surface. However, the green color is produced when copper present in the water gets stuck in those cracks and subsequently gets oxidized. Thus, hair gets increasingly greener with more trips to the pool. Not every blonde haired person will want their hair to turn green after every trip to the pool.
The solution to this problem is simple. As Dr Oz recommends, smothering fresh tomato paste on hair and shampooing it off after a few minutes will quench the copper salts and hair will blonde like before. Darker haired persons can follow the same regime too, this will prevent damage to their hair as well due to copper deposition and oxidation.
Dr. Oz: Skin Wax
The most common problem however, came from Mia who described her embarrassment when she ends up having red bumps on her skin on getting a bikini wax. Skin becomes sore and sometimes inflamed. As Dr Oz described, waxing rips off tiny bits of skin exposing cracks that invite bacteria. This combined with chafing or friction can produce skin inflammation and/or infection.
Dr. Oz recommends going for the hard wax and professional hands whenever we decide on bikini-wax. The area always needs to be washed with soap and water after the procedure. He also advises to keep away from any exfoliation for up to two days. Any itching in that area should be treated with hydrocortisone ointment, and finally, one has to prevent chafing in the waxed area. For that matter, it could be a good idea to stay away from sex for at least two days after waxing.
