It’s an hour of callers! Dr. Oz talks to one woman about how to boost her child's immune system before the start of a new school year. Then, he shares his insights with another caller about the lifespan of harmful germs and whether or not they might be found on a person's clothing.
My 6-year-old daughter tends to get sick very often. What can I do during the summer to boost her immune system and give her an edge on the coming school year?
Some kids tend to respond to environmental irritants with an inflammatory response, which can cause an overproduction of mucous and weaken your immune system, Dr. Oz says. "It's not necessarily a bad thing to have it react to your immune system, but if it's always being stressed out, then it's not really ready to do battle with the big infections that come through," he says.
Food allergies to things like casine, which is a milk protein, or wheat products are some of the most common culprits. By cutting out dairy and wheat products from your child's diet for a week, Dr. Oz says you can see if their condition improves. He also recommends airing out the house on a regular basis to rid the child's environment of potential toxins from household cleaners, chemicals found on carpets, etc.
Another possibility is that the caller's child could be getting sick more often because it was her first year in school, Dr. Oz says, and that's the first time she was exposed to various germs. Her second year in school may be easier on her health because she's built up some antibodies to a variety of common sicknesses.
My mother passed away and I would like to donate some of her clothing to charity. She had suffered from intense itching, which was never diagnosed or successfully treated. How long do germs live on clothes and can you catch an infection from donated clothes?
While many germs can survive long periods of time, most of the harmful germs we worry about don't live long on clothing—there's nothing for them to live off, Dr. Oz says. Donating clothes is a very altruistic and efficient way of reusing things in our society, he says, and anything present on her clothing would most likely be eliminated with proper cleaning.
My 6-year-old daughter tends to get sick very often. What can I do during the summer to boost her immune system and give her an edge on the coming school year?
Some kids tend to respond to environmental irritants with an inflammatory response, which can cause an overproduction of mucous and weaken your immune system, Dr. Oz says. "It's not necessarily a bad thing to have it react to your immune system, but if it's always being stressed out, then it's not really ready to do battle with the big infections that come through," he says.
Food allergies to things like casine, which is a milk protein, or wheat products are some of the most common culprits. By cutting out dairy and wheat products from your child's diet for a week, Dr. Oz says you can see if their condition improves. He also recommends airing out the house on a regular basis to rid the child's environment of potential toxins from household cleaners, chemicals found on carpets, etc.
Another possibility is that the caller's child could be getting sick more often because it was her first year in school, Dr. Oz says, and that's the first time she was exposed to various germs. Her second year in school may be easier on her health because she's built up some antibodies to a variety of common sicknesses.
My mother passed away and I would like to donate some of her clothing to charity. She had suffered from intense itching, which was never diagnosed or successfully treated. How long do germs live on clothes and can you catch an infection from donated clothes?
While many germs can survive long periods of time, most of the harmful germs we worry about don't live long on clothing—there's nothing for them to live off, Dr. Oz says. Donating clothes is a very altruistic and efficient way of reusing things in our society, he says, and anything present on her clothing would most likely be eliminated with proper cleaning.
Published on August 08, 2007
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The information provided here is for entertainment and informational purposes. You should consult your own physician before starting any treatment, diet or exercise program. The opinions expressed by the hosts, guests and callers to Oprah Radio are strictly their own.
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