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Sept. 22, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:40
Nightmares Decoded: Sleep Paralysis or Paranormal Activity? | Dr. Oz | S11 | Ep 43 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Nightmares decoded.
This feeling overtakes me.
I'm like frozen.
Is it sleep paralysis?
I can't move.
I can't scream.
I can't do anything.
Or paranormal activity?
She possessed me.
She used my body as a vehicle.
Plus...
We go undercover to some of the filthiest public bathrooms.
Swapping surfaces for deadly germs.
Do you know how to get out unscathed?
Coming up next.
Are you ready for season 11?
- Yeah! - Imagine sleeping in your own bedroom And then, sheer terror.
You wake up because you feel something heavy on your chest.
You're frozen with fear, unable to scream.
For centuries, people have been reporting terrifying episodes of being paralyzed as they fall asleep or in the dead of night.
Today, nightmares decoded.
An investigation into these chilling accounts.
Is it sleep paralysis disorder?
Or is it paranormal activity?
I'm laying there and next thing you know this feeling kind of like overtakes me and I'm like frozen, I can't move.
I couldn't move but I felt something move for me.
I looked down at the edge of my bed and I saw this dark shape.
I just remember thinking like oh my gosh there's somebody in the house and I can't move I can't get up.
You have no control and you can't move.
You feel like you are going to get hurt or die.
I thought somebody was in the room.
It felt like somebody was standing over me.
I'd be trying to scream, but no sound would really come out.
It also kind of felt like somebody was putting their full weight on my entire body, even down to the tips of my fingers.
And at this point, I could hardly breathe.
I was screaming as loud as I could, but no one could hear me because I couldn't make any sound.
That was Casey who's joining me now.
She says she's had this feeling of being paralyzed in bed many times.
What's the scariest experience you've had?
So I was sleeping one night and I thought my best friend was next to me.
I was completely frozen.
I couldn't even move a pinky.
I couldn't move a toe.
It just felt like someone was standing over me and completely suffocating my body.
I thought that's how it was going to be.
I thought I was just going to be paralyzed forever and then I wasn't going to wake up.
But when you did wake up, what happened?
I screamed.
I got up all in one motion and I just screamed.
I looked next to me and she was never there the entire time.
Oh my goodness.
Take a look at this footage.
This is the bedroom where another one of these scary experiences happened to one of my staff members.
So, Tina, what happened?
What's going on here?
So I was sound asleep and something awoke me in the middle of the night.
And I remember opening my eyes and I looked outside my bedroom window and I remember seeing the lights of the buildings around me.
And then I sensed a presence next to me.
So I turned and I looked to the side of my bed and there was a woman Crouched down, staring right at me.
And I saw her face very clearly.
And I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
So as I'm trying to process all of this, I suddenly felt completely paralyzed.
And I thought, you know, I've got to wake up my husband who's sleeping next to me because I need some help here.
So I tried to say his name.
Out loud.
But my lips were frozen shut.
But I kept trying to say his name.
And eventually I blurted out his name.
And luckily he heard me.
And then he turned on the light.
And at that moment, I was suddenly free again.
I was able to move.
But you thought you were awake the whole time you were seeing this woman crouch down?
I have no doubt in my mind I was awake because of the sheer terror and the panic I felt and my heart was racing.
There's no doubt in my mind that I was fully awake and I was not having a nightmare.
So what was going on, do you think?
I mean, you woke up, she wasn't there, right?
Well...
A few days after this incident, I learned that an elderly woman who lived in the apartment below me had passed away recently.
Oh my goodness.
And the new homeowners were gut renovating her apartment.
I think the construction work really disturbed her spirit, which I think was still in that apartment.
And I think she roamed the building Looking for another place to park herself and somehow made her way into my apartment.
But I also believe that the night when she jumped into my body, she possessed me because she wanted to experience what it was like to feel alive again.
And I think she used my body as a vehicle.
Now, unfortunately...
That's pretty scary.
Well, unfortunately...
I'm glad you kept coming to work.
I had to.
But unfortunately for me, I think my experience out of that was this horrifying paralysis.
Tina, thank you very much.
I appreciate it.
You're welcome.
My goodness.
So estimates can vary, but as many as 65% of people worldwide may experience an episode like this at some point in their lives.
And some think it's biological.
Others say it might be something darker.
Let me bring in medium and counselor Anna Raimondi and see if Dr. Tanuja Hamilton Dr. Hamilton, for centuries, for centuries, people have been describing presence in their bedroom.
I know.
And you argue that every culture has always tracked these.
I can say, Tina and I have known all 11 years of my show, extremely trusted, a senior executive on the program.
I really believe what she's saying to me.
I've had sleep terrors, I think many of us have, where you feel that you're frozen, you can't move, but something's happening that you've got to change.
Right.
So what gives?
You know, over the centuries, many cultures throughout history, around the world, have described an evil or ominous presence.
And in fact, some people are afraid to go to sleep every night because of it.
So medicine has a name for these episodes.
We think there's sleep paralysis.
That's right.
Is that right?
So REM is our dream sleep.
That's when our muscles are most relaxed.
In fact, we're paralyzed.
And that's to prevent us from hurting ourselves or others acting out our dreams.
Some people, when their sleep is out of sync, Their mind wakes up, but their body is still paralyzed.
It's a REM intrusion symptom.
Some people might experience pressure on their chest or a choking sensation.
They might have associated auditory, visual, or tactile hallucinations, an evil presence, or an out of body experience.
So let me explain, as I understand it, what's going on inside of our brain.
So as you sleep, you're going in and out of what's called REM sleep.
Look at this diagram behind me, you'll see this, right?
And that REM sleep there, these little orange bars, These are where you're having rapid eye movement, that's what REM stands for, but it really tells scientists that your brain is working, but your body can't move, right?
And it can happen all the way through this process.
You can even get hallucinations, something that will cause terribly fearful events.
And it happens multiple potential times during the evening, so no surprise, a lot of us experience this.
Now, that's the medical explanation of why you might have experienced this.
But Anna, you see, there could be a different explanation.
There could be why people are experiencing this dead of the night dread.
Yeah, so when we sleep, our soul does not sleep.
Our soul goes off along the astral plane.
So whether it's learning or teaching or doing whatever it's doing.
So, you know, during those REM periods, those REM periods, you know, when there's that paralysis, our soul is actually leaving.
We also become very vulnerable.
So there's room for another soul to come in, so to speak, to be, your body can be possessed, so to speak.
All right, so it's either happening for a biological reason or a spiritual reason, but it's happening.
Coming up, a sleep experiment.
Barbara says she's afraid to sleep because of these terrifying and paralyzing episodes.
We investigate.
Is she suffering from sleep paralysis or is it something darker?
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A must-see before your next meal.
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What's considered a healthy meal may have a dark side.
Overcrowded habitats that have been described as looking like swamp.
Questions of contamination, pesticides, bacteria.
We investigate.
That's coming up Monday on Dr. Oz.
We're back investigating the terrifying phenomenon of feeling paralyzed in your own bed.
Could it be something called sleep paralysis?
Or is it something darker?
Barbara reached out to us because she's afraid to go to sleep.
She feels like there's something haunting her.
So we did an overnight experiment to find out what's really going on.
You know what?
Sometimes I get terrified.
Terrified just to go to bed.
Because what happens to me is when I'm falling asleep, I fall asleep and it's like a horror film.
I'm in and out of sleep.
And I can't move.
I want to scream, but I can't scream.
I'm paralyzed.
All I keep thinking in my head is, you know what?
I got to snap out of this, because if I don't snap out of this, I'm going to die.
And I don't want to die this way.
And I actually feel that there's some kind of demonic evil presence around.
What I'm going to do tonight is I'm going to go ahead and record myself.
Hopefully you'll see me in the morning.
A lot of tossing and turning there, Barbara is here along with medium Anna Ramondi and sleep expert Dr. Tanuja Hamilton who have both reviewed Barbara's tape, went over her medical records.
How often do you experience a sense of terror when you're going to sleep?
Well this happened to me probably about 10 to 12 times in my life but can I be real with you Dr. Oz?
If you feel it one time, then you're going to remember it.
Because it's a scary feeling.
It makes me afraid to go to sleep at times.
I don't blame you.
That's why I keep hearing from folks.
So, Anna, from what you're watching of Barbara's clips, what sense are you getting of what's going on?
Well, you're obviously anxious.
So, you know, I tell people this all the time.
Before you go to bed at night, call in your angels.
You'll have a better night's sleep.
How does that make you feel hearing that?
Well, it makes me feel good that I'm being, what I'm doing with the angels, and the angels are protecting me.
Barbara, thank you very much.
Thank you.
I've heard a lot of people today talk about these experiences and being frightened by their sleep.
So I'm gonna ask Dr. Hamilton and Anna to join me here, because I want to talk about what things we can do to prevent sleep paralysis from being triggered.
So Dr. Hamilton, what are some things that trigger these kinds of problems?
Well, sleep deprivation can be a trigger.
Irregular sleep schedules, high stress or anxiety, underlying sleep disorders like sleep apnea or narcolepsy, other drowsy disorders.
There's even a genetic component.
There is.
So what do you do about it?
How do you avoid sleep paralysis that messes up so much of our sleep?
Yeah, you want to make sure you get enough sleep.
So seven to nine hours depending on what your sweet spot is.
Keep your bedtimes consistent even on weekends and your days off.
Avoid sleeping on your back.
Address anxiety or depression.
And see a sleep specialist if you suspect sleep apnea or any underlying sleep disorder like narcolepsy.
Right, so there are things you can do about it.
And spiritually, what's going on here?
What can you help?
How can someone who's struggling because you think their soul is running away from them, address that part of it?
Because that's not so easy as dealing with the REM problem.
Right, so before you go to sleep at night, you know, call in your angels, say a prayer, ask for protection, and then see what happens, you know, and believe.
You know, that's a key component.
Believe that you are safe.
I like the angel's approach.
We'll try that as well.
We'll be right back.
Up next, I'm here with the biggest voices in radio.
And we're about to get loud about something that affects all of us.
So what we're going to do is open up about the mental health crisis that's happening right now.
And it's time to get real.
Stay tuned because it might just save a life.
Mental health has been something that we have been sweeping under the rug for so many years, no one wants to talk about it.
And what I'm hearing you say is that you want to talk.
In order to eradicate the stigma around mental health, we've got to continue to tell our stories.
All across the country, DJs are taking to the airwaves to break the silence on a topic some treat as taboo.
And they're sparking a coast-to-coast conversation.
I have bipolar disorder and I've been living with mental illness for 28 years.
I've been struggling.
I get extremely overwhelmed when I have to make the littlest or the biggest decision.
I would cry uncontrollably.
I've had countless suicide attempts.
I laid in the bed for the entire week.
If I'm going to take anything positive from having this illness, I'm gonna use my voice.
I'm not alone in this and I'm not the only one who suffers from this.
I want to give a voice to those who can't speak for themselves.
As America's top radio personalities listen to their listeners, they've been inspired to share their stories.
I have been managing my anxiety and depression for years through extensive therapy.
There's nothing weak about getting help.
There's nothing weak of saying, um, I need you.
And now, DJs are taking action.
I am going to be on the Dr. Oz show tomorrow.
I gotta go because I gotta go to Dr. Oz.
I'm on Dr. Oz today with my guy Elvis Duran, my godfather Elvis Duran and Delilah.
On our way uptown to see Dr. Oz.
How's everybody?
Today, the biggest voices are here for a call to action that changed a conversation about mental health.
For the first time ever, three of the country's biggest themes in radio are coming together, speaking out about mental health.
They're gonna open up about these issues in ways you have never heard before.
And they're taking your calls right here to tell you about the big step we're all gonna be taking together.
Please welcome, my friends, Charlamagne Tha God from The Breakfast Club!
Elvis Duran from Elvis Duran and The Morning Show.
And she's known as the queen of sappy love songs, Delilah.
You good?
- Thank you for coming.
- Let's go.
- Finally! - I'm on stage.
- We are, why do we have one here? - I gotta say, I am so excited.
It's like a Hall of Fame gathering.
My three top DJs from all over the country with huge followings, willing to come together.
Because you know what?
They're always willing to speak their mind, which is what makes you guys so special.
It's why people love you.
And we're going to have people calling in from all across the country to help the conversation.
Hello out there, everybody.
I see you all.
Lots more out there.
So let me dive right into this, because we've never done a summit on mental health, but I keep asking around, I travel around the country, the biggest concern people have, and it's loneliness.
And Cheryl, I mean, you've been outspoken about the fact that we're just not honoring this truth.
Yes.
Mental health's a major problem.
People are ignoring it.
Why is it personal for you?
I mean, it's personal for me because I deal with anxiety.
I deal with depression.
I have my whole life because, you know, a lot of the things that I thought was causing anxiety and depression were, like, you know, lack of success or lack of finances.
But then when you achieve those things, you know, you're still having those same feelings and those same symptoms.
You're like, yo, let me go do something about it.
Dalai, you've been facing mental health issues in your own family.
Why do you think it's time to us, the whole country, to stop being silent about these issues?
Because it's epidemic.
It really is epidemic.
And, you know, we need to have real conversations, honest conversations, and we need to have them with kids who are younger.
You know, my son was 18. But I just saw a story two days ago, three days ago, about a 10-year-old girl that took her life.
And so we need to start having these conversations and be real about it instead of having it some deep dark secret.
Elvis, you've been very open, very public about the physical challenges that you have faced.
How does the mental health part fit into that puzzle?
Well, because I was very public about losing my weight, understanding who I was.
Remember, there was a day and age when people didn't want to talk about cancer.
They would actually whisper it, cancer.
Like, what are you doing?
You've got to talk about it.
And now this is the day and age of mental health.
We've got to stop sweeping it under the rug and be in it.
We've got to be swimming in it.
Otherwise, nothing's going to get fixed.
Well, you're all in your element when people call in, so we actually have a caller today.
There are lots of folks.
Erica from Brooklyn is calling in via Zoom.
Erica, what's been going on with you, and thanks for calling.
Hi, thank you for taking my call.
So, Maureen, I've been feeling down lately, and it seems like everybody is enjoying their life having fun.
At least that's what it seems to be online.
How can I not let what I see on social media affect me?
Turn it off.
That's right.
Turn it off.
You have to know that on social media, that's everybody's highlight reel.
Like, you know, nobody's showing the mistakes that they're making.
Nobody's showing the hard times.
They're only showing you the good.
So as long as you know that the reality of the situation is everybody's dealing with something and it's okay to not be okay, you won't feel bad when you see other people having fun.
Yeah.
Eric, thanks for sharing.
Keep listening, though, because you're going to want the rest of this.
Let's just go through that a little bit, because what Eric is asking is really important.
We just can't turn off digital media.
Delilah, you've been very outspoken about the risks social media poses to our well-being.
Especially for young people.
Especially for young people.
You know, when you have a daughter who is looking at women who are posting pictures, you know, scantily clad pictures, getting fans and a bigger fan base, you have this twisted image, body image.
And so I know it sounds crazy, but I don't let my kids have phones.
It does sound a little...
I know.
I don't think that's crazy at all.
All right, so I want to go back to Charlamagne, because you actually use social media to address some of your anxiety.
How do you do that?
Well, number one, I think that we're all in verbally abusive relationships with our smartphones.
So it's just like we can get on social media and there's always going to be somebody there that wants to tear us down.
So for me, I'm just more focused on the energy that I'm putting out as opposed to the energy that I'm taking in.
So I use it...
I use it just to throw statistics out there about mental health or throw up daily affirmations, things that I know will come across people's timeline and it'll make them feel positive or things that's gonna make them laugh, you know?
Other than that, I don't feed into what other people are saying on social media because it will drive you crazy.
It's hard not to do it.
There's no way around it.
It will drive you crazy if you let it.
Right, up next, the radio DJs address mental health topics they never thought they'd be talking about on air.
Stay tuned because we might just be saving a life.
Chris Watts.
His letters from jail.
His words.
His details.
His confession.
When he put his hands on her neck, he couldn't let go.
All new Oz.
That's coming up on Tuesday.
We're back with some of the biggest radio DJs who are coming together to give a voice to mental health.
Now they're getting real about a personal topic that has touched each and every one of their lives.
This country is in a suicide crisis.
Suicide deaths have increased by 30% since 2000, and none of you want to stay silent about this any longer.
So let's get into this specifically.
Charlamagne, you have been open about that your father had thoughts of suicide in the past.
What went down?
What was that like growing up?
Um, well, I actually found this out last year and it put a lot of things in perspective for me because, you know, I had a cousin who actually committed suicide over Thanksgiving of last year.
He used to work closely with my father doing our job.
So when that happened and my father, you know, heard about some of the stuff that I was dealing with as far as anxiety and depression, he opened up to me and said that he tried to kill himself 30 years ago.
And he said the reason he didn't kill himself was because of me and my older sister.
And then he started talking to me about how he went to therapy two and three times a week.
And he's been on 10 to 12 different medications throughout his life.
And he never had told anybody this.
Everybody has to share their story.
Why is that grown man just sharing his story a year ago?
Goliath touched you, I think, most personally because you lost your beloved son.
He was age 18, right, Zach?
What did we get wrong about suicide?
Well, Zach's case is very different than a lot of other people.
He was acutely aware of his mental illness, and he purposefully sought help.
But what happened is he was prescribed a medication that caused him to be delusional.
And he left a nine-page letter saying he was a time traveler, that he was going to go back in time and fix the time loop continuum.
He left the book A Wrinkle in Time on his bed.
So he was completely delusional.
And so we waited for the toxicology reports to come back, thinking maybe he'd gotten into some drugs or something.
We didn't know.
And when the tox report came back, he had nothing.
No drugs, no alcohol, no pot, nothing in his system.
So what do you do?
You know, you're a parent, you see your kid is struggling, you take him to the doctor.
They didn't do blood tests.
They didn't do anything.
They just put them on an antidepressant.
47% of the time, young people given antidepressants have a higher rate of suicidal tendencies and homicidal tendencies.
Yeah, when I was younger, I used to have those feelings.
I used to have those thoughts of suicide.
But, you know, the greatest quote I ever read was, you know, don't make Permanent decisions based off temporary feelings.
And if I could tell any of the youth anything, it's like, yo, being 41 years old now and thinking about the things that bothered me at 18 and 20, those things are so trivial now and don't matter.
But at that time, they did matter.
Yeah, that time were everything.
Have you thought of taking your life when you were young?
Yeah, it's crossed my mind.
I don't know if I actually would ever do it.
It's never like I held the gun in my hand or tried to cut my wrist or anything, but the thoughts crossed my mind where I would vocalize it, and I would say, hey, man, I'm gonna kill myself, and it would worry some of my friends so much that they would contact my parents, and my parents would come, you know, talk to me, because this happened when I was, like, my early 20s.
All right, so let's go through these red flags.
If we're gonna all be helping each other, be in the safety net, these are the red flags.
One is withdrawal.
Has it been a while since you've seen this person, and is that a normal reaction?
People that you care about, if they're not hanging around with you for a reason, find out why.
Recent trauma?
Recent trauma is huge.
Yeah.
Huge trigger.
Emotional and physical.
And the last red flag for everybody is dangerous behavior.
Doing more risky activities, showing erratic tendencies.
Again, sometimes you're trying to hurt yourself.
You're not trying to get attention.
You actually don't think you deserve to be around.
So we're going to put the suicide prevention hotline on the screen.
If you know someone who's in crisis, call it.
I know suicide is a difficult topic, but I want you to know you can make a difference.
We all can make a difference by speaking out.
So I want you to take a quick look at this video.
My birthday week, a moderate depressive episode, hit me so hard that I laid in the bed for the entire week, and it took everything in me every day to get out of the bed.
This year, I started therapy, and most of that was inspired by Charlamagne's Mental Health Initiative.
Charlamagne's advocacy towards mental health awareness helped me realize that it's okay to not be okay.
I'm not alone in this, and I'm not the only one who suffers from this.
And most importantly, it's okay to feel.
Charlene, what is it like hearing that?
She's attributing a remarkable influence to what she heard you say.
I mean, that's why I encourage people just to tell their stories.
You know, that's the only way that we're going to eradicate the stigma around mental health.
So I want you all at home to help out with this.
We fight the epidemic together using the power of one.
The power of one phone call.
Deliah says, hearing a person's voice is incredibly powerful.
It is so powerful.
You know, we've taken to texting.
We text.
We don't even call mom or dad sometimes.
You text.
But when you call somebody and you say, how are you?
Really, how are you?
It just opens up the floodgate of emotions and connections.
You gotta be willing to listen when you ask somebody how are they.
They might be like, hey man, I'm effed up.
You know what I'm saying?
You gotta be willing to listen when they tell you that things aren't really going that well.
So with that in mind, that you're really gonna listen, take out your phone right now, scroll through your contacts, right?
Who haven't you spoken to recently?
Call them.
And as Charlamagne say, you listen to them.
So we're gonna kick this off with you Charlamagne, since we just heard from Shanae.
You okay?
I don't have her number.
I have her number.
Oh.
Shanae's on Zoom.
Hey Shanae.
Hi.
Wow, that's amazing.
That's amazing.
So what do you have to ask these world class DJs next to me?
Charlamagne's here, Elvis Duran.
Hi Charlamagne.
Hey Shanae, how are you?
I didn't even expect this.
That's cool.
What's happening?
It was like a surprise.
I am great.
Are you really?
I definitely want to thank you.
Well...
I'm great right now, but I'm taking it every day at a time.
Some days it is easier to put one foot in front of the other, some days it's not, and I go see my therapist Saturday at 9 a.m.
like you see yours Friday at 3 o'clock.
Hey!
She knows, she knows!
Jaday, I'm glad we had Shans talk to you in person, and I'm glad we finally got you and Charlamagne together on her phone, at least.
I hope you meet in person sometime as well.
Yes.
It's a pleasure.
Thank you for everything.
Thanks, Shanae.
Absolutely.
Elvis.
That's awesome.
I've always felt, I don't just feel, the reaction scientifically knows, that when you help others, you help yourself at least as much.
Oh, absolutely.
Do you feel that way when you have the Shanae's in your life call you?
Let's call her back.
Absolutely.
You know, it's a connection.
It's a very important thing.
We've got to listen.
All right, so, everyone at home, make a point to make one phone call every day to see how someone else is doing.
You've got to really listen, as Charlemagne said, and the television point.
It's actually going to help you as well.
It's therapeutic.
Afterwards, help spread the word about the importance of checking in.
I'll be doing it, and so will all the DJs you saw today.
So call on Monday to each of their shows and share your comments on what you've been going through.
Let's keep talking about this.
Help everybody.
We'll be right back.
We go undercover in some of the filthiest bathrooms, swapping surfaces for deadly germs.
Do you know how to get out unscathed?
You ever walk into a public restroom and you just shudder?
For the first time ever, I'm revealing my official guide to get an in and out of a germy and filthy public restroom unscathed.
I know you all want this because it's one of our biggest P's.
I went undercover with my germ testing bus to the dirtiest bathrooms and tested methods so that you don't have to.
Take a look.
What ghastly pathogens are lurking in our public restrooms?
To find out, I put together a germ-testing squad.
Gynecologist Dr. Evelyn Minaya, who's heard all sorts of questions about infections in restrooms.
And the unofficial guru to the best and worst of New York City's bathrooms, Andrew Maximowicz, the man behind the Pooper's Guide that's gone viral online.
We're going undercover and heading out in our mobile germ testing lab to investigate some of New York's potentially filthiest restrooms.
We'll use a state-of-the-art germ counter to detect microbial contamination, and we'll be swabbing for some of the most dangerous superbugs, antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are raising alarms across the globe.
Andrew, you're the world expert.
What is going on out there?
Doc, I have been to hundreds and hundreds of bathrooms.
I have seen some absolutely disgusting, nasty things out there.
It's a real crapshoot.
Yeah.
All right, Dr. Minaj, you're the expert on all things we can't see.
What's the yolk factor in these restrooms?
I can imagine how many germs are on that surface.
We also have to take into account that toilet plume.
You know, when you flush that toilet, that splash, all of that stuff gets on you, too.
So what do these test results give to us?
Well, the test results are going to give us two things.
They're going to give us a germ count, especially where those hot spots are in the bathroom, and then it's also going to tell us what type of germs there are.
So Andrew, where are we headed to right now?
We are going to a coffee shop bathroom.
High foot traffic.
It's in the middle of midtown Manhattan.
Where am I measuring?
You're going to measure the toilet seat, the toilet floor.
The floor?
Yeah, because we, as women, we put sometimes our purses down on the floor, and it could be a yuck factor right there.
OK, the dryer and the exit door handle.
Looks dirty enough.
Looks like urine.
Bacteria is skulking in here.
Just the hello.
All right.
I got it.
Fantastic.
So, let's start off with the toilet seat.
All right.
Let's see what it reads.
It won't be under 50. It's 153. All right.
We'll do the stall floor.
It's next.
Okay.
737. I can't believe you even touched that.
I know, exactly.
Now, the dryer, you know, had all kinds of things going on around it.
It wasn't a toilet stall, but couldn't be what's on your clothes.
Ooh!
Wow!
1,342.
But you know what's really interesting is that this is the dryer.
Remember, you're supposed to have already washed your hands.
Well, there's one last thing you have to do, which is to exit the bathroom.
Yes.
Let's see how we did from this point.
All right.
What?
1,8214.
Oh, my God.
Next, the three of us made our way to a busy transit hub.
Dr. Minaya and I both got to work.
It was on to a big-box store, where Dr. Minaya put a multi-use bathroom through the swab test, while I had a single-use bathroom in a fast-food chain.
Throughout, we've also been testing each bathroom for specific, dangerous, drug-resistant, and potentially fatal pathogens.
My med unit is sending those swabs off to the lab.
Then we'll know exactly what's working in our public facilities and what you risk using them.
Dr. Minaya and Andrew Vaksimowicz from my Undercover Germ Squad are here in person.
We're gonna go through the results of what our germ tests found in these four spots.
All right, come on back.
What are the main health risks, Dr. Minaya, if you come in contact with these germs?
Well, E. coli in particular, remember that most of those strains are benign.
In other words, it really doesn't do much of anything.
And it comes from the feces, human feces, but once contaminated, it can lead to urinary tract infections, it can lead actually into your blood, it can make you really, really sick, blood poisoning and inflammation.
None of these things you want.
Absolutely not.
Next one, MRSA. MRSA. Methicillin-resistant staph aureus, a big mouthful.
But it does lead to really bad sores, boils, abscesses.
This is the flesh-eating bacteria.
That's what it is.
If you get a pimple, it doesn't get better like it's supposed to.
That's what we worry about.
And finally, VRE. Enterococci is normally a bacteria we have in our intestines.
However, when we have an overgrowth, it leads to infection in these intestines, which can lead to diarrhea, abdominal pain, really sick, and also urinary tract infections.
So, needless to say, we don't really want any of these.
No, no.
Run from these.
You certainly don't want to pick them up in a public bathroom.
So, here are some of the priding results.
Are you ready for these results?
Yes!
All right.
The coffee shop was the cleanest when it came to germs.
I'm pretty impressed by that.
Yes.
The Transit Hub.
The men's restroom tested positive for E.coli and BRE. For both of them.
Well, I saw a stain of poop on the floor outside the stall.
Right.
Which spooked me a little bit.
Got me out of there.
Now, the women's restroom in the Transit Hub tested negative.
You tested there.
I didn't go in there.
Yes, it was very, very clean compared to your bathroom.
And as I told you, we women work a little cleaner.
Now the big box store, women's restroom tested positive for VRE, the men's bathroom, no bacteria bound.
No, I don't believe you.
No bacteria.
No!
It has a lot to do with who was in there.
Of course, it changes day to day and how they cleaned it.
And then the fast food place.
It actually looked the cleanest.
I was stunned when we found out that it tested positive for all three of these bugs.
The MRSA and the E. coli and the VRE. So, the next thing we wanted to do was to uncover the hot spot in the bathroom that I was actually fearful about, but most of us never think of.
The exit door from the stall.
So we found that the germ scores were off the charts.
Coffee shop, unisex bathroom, 8,214.
Yes.
Broke the bank.
Fast food was only 526, which was actually impressive.
It means they were cleaning it.
So what do you, Andrew, make of this?
What's the scary part of all this information?
What does it tell us about hand washing?
Great question.
Well, first, I think we can say people aren't washing their hands well enough.
Interestingly enough, a study just came out.
Men only wash their hands 31% of the time when they use a public restroom.
Oh!
A little bit more, 65%.
A lot more.
A lot more.
Thank goodness you're so clean for the women.
And men, shame on us.
Thank you.
All right, so you're all panicked right now.
Coming up, we've got help.
It's the ultimate Mission Impossible.
The official guide to getting in and out of a public bathroom unscathed.
Awesome. - We've been tasked with a mission.
Good afternoon, Dr. Oz.
You're looking at a diagram of a filthy bathroom.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to try to get in and out while maintaining a germ score under 50. Use the supply diagram of the target to make your plan.
This message will self-destruct in five seconds.
Good luck, Dr. Oz.
Was it five seconds?
What do you want to do?
I think we should go in through the front.
Yeah, and then follow?
Yeah.
All right, swab me.
Get a baseline.
All right.
All right.
Thirteen.
All right.
Let's see how we do.
- Okay. - Good luck. - Here we go.
All right, swab me.
Let's see how you did.
It was 13 before.
You stayed below 50. Yes, exactly.
36!
Yes!
You want to see how I did it?
You don't know the answer, right?
You're all worried about this, though.
It's a hard mission, but it's not impossible getting in and out of a public restroom unscathed.
So it's time to reveal the official secrets to avoiding germs for the next time you've got to go.
Y'all curious about this?
Yeah!
Andrew Maksimowich from my Germ Squad is back.
The first strategy is very simple.
We want everyone to avoid the middle stall.
Absolutely.
What's the problem with the middle stall?
Well, Dr. Oz, they did a study.
Most people who use a public restroom avoid the first stall and the last stall and they gravitate to going towards the middle stall.
So there you could have a higher chance of running into germs and it's also higher foot traffic.
Which could bring those germs to the stall.
So if you want my best opinion and advice, I would say use the first stall or use the last stall for a more clean experience.
Come on over here.
Our next strategy is to avoid germs in the stall.
Dr. Evelyn Minaya is here to break all this down.
Let's start with dirty toilet seats.
Which is again shocking, but you trust those toilet seat covers.
I do, I do.
Demonstrate for us, actually do they really shield you from bacteria and viruses?
They really, really do.
They really, really do if you use it correctly.
Well, please demonstrate.
All right, so I'm using the end one, okay?
All right, here we go.
Now these things, you have to be really careful how you pull it out because they are flimsy, but they're effective, okay?
So this is what it looks like.
There is a specific flap there.
The flap...
Oh, almost slipped.
It has to go towards the back, okay?
Because your butt will pressure it so that it can fall in.
And believe it or not, when you flush the toilet, the whole thing will go...
You see what I mean?
The flap will go down.
If I do this...
Yes.
Right, if you go like this, push it down.
Now when you go and you actually flush the toilet...
You sit first.
Yes, you sit first, of course.
Then you push that down.
And you push that down, okay?
Which is kind of cool.
And this, it's very nice because it gives you a lot more room.
Okay, then what you expect, right?
Which is awesome.
And then this will be flushed down.
Voila.
I love this.
This is fantastic.
Thank you.
Well demonstrated.
Did you ever think when you went to medical school you'd be demonstrating toilet seat placement?
Never.
All right.
Never.
But we do talk about toilets a lot in the office.
We do.
All right.
Next, let's talk about the science of washing and then drying your hands.
What's the most effective way to just get out of the bathroom with clean hands?
Okay, the most effective way, it doesn't matter what the temperature is, okay?
Hot or cold, you know, you've always been told that it's always hot water, but it doesn't really make a difference.
20 seconds, antibacterial soap, you sing happy birthday, happy birthday to you.
Do it twice.
Happy birthday to you.
Yes, you do it twice, completely.
Then you rinse completely.
Thank God they're, most of the time, here you go.
And we use a towel to dry it.
And then, of course, you gotta get out of the door, which is always a problem.
So I don't throw this paper away when I'm done washing my hands, right?
Because everyone else's germs are on that door.
So, Dr. Menai, what do you do?
I use the same thing, and that's exactly how I open the door.
What's your bathroom ninja trick?
Let's say, by mistake, you don't have paper left in your hand, or there was never any there.
Some bathrooms don't have any.
They're completely with dryers.
Absolutely.
I've been there.
So, when you're in that situation, it's not ideal.
I've used many body parts to try to figure out how to get out of the bathroom, right?
Elbows.
Oh, look at this, look at this.
Well, there I am.
So what I'm doing here is I'm actually gonna be lifting my foot up and using the bottom of my foot with this grip of my shoe to pull down and the door will just open.
Oh, it worked!
Wow!
You need good balance.
Now you need good balance to do that, but you will get out.
Dr. Minaya, wonderful advice as always.
Thank you.
Andrew, nice ninja move.
Thank you.
Boom.
Yes, exactly.
We'll be right back.
It's that time of year again.
Time for your flu shot.
Now the good news is the activity so far is pretty low this year.
And you know what?
The WHO took an extra month to choose the strains for the vaccine, so hopefully it's a pretty good match.
Not so good news is that experts expect it to ramp up soon.
To have more of these flu cases.
So it's time to roll up your sleeve for your flu shot.
Now today, I'm going to social media to answer your burning questions about the flu and the vaccine.
My first question comes from at Deer, lots of A's, and asks, how do I know if I have the flu or just a regular cold?
Well, the cold virus will cause symptoms to develop after a few days.
It'll come on slowly, sneezing, stuffy nose, sore throat, that kind of stuff.
The flu hits you like a ton of bricks.
Like you get hit by a Mack truck.
You get a fever.
You get aches.
You get chills.
You get fatigue.
It's not a surprise.
It lasts a lot longer, too.
Not fun.
Next question is a good one.
It's from at Kel Bell.
Is it too early for me to get my flu shot?
My opinion, the sooner the better, because it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to work.
It doesn't guarantee you won't get the flu, but it greatly reduces the chances.
So you know what, everybody?
I'm gonna go first.
I'm gonna get mine right now.
It's so easy, it takes only a second.
My medical student, Elizabeth Hayes, is here.
Do it!
Come on over, Elizabeth.
Have you ever done this before?
I just gave one to Dr. Karpain.
Where is she?
What?
Are you okay?
From a flu shot that happened?
You know, I watched a video, so I consider myself an expert now, and I think I did a good job.
Medical students.
All right, I'm closing my eye.
All right.
While you do this, I'm gonna get the next question from Stacy.
Ow, ow, ow!
I'm making that up, it doesn't hurt.
Okay, can the flu shot actually cause you to get sick?
I'm done already, see that?
I need answers, LOL. All right, the virus in the vaccine is not active anymore, so it's actually impossible for you to get the actual flu.
But, sometimes you get a little sick after the shot, it activates your immune system, but that's not the flu.
But you know what is the flu?
A lot of folks don't get the shot until everyone in their workplace, all their friends, their family, they all had the flu.
Well, it takes two weeks to work.
So, by the time you get the flu shot, it's too late, you're already gonna get the flu and that doesn't count.
That's your problem, that's your fault.
So, if you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, what are you waiting for?
I just survived.
Just got it, now you get a sticker.
Oh my goodness to him.
And I look much better than Dr. Krupain.
All right, now everybody in the power of change lies in the power of you.
Just one person with one voice speaking the truth.
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