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Aug. 6, 2025 - Dr. Oz Podcast
41:51
The Dark Side of Family Secrets: Melissa Moore's Story | Dr. Oz | S6 | Ep 164 | Full Episode
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Time Text
A Dr. Oz exclusive.
She adored her dad until she learned the truth.
Take me back when you first realized your father was a murderer.
A serial killer.
Convicted of killing eight women.
He brutalized them and tortured them.
Were you ever afraid of him?
Her struggle to find peace with her past and forgiveness in her heart.
Maybe people will see something like my dad in me.
Maybe I'm like my dad.
Coming up next on Dr. Oz.
A father is someone you think will always love and protect you, but not for Melissa Moore.
She found out her father was a serial killer.
He was convicted of murdering eight women and suspected of many more.
While the world continues to struggle with his census acts, his daughter fights to make peace with her past and find forgiveness in her heart.
Melissa Moore grew up in rural Washington State, the oldest of three children.
As a child, she adored her dad, a handsome strapping man who stood six foot six.
But height was not the only thing that set Keith Hunter Jesperson apart.
While Moore always looked forward to the times her dad, a long-haul truck driver, would return home, she also recalls fearing him.
Her father had a penchant for torturing animals found around the family farm, including Moore's pet kittens.
She remembers screaming in horror as he hung them by their tails to a clothesline, pleading for him to stop, and his smile as he tortured them to death.
Moore's parents would divorce five years later, her mother moving Melissa and her siblings 200 miles away.
But distance could not protect Melissa from what she would learn five years later, at the age of 15, when her father was arrested for murder.
Keith Hunter Jesperson would come to be known as the happy face killer, one of the most notorious of serial killers.
After raping, torturing, and killing his victims, he would send graphic letters to the media describing his crimes, signing off with a smiley face.
But it was a confession in a letter to his brother that led to his arrest, providing police with a handwriting match.
Only eight of Jesperson's murders have been confirmed, but he claims to have killed as many as 160 people.
In the end, Jesperson was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.
But Moore found herself imprisoned by deep feelings of shame, guilt, and a desire to hide her true identity, even from her own children.
Today, she shares her struggle to find peace with herself and with her father.
Melissa Moore is here.
It's an incredible story.
Take me back to the first day when you first realized your father was a murderer.
It was in 1995.
I was a freshman in high school.
I just went home after a long day of school.
And my mom said, your dad's in jail.
And the look on her face was, this isn't for discussion.
We're not going to talk about this.
So I was timid and I was afraid to ask any more questions.
But my brother, he asked, for what?
And that's when my mom said, for murder.
There weren't any other details, you know, given right then.
Shock, really.
It didn't resonate yet.
It just was a word at the moment, and then it started to sink in.
Murder.
What does that mean?
Murder.
And as it started to sink in, I just started to feel it in my body, and I had a physical response.
My legs started shaking, my hands started shaking.
I didn't even know what to do with myself with this energy, so I ran into the makeshift bedroom that I had and threw myself on the cot crying.
As you look back on your childhood, did your father have any unusual behaviors toward you that might have hinted at this kind of issue?
Yeah, looking back, there were signs and there were stories, and it would take several years for me to unravel everything that he said because everything was a puzzle piece.
Everything had a second meaning, a different meaning than what I thought it meant.
For instance, when I was 13, my parents were divorced, so he would take us for summer vacations.
He had visitation with us.
So we're driving along the Oregon coast close to Multnomah Fall area, when he said, you know, I was in the passenger seat.
He said, you know, Melissa, I know how to murder someone and get away with it.
But so I'm in the passenger seat and I hear this from my dad, and it's obviously abnormal.
I'm 13.
I'm trying to figure out why is he telling me this?
Where is this coming from?
And we used to watch Unsolved Mysteries together.
And so now I'm looking, you know, I'm thinking this is not, this is a story that maybe is supposed to be third person, not first person, you know.
So when he started to give more details, so he didn't just stop at I know how to kill someone and get away with it.
He said I would cut off her buttons so that my fingerprints wouldn't be on them.
And I would wear my cycling shoes.
You remember those, Melissa?
I'm like, yeah, I know your cycling shoes.
He's like, because he's such a large man and he's six foot six, he has an abnormal footprint, I guess, you know, that one that would identify him.
He thought it through.
He thought it through.
So he said that he would wear those.
And I never for a million years would have believed this was his story that he was telling.
And then later on, find out that not only is this true, but where we were driving is where he disposed of the first victim's body.
And that's how he disposed of the evidence, exactly verbatim what he told me.
He was trying to tell you crazily.
Yeah.
Wait, were you ever afraid of him?
You know, as a young girl, I couldn't articulate the fear.
I just felt like something was seething below the surface.
I walked on eggshaw.
Did I feel 100% safe around him?
Absolutely not.
And now looking back, why was I afraid?
It's easy to tell that it's from witnessing him torture the pets and the stray animals on our property as a little girl.
And looking back now, I'm like, well, obviously that's why I feared him.
I just couldn't put it all together.
It's remarkable how many serial killers actually torture animals.
One of the clues we look for.
When your friends found out that your father was a murderer, how did their behavior towards you change?
It was a really difficult time.
I mean, high school's hard in itself, but then it became a different level after the arrest of my dad.
My friends said that their parents had saw the news about my father and that they were concerned for them and they didn't want their children to hang around me anymore.
I was alone.
I was afraid.
I needed a friend.
So you wrote a book about this called Shattered Silence.
It's very well done.
I'm just going to read a quote from the book.
Your father's sentence became your life sentence.
Absolutely.
For a long time, it was a grim sentence, but I decided to change that around for myself.
How do you separate yourself, the person who you are, the person this serial murderer was depicted as?
It was a very, very long journey for me to start to separate guilty by association.
I mean, we hear that all the time.
You know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Or when you see a kid and it looks like his dad, you say, oh my gosh, you look like your dad.
Oh, how great.
You know, it's a compliment, you know, to a lot of children.
But to me, it's a different meaning, absolutely.
And it's taken a long time because physically I look like my dad.
I have some attributes that are similar to my dad.
And so I was afraid.
Like, maybe I have something to fear in myself.
Maybe I'm like my dad.
Maybe people will see something like my dad in me.
And it was a fear.
I understand you've contemplated taking your own life Many times.
How'd you hold back?
What gave you the strength to get through that?
Sorry, it makes me.
I just remember, you know, I had two choices.
You know, I could end this life sentence, and I could be haunted and taunted and feel less than, or I could make the life that I want.
You know, there's one part of your story that has perplexed me.
Your father, in 1995, was accused of these crimes, convicted.
You maintained a relationship with him for a decade.
I wouldn't say I maintained a relationship.
He wrote me letters.
And in these letters, it wasn't any normal letter.
It was unsolicited advice.
It was manipulation.
It was coercion.
He was trying to intimidate me.
I don't answer them back.
I've severed my communication with them.
And I'm better for it.
You brought some letters, these are recent letters.
Yes.
And by the way, I thank you for revisiting this.
I know how traumatic this can be.
No matter how much we might love our parents when they do bad things, it tortures our own ability to find out who we are.
Right.
So if you don't mind, I identified a few areas you thought might be interesting.
Yeah.
This was a letter that he wrote to me, and he said, People should know that I was a good dad, man, for 35 years or so.
That my eight heirs in judgment is not to base a life on.
I spent good times with my children that don't judge them for what I did.
They are not to blame for my actions.
But he said, eight heirs in judgment, those are murders.
He's talking about the murders that he committed.
And not just murder, like he brutalized them and tortured them.
And he calls them heirs in judgment.
Calling them an error in judgment is an error in judgment.
What he did was much more than that.
There's also one I noticed in this, you brought a bunch of letters, and I can't help but noticing.
This is your father's hand.
Right.
And what did you think when he sent you an outline picture of his hand?
What's he trying to tell you?
Well, it's actually, it's a message, it's actually a threat, and it might not sound like it.
It says, just thought I'd send my hand to you, reminding me of the never-ending story.
These hands were, these hands were strong hands at one time, even caring ones love dad.
But this is a weapon.
This was his weapon.
He strangled women, just brutalized women, beat them to almost unrecognizable to the detectives who found one of the victims.
I mean, this was his weapon.
And this isn't an innocent statement to me.
He's actually trying to tell me that he's trying to intimidate me.
Like, remember my hands, like how big they are.
I mean, look how big this hand is, folks.
I mean, it's a big hand.
How have you redefined your own life?
How have you gotten past this growing through this?
The process has been difficult, but I'm proud of who I am today.
I'm proud of the mother I am today.
When my dad controlled me with just manipulation, and he loved having power and control over me.
And then when I severed that relationship with him, I realized that I have the power.
If I continue to dwell and to associate myself with him or even think that I'm capable of doing anything like him and visualize myself in an inferior way, then that will never serve me.
I have to think of myself as the person I want to become until practice made it become so, you know.
I wish you the best of luck with your daughter, with your family, and with your own life.
Thanks for being here.
We'll be right back.
This is a big one.
Next, blood, sweat, and tears start Daisy Llewellyn.
Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the peak of her career.
How this style expert stayed positive with the cameras rolling and her secret lifestyle changes that keep her looking great.
Next.
All nuance is the key to happiness in your gut.
It could be a revolution in the making.
The foods that affect your mood.
I felt so much happier.
It was astounding.
All nuance.
That's coming up tomorrow.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Imagine this.
You're 34 years old, starring in Bravo's hit reality show, Blood, Sweat, and Heels.
You're at the peak of your career, and then suddenly you're diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
That's what happened to style expert, Daisy Llewellyn.
But instead of feeling sorry for herself, she stayed positive, even with the cameras rolling.
Daisy Luella, come on out.
*musique*
Hello!
You look wonderful.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
That is the longest walk in television.
I know, but I like it.
I can see all the gorgeous people.
So I am curious about how this call came about.
When was the first time you realized something just wasn't quite right?
Well, it was January of 2014, and we were promoting season one of Blood, Sweat, and Heels.
I was so excited, really excited, and we were doing press.
And my makeup artist said, Daisy, your eyes are green.
And I thought, wait, my eyes don't look right.
You know, the entire white of my eyes are green.
So I thought, I better go to the doctor.
I know.
You get to the doctor and they tell you you have stage three bile duct cancer.
Yes.
And what's your reaction to hearing that?
You know, first of all, bile duct cancer is super rare.
Like, nobody gets it.
So leave it to me, the fashion girl, to get the exclusive high-end cancer that nobody even gets.
Thanks a lot, you know?
It's right high-end.
Yeah, I'm like, oh, great.
Nobody knows about it.
But really, when I found out, honestly, I was very calm.
I was very calm.
I just thought, okay, you know, didn't see this coming, but let's just talk about the solution and how to fix it.
We know what the problem is, but let's figure out how to fix it.
Because I got to get back to spin class, and I want to go on with my life.
Why weren't you scared?
I got to applaud you.
I think it's incredible what you've been able to do with this.
But I would have some fear in my heart.
You know what?
I'm being so honest.
I didn't have any fear because I have faith.
So I thought, all right, well, this is a big bump in the road, but I have your show to wash.
You have my show to wash.
I mean, I am more confident today about our ability to cure cancer than ever before in my life.
We are so close.
And when I say cure, it's not that it's going to be all gone.
We're going to be able to put these bad cells to sleep so they sort of can live around us but not hurt us.
That's why I'm really, we're right now racing.
And I just want you to stick around long enough for signs to catch up to make sure this doesn't cause a problem for you.
Oh, I'm not going anywhere.
Now, as you can see from Daisy's passion for life, when we all have challenges, we react in different ways.
One of the smartest things to do is to change your lifestyle, which you did.
So come on over.
I want you to brag to folks.
Oh, yeah.
Someone's so impressed by these ideas.
Why do you find it important to make lifestyle changes?
Well, you know, before I got diagnosed with cancer, I was super healthy.
I mean, everything in my house is organic.
The toothpaste is organic in my house.
I watch all your shows.
I buy everything you say to buy.
But I thought, you know what?
Let me figure out a way to reduce some of the chemicals in my body that I'm taking in.
Now, I wasn't going to give up my makeup or my lip gloss.
Of course not.
But I thought, let me think about the body products.
So I started to make body products that don't have chemicals.
So walk me through, for example, your body product.
How do you make it?
Okay, so this is what I call Daisy's Skin Soft Solution.
And I can tell you, it's very soft.
Oh, yeah, Dr. Oz.
And you know I have a crush on you.
You're going to kill me.
Okay, so it's really, really easy.
Like I said, I make these all in my kitchen and it takes no time.
So I get this shea butter.
It's from Ghana.
It's 100% shea butter.
Nothing else is in it.
And it's from Africa, so that's fabulous.
Exactly.
It's cool.
Yeah.
And then I just add in lots of different oils.
I added olive oil from the kitchen, vitamin E oil, a little jojoba oil, and then the scent.
Now, if anyone is stressed out, you gotta tap into lavender.
This is like my new best friend.
It's really soothing and I add a lot of lavender.
And then, you know, Dr. Oz, boys like vanilla.
So I put a lot of the vanilla in there.
And then I just take my hand mix right home as if I'm making like a cake, whip it up in about 10 seconds, and then you get the body cream.
You brought some.
Oh, yeah.
I want you to try it.
Look at how soft it is.
And it's all pure.
I do like the vanilla.
See, it's pure.
See?
Yeah, because men like vanilla because it makes them think of food.
It's true.
What Daisy's saying is true.
Now, we have a cool spring season.
Congratulations.
Blood, sweat, and heels.
Is this a big part of the story?
It must be.
Oh, it's my entire story.
You know, last season, I was all about the big C, which was career.
But this season, the other big C is cancer.
So you really see the entire season, me going through chemo, you know, me going through radiation.
I didn't have any idea what was going to happen, but I wanted to share my story with the world and thought maybe if someone could be inspired, then I feel better already.
You've inspired me.
And you're better off fighting cancer than your castmates.
You can watch Daisy's journey from diagnosed the chipmunk on blood, sweat, and heels.
Sunday nights on Bravo.
We'll be right back.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, you are a cat.
Thank you very much.
I can help you.
Next.
What you keep in your refrigerator can say a lot about you.
So what are the celebrities keeping in theirs?
We're going behind closed doors.
Getting a revealing peek inside the fridges of the famous.
Are they health nuts or junk food junkies?
Next.
Let's take a look inside my family's fridge.
On the top shelf, I have my omega-rich nuts and seeds, which are stored in jars to keep them from spoiling.
I also have some juice and eggs, and followed by lots of fresh green vegetables and fruits there in the drawers.
And lastly, some healthy condiments to spice up my meals.
And that's what I've got in my fridge.
Would you like my family fridge?
That's what we eat from.
All the kids go, they have no choice.
They have to eat what's in there.
So now we're going behind closed doors refrigerator doors to see what celebrities are really eating.
No matter what they're saying, this is what they're actually eating.
Here to reveal what's inside celebrity refrigerators is Senior Entertainment Editor at Ebony Magazine and Celeb Fridge Watcher, self-proclaimed, Thea Brown.
Why are you so fascinated by celebrity fridges?
It's not just me.
All of us love looking at celebrities.
We love their lives.
And the refrigerators are a great way to see what their day-to-day is like.
And we get to see that they're normal people, right?
But we also know that they have immense resources.
So we get to get their health tips and tricks by looking in their refrigerators.
So come on.
We're going to start with the most famous fridge in America.
It is so popular that it has its own Twitter feed.
Tia, who is this?
That's right.
Now, how many people watch Real Housewives like I do?
We love that show, right?
Yolanda from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, her refrigerator has its own Twitter feed.
How does that happen?
People love it.
Her refrigerator is absolutely fabulous.
It's probably bigger than all of my closets in my apartment in New York, and it has a clear door.
It's just amazing.
And it's always beautifully staged.
So actually, if you don't mind, read one of the tweets from it.
Yeah, so I love the site because they have really, really witty tweets.
And this is one of my favorites.
Perhaps I can be in Zoolander too.
I've been told I'm really, really ridiculously good looking.
And then the hashtag is not shelf-centered.
Get it?
It kind of made me think about like the Zoolander movie.
Yes, you do a little bit of blue steel.
Right, right?
I love it.
And I think that Twitter's a great way to share, you know, share life, share what's going on, and you get to see all of the great foods that Yolanda has.
So I've actually seen this fridge in person.
It is immaculate.
Who here is a really clean fridge person?
Tia's one.
I am.
Come on over here.
We're going to see how cleaner spic and span is Yolanda's.
Here's the thing, guys.
I want you to think about this very differently.
What is the germiest part of the fridge?
Thoughts?
I would guess it's the bottom of the fridge because gross things fall in the bottom.
Yeah, folks say bottom over here, but one lady up here yelled, the handle.
Oh, oh, yeah.
The fridge handle.
Don't touch it.
Five times more germs on a fridge handle than your toilet seat.
Oh, that's weird.
And all kinds of things.
So I recommend a simple little trip.
Take a little bit of vinegar and water, equal parts of both, make a little cleanser.
That's the way it's not toxic.
And then just spray that baby once in a while.
Simple to do.
Now you can go to your food.
All right.
Are you ready, Tia?
Yes, absolutely.
What's your trick for inside the fridge?
Now, a lot of times things spill in my refrigerator, and you're always looking for great tips.
I found this cool thing called fridge coasters, right?
So they come in clear or print and basically you put them on the bottom of your refrigerator shelf and anything that spills spills on that.
You can pull it out and you can just clean this.
You don't have to clean the shelf as often.
I think it's really cool.
It's really cute.
I've never seen these before.
And one of the things I like is that they can come in clear but they also come in prints.
So you can kind of decorate your refrigerator if you'd like.
Awesome, awesome fruit.
Let me shift gears.
We got Adiva here.
I want you all to see what she really eats.
These are pictures from Mariah Carey's fridge.
Tell you found these on Instagram.
What is she looking for in the fridge there?
This is cool.
Now she's with one of them babies.
If you guys remember, Mariah Carey had twins about four years ago and she's with Miss Monroe and they're doing a little midnight snack hunt.
This is something that we all do occasionally.
They have some really cool finds in the fridge.
So what do you think?
I see some ice cream, some popsicles there.
She had a couple options.
Yeah, one of the things I like about Mariah's fridge is that she has a little bit of everything.
Now she has toddlers, so of course you want to have some of the sweets.
So she has ice cream bars, she has ice cream, but she also has sorbets, she has popsicles, so it's a lot of diversity.
Well, I saw a lot of small pint-sized containers.
I didn't see those big half-gallon or even gallon containers that sometimes you see in your fridges.
That's good for portion control.
Absolutely.
But there's something else she does, if you don't mind showing us what you like about the picture.
Right, so one of the cool things she does is she puts the ice cream in the back.
And I think that that's a good way to remind you.
You got to slide things out of the way.
You got to fight them.
You have to say, okay, that's not the priority.
It's on the back, in the back of the shelf, so you're not looking at it first.
So I think that was really smart of Mariah.
Put it back there and hide it again when you're done.
This is a very effective little tool.
The first thing you see is what you're going to eat.
If you don't notice this, you guys see ice cream back there?
I see pineapple and turkey burgers.
So no one's even thinking ice cream.
If you really have to have it, you know it's back there.
All right.
Smart trick.
Fine, I want you all to look at my friend's fridge.
Her name is Oprah Winfrey.
Right, you always have to do that when Oprah comes off.
Oprah.
So one of the things you may not know, she's actually a great chef.
She's really cool.
I know.
She loves to cook.
She posts pictures of her cooking all the time.
So it's awesome.
And her secret really is that she prepares ahead of time.
So notice in there, see all the little things labeled cleanly.
She can make soup matte, she can make salsas, lots of good stuff.
And this is something that people can do at home.
So this is a very practical tip that you can adopt.
It doesn't take lots of money to really just take stickies and put it on top of a container.
So, you know, Oprah, she's living the life and we can live it too.
Yeah.
Keep it at eye level.
That's what you want to do.
All right.
We also want to store those less healthy foods down here in the Crisper.
Put it down here.
Now, you probably didn't even notice this the first time we opened up, but look in here and what do I see?
Down in the Crisper, hidden behind the aluminum foil is this.
Oh, well, I would definitely find this in my refrigerator.
Isn't that nice?
It's a chocolate cake.
They really taste like them, but you're not going to see that.
Smells good too.
So we actually put online a little lesson plan on how to hide the bad stuff and get the good stuff out there.
And I asked Carol to join us.
Come on over here, Carol.
She did this for a couple days.
How did it work for you?
And what would you give us a little tip?
What would you do differently?
Success.
I had success.
I put all my fruits and vegetables.
I cut them up.
I put them in my refrigerator in see-through containers.
And my teenagers came out.
Eating them.
I saw my 18-year-old grabbed an apple.
He doesn't eat anything that has color to it.
Nothing.
You never knew what hit him.
I have a 14-year-old and both boys.
And he ate cucumbers.
And I put a little salsa and a little hummus in there so that they had some dips because it's all about the dip.
And they ate them.
They ate them.
It was successful.
It was really great.
And of course, I grabbed a container when I was late for work the next day and I was all chopped up vegetables and I had a great lunch.
What a simple idea.
And yet it works so effectively.
We just make that one change today.
May that way.
Thank you, Oprah.
Make that one change today.
You'll make it easier to do the right thing in your home.
Speaking of easy to do the right thing, it's very easy to look at Kim Whitley.
She's a fantastic comedian, but this is her fridge.
It's Kim Whitley.
Let's take a look at what's inside my fridge.
Be afraid.
Okay, so we got lots of condiments, leftover food, the baby side, where Joshua has his own section.
As you can see, that's the adult side.
Little vodka right there.
Prune juice, you know, keep it clean.
Lots of fat and all that fruit.
Look at all that fruit, Dr. Eyes.
What?
That's the meant too long.
Yeah, I love the Kingstock so many fruits and vegetables.
Even that prune juice, which I'm sure comes in handy.
But I hear you, Kim.
I hear you.
Sometimes I forget things in my fridge too.
So I'm sending everyone home with a cheat sheet so you know when they toss the food out.
You can check it out on Dr.Eyz.com where you're also going to be able to see what celebrities are eating.
We'll be right back.
Coming up, have you ever had to go to the ER and sat waiting for hours?
Don't die trying.
The wait is over.
Find out how you can get the care you urgently need.
The three things you should know before you head to the emergency room.
Coming up next.
All nuance is the key to happiness in your gut.
It could be a revolution in the making.
The foods that affect your mood.
I felt so much happier.
It was astounding.
All nuance.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Thank you.
It's a tale as old as time.
You go to the emergency room and you sit in the waiting room for hours.
Who here has had a long ER wait time?
I'll put my hands up.
I think, oh, my kids, I used to put the stitches in myself.
I still have to wait.
So in the last 10 years, the average wait time in the ERs across the country has actually increased by 25%.
Big difference.
Emergency room trained physician, Dr. Philip Blank, is here.
He's treated thousands of patients in the ER every year.
So why is it that these wait times are so long and why are they getting longer?
Sure, unlike a lot of places that you're used to going to and it's on a first-come, first-served basis, in the emergency room, it just doesn't quite work that way.
Unfortunately, what happens is that so many people come to the ER and they expect to get seen really quickly, but they don't have to be in the ER waiting all that time.
Now, it's not to say if you don't have the most severe of symptoms that you shouldn't get medical care at all.
It's just maybe there are better places to be seen for whatever your symptoms are.
One place I would recommend is your own primary care doctor, just checking in with them, as well as a lot of these urgent care centers, these walking clinics that are popping up.
They're faster too.
Yes, exactly, yes.
Let's go to the first way to avoid that dreaded wait time is to determine if you really need to go to the ER in the first place, is Dr. Blanche point.
So let's talk about the symptoms that warrant it.
First, unexplained things, things that you've never had before.
How do you know if they're important?
Yeah, so symptoms that are unexplained, you just don't feel quite right.
You can't put your finger on it.
You've never had it before, so you don't know if it's serious or not.
Those are reasons definitely to come to the emergency room.
For instance, you have this chest pain and some nausea, some dizziness.
That could be really serious, something as serious as having a heart attack.
Or you're not the type of person to have headaches, but all of a sudden you get this very severe, sudden headache.
That could be a brain aneurysm.
So certainly reasons to come into the ER.
I always think about pains as things that distract you.
If you can't focus on your day job because of discomfort, that's a good reason to visit.
Other unexplained symptoms that should not go ignored are if you've been unconscious, obviously they're passed out.
Or if you have numbness or weakness on one side, that could also be the sign of a struggle.
Okay, those are unexplained symptoms.
Then there's bleeding.
Yes.
People get cut all the time, they get scraped up.
How do you know when the bleeding is significant enough to warrant an ER visit and when it's just something you can manage selectively?
Sure, so it's one thing if you're at home and you get cut and you've held pressure on the cut for about five to ten minutes and the bleeding stops, fine, then you don't have to waste that time on a trip to the emergency room.
But let's say that bleeding continues after five to ten minutes, and especially if it's gushing, then definitely head to the emergency room.
And if it's gushing, I will hope that the emergency room you go to, they'll see you right away.
Yeah, hold pressure in the meantime.
The next symptom that warrants an ER visit comes from gastroenterologist Dr. Rishini Raj.
It's all about vomiting.
Extreme vomiting is defined as two to three times in an hour.
You're quickly dehydrating and losing important nutrients.
My advice, extreme vomiting, go to the emergency room.
Little subtle thing here, everybody.
If you actually vomit in the ER, that apparently helps you get seen really quickly.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, if you think you don't like vomiting, try the ER staff.
We hate that, so yes.
So it'll get seen really quick.
Just hold it in there until you get it through the door, then let it out.
Exactly.
You'll get it.
Yeah, go ahead.
No, I was just going to say, and if you have it with you, you know, if you vomited at home, bring it with you.
Oh, God.
There's no more, like, there's no better proof of you vomiting than you handing it to us.
Yeah, we'll want to get you in right away.
All right, let's talk about the other end of the elementary attack, the digestive tract.
What happens when you have a lot of diarrhea?
There are certain cases where when you have diarrhea, you should come into the ER, especially if it's been this long, protracted course over several days.
If you find that you have blood in your stool or it's very Black, or if it's associated with other symptoms like having severe belly pain or fever, definitely come into the emergency room.
If it's just your garden variety, loose stools for one to two days, then it's something that you can manage at home or again, just go to the urgent care facility for.
How about trauma?
Because it happens in different ways.
Some trauma is really dangerous, needs to be seen immediately.
Sure, so a trauma I would define as any injury that results from an external blow or force to your body that results in symptoms like having pain or bruising, which can be an indication of internal bleeding or bleeding.
For instance, if you fall and you land on your wrist and your wrist has a lot of pain afterwards, that could be a sign that you've broken a bone.
So any suspicion of broken bones, certainly a trauma and worth coming into the ER for.
All right, so now we're clear on all the symptoms that I want you to focus on because if you don't need to be in the ER, you never have to wait anyway.
Now, the second way to avoid the dreaded weight in the ER is to be very specific about your symptoms.
So, in addition to bringing the vomit along with you, and those kill you bring the evidence, you say vagueness is tantamount, it's equal to a long wait.
Yeah, a lot of patients, you can't imagine how many patients come in, and the way that they describe their symptoms, they say that, oh, I'm just not feeling well or something's off.
That is not going to be very helpful to the triage nurse who's trying to figure out where to put you.
So, what would be more important is be very specific about your symptoms.
So, number one, don't just say your symptoms, but describe them to us.
So, it's one thing for you to have chest pain, but when you describe it as a chest pressure, then that increases our level of concern that it could be something serious like a heart attack.
You say it's also important to bring someone with you.
Why is that so critical?
It's really important because, in an emergency situation, it's not always easy to be able to put in your own words what's going on.
So, to have someone who knows how you are normally, who knows your medical history, they can offer some perspective as to what's going on today versus how you are normally.
Finally, there's this issue of timing, which is so critical.
If you want to avoid a three-hour wait, we have to go at the right time.
So, what is the right time to go to an ER?
Yeah, believe it or not, there are certain times in the day that are better going to the emergency room and getting seen quit more quickly than others.
So, for instance, if you start off the day and you have symptoms and you have this bright idea that you're going to go after work, well, guess what?
The rest of your entire city has the same bright idea.
They're going to show up after work, so it would have been better for you to go in the morning because the morning hours are more amenable to being seen and being seen quickly.
All right, so 3 to 8 a.m. is actually the lowest time.
I haven't worked in an ER can test to that because the night's time craziness is done with, but the morning stuff has to start rolling in.
All right, I want to help everybody right now with a really cool idea.
Thank you, Dr. Blank.
There's a website out there that can help take the guesswork out of this game.
It's going to tell you when you should go to the ER in your community.
It's called ER Weight Watcher.
And the beautiful part about this is that you can actually decide which ER you're going to go to based on the wait times.
So, the address of the website is at the bottom of the screen, just look at it.
But let me show you how this site works.
Here I am on it, and I'm going to click here and I'm going to put the studio zip code in, which is 10020 here in Manhattan.
And here we go.
Now, it's telling me: look at this: Lenox Hill Hospital, which is pretty close to here, we're right in the middle, it's 35 minutes of wait time, not bad at all, pretty easy to get to.
Palisades Medical, which is New Jersey, is 55 minutes.
Mount Sinai, which is another great hospital.
However, I have to wait an hour and seven minutes, whereas you go to Lenox Hill in half that amount of time and be seen.
So, it might help you make some important decisions in your choice.
The website will tell you the closest hospital with the shortest waiting time.
Take advantage of it.
We'll be right back.
Did you have a bad experience at the emergency room?
What was it like?
Last summer, I cut myself while cooking dinner.
It needed stitches, so I went to the ER and I was in the waiting room for over six hours.
The amazing nurse who helped me made up for it, though.
Tell us on facebook.com/slash Dr. Oz.
Next, can a sandwich steal a man's heart?
This woman blogger thinks so.
After 300 sandwich recipes, her man put a ring on it.
Delicious meals so quick and easy, anyone can make them and fall in love.
One-minute meals you have to see to believe.
Next, we are bringing a healthy back this season.
I want you to bring it too.
Grab your prescription pad for fun and sign up for free tickets today.
You can go to droz.com/slash tickets and sign up.
Did I get it right?
Today, I'm going to show you one-minute meals you have to see to believe.
Here to help is the author of 300 Sandwiches, Stephanie Smith.
Now, I understand the inspiration of this book came when your boyfriend said you were, if I can quote him, 300 sandwiches away from an engagement ring.
I mean, what was going on with that?
So, in my relationship, Eric cooked.
My boyfriend, he cooked, but I didn't.
But the one thing that he wanted me to make for him were sandwiches.
So, one day, I made him a basic turkey and Swiss sandwich, and apparently he thought it was so good that he said, Honey, you're 300 sandwiches away from an engagement ring.
You didn't get mad at him for that?
I mean, it sounds crazy, and I've never heard anyone ask for 300 sandwiches for anything before.
But I thought, okay, I'll take them up on the challenge and start cooking and see what happens.
Was it worth the investment of time?
How many have you done so far, by the way?
I've done almost 300.
I'm pretty close.
And the big question: I did get a ring.
Get the ring.
I could say it worked.
Oh, there it is.
What a romantic place.
Romantic.
Okay, let's get to it.
One-minute meal.
He's going to walk us through a couple of these.
First up, of course, a lot of folks get up in the morning, they don't have a lot of time.
You've got a one-minute morning high-protein with high-fiber starter.
So, what do you got for us?
So, this is a tomato, mozzarella, and scrambled egg sandwich.
And this is like the ultimate breakfast sandwich with very few ingredients and very little cooking.
All right, so walk me through it.
You got the oil there.
Okay.
You can toss the oil.
I'll do the eggs if you don't mind.
I'll do 300 eggs for you.
Okay.
If I put it in here or the pan?
Put it in the pan.
And we'll just scramble up some eggs.
Oh, I could have done both together.
All right, so let's say that's done.
I got the eggs over here.
Okay, great.
So then, we're just going to layer on our ingredients.
So you've got your toasted English muffin here, and then just grab a little bit of mozzarella.
Oh, there you go.
Tomato.
Then a little bit of this.
A little bit of eggs.
Is that how you do it like that?
Yeah.
That's it?
A little base of a flavor.
You guys can see.
It's like a panini with an egg.
Right.
In one minute.
So there you go.
Fast.
All right.
Now, it's getting progressively more difficult.
This next one is a way of cutting back the carbs that a lot of you are struggling with.
These are lettuce wraps.
Rice.
Does Eric like these?
Eric loves these.
All right.
Take your lettuce.
Yes, take your lettuce and then just start layering in like what you like.
A little steak, color, a little parsley.
You do some green onions.
Was he nervous when he proposed?
You know, he was on, he was great.
He was totally solid.
Had you made him a sandwich that day?
I was getting ready to.
I was getting ready to make him a sandwich 257.
Have you stopped making the sandwiches now?
No, I kept going.
I have to go until 300.
A deal is a deal.
Oh, gosh.
I'm a woman of my word.
They're really good.
It's great.
You know what?
I bet this one is a good starter, but I saved the best for last.
Because we are having a little competition.
This is a minute meal, Stephanie argues even kids can make.
It's a peanut butter, banana, and chia seed wrap.
So give the rules, and then we're going to start the clock and race to you.
Okay.
So the rules are: you have to layer on your peanut butter, your banana slices, your pears, chia seeds, and a little bit of cinnamon for flavor.
All right, you got audience.
I'm a good sandwich maker, but she's had 257 practice rounds.
Are you ready?
Ready?
Hurt the clock, kick.
Go.
Oh, I can't believe that.
She ain't.
Why?
This is marriage.
It's life.
Get used to it.
That's how it works sometimes.
Oh, you guys, you're not even trying anymore.
Oh, oh.
All right, hey what?
Hang on.
I'll do it again.
Show me how you wrap them, though, because you wrap them differently.
How do you wrap them?
It's like so easy.
You just wrap.
Wrap it in.
Pull it over.
Yeah, pull it over.
Here, you take it safe aside.
So oh my God, you made a mess of this.
Oh, come on.
That was my best work.
I'm putting a victory lap around you while you do this.
Well, there you go.
You know, every cake can make it.
You cut it in half?
Yes, I'm going to cut it in half.
All right.
Stephanie, it has been a pleasure.
Here's your half.
Here's my half.
Perfect.
You can catch up later on after the show.
All the recipes for today's episode are on Dr.Oz.com.
Stephanie's new book's fabulous.
It's 300 sandwiches, a multi-layered love story.
It's just stories right now.
We'll be right back.
Okay.
Thank you.
All nuance is the key to happiness in your guts.
It could be a revolution in the making.
Those foods that affect your mood.
How quickly after you started this program did you see changes?
The transformation happened within a week's time.
It was astounding.
Plus, eating healthy when dining out.
How to enjoy your favorite foods, cut calories in half, and still go home full.
All nuance.
that's coming up tomorrow We all have that somebody in our lives, the one you can laugh with, cry to, and always depend on to be there when you need them the most.
It's a best friend.
Dr. Michael Royce is my best friend in medicine, whether we are working, nickel, look at him, Dr. Royzen.
Or if we're playing, it's the same thing.
Having Mike around makes any event more enjoyable.
And now science says the best buddy can actually do more than just put a smile on your face.
It may actually help you be healthier and actually live longer.
One study showed that people that had a close network of friends outlived those who didn't by 22%.
So go ahead and phone a friend today and live a little.
Now it's time for a Casey Mystic.
First, behind-closed refrigerator doors.
Any closed dry take, frankly, but refrigerator doors are the ones we focused on to reveal what celebrities are really eating.
Take a peek inside my friend Oprah's fridge.
Ooh, isn't that cool?
Her secret to eating more fruits and veggies, pre-cut produce in clear containers at eye level.
You'll be prepared with plenty of healthy options when the hunger hits.
You're making it easy to do the right thing.
Next, to save yourself a three-hour wait at the ER, you can go check out a website.
It's called ERWait Watcher.
The address is at the bottom of your screen.
This website can tell you the closest hospital with the shortest wait time.
It might come in handy in a pinch.
Finally, please be careful of dubious people online that make us seem like endorsing their products because I don't.
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