Q: I sometimes get a bout of watery diarrhea that sends me to the restaurant restroom within about 20 minutes of eating, particularly if I’ve had salad. What causes it, and can I prevent it? — Jess, Wyndmoor, Pa.
A. You don’t say if munching salad at home has the same effect or causes cramping, so our best guess is that you have “exaggerated gastrocolic reflex.” It’s common in people with irritable bowel syndrome — yes, your symptom is a “see your doc” alert. Your stomach is prematurely telling your colon to stimulate contractions when food starts arriving (in your tummy, not at the table). When your colon says you gotta go, you gotta go. The simplest solution is to avoid restaurant food, particularly salad. It’s like that old joke: A man walks into the doctor’s office and says, “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” The doc says, “Then don’t do that.”
Some people have a gut feeling that certain foods (often dairy products or sugar alcohols, such as the sorbitol in many diet foods) trigger their colon contractions. If you think salad is your only issue, try an elimination diet. For a week or two, eat only foods that don’t cause you problems. Then gradually add back, one at a time, suspect salad ingredients that you think are triggering your tour of restaurant bathrooms. If one or more make you go, you know what not to eat. Otherwise, see your doc.
Q: A friend has developed an allergy to cold temperatures. She had to be hospitalized after losing consciousness while swimming in the ocean last September. I’d never heard of this. Is it for real? — Sara, Brooklyn, N.Y.
A. If we weren’t doctors, we might have trouble swallowing this one too, but it’s a rare but real allergy, and it gives us the shivers. Cold urticaria (med-speak for hives) causes red, angry wheals on the skin. It sometimes can be disabling and even life-threatening. For sufferers, a cold-water dip, a frosty morning walk or even eating a popsicle triggers an allergic skin response. Sometimes the whole body reacts, blood pressure dives and, like your friend, the person faints or goes into shock.
Taking an antihistamine helps both prevent and ease symptoms. The de rigueur fashion accessory for your friend — and anyone who has strong allergic reactions to anything — is an EpiPen, to self-inject a shot of epinephrine if trouble starts. The best Rx for this disorder is not to chill out. Ever. If your friend can’t move to a warmer climate, she may have to dress like she lives in Antarctica, avoid cold showers and frosty drinks, and never swim alone.
Q: I know not to give infants any medicines for colds, besides pain relievers. Are there safe home remedies for, say, a runny nose? — Kim, Fort Myers, Fla.
A. Time for some vital 1-2-3s: 1. Don’t give any medicine to an infant without checking with your pediatrician. 2. If you get an OK, the only pain/fever reliever that’s safe for kids is acetaminophen. 3. The Food and Drug Administration pulled many cold and flu remedies for kids off the shelves in 2009 because of their risk of side effects, not to mention lack of proof that they work. Many are for sale again, but with stronger warning labels. Our advice, and the FDA’s: Don’t give cold/flu remedies to any children under 6 and maybe under 12.
That leaves Grandma’s remedies for miserable babies and young kids. Know what? They work! They don’t cure colds — we’ll land on Mars before that happens — but they ease the symptoms, which will make your baby and you feel better.
Pour in liquids. Fluids help loosen mucus and prevent dehydration. The extra diaper changing is worth it.
Combine extra naps with a humidifier. Rest helps the body fight infection. Moist air helps prevent a stuffy nose. Put a cool-mist humidifier where your baby sleeps.
Use saline nose sprays. They’re a safe way to break up that snotty logjam. Use a nasal suction bulb to remove mucus.
Tap, tap, tap. To break up chest congestion, stretch your baby across your knees, face down, or sitting on your lap and leaning forward about 30 degrees. Cupping your hand, gently tap the back, bottom to top. Gently.
The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of “YOU: On a Diet.” To submit questions, go to .
