and it's time now for "sunday housecall." great to have you here. i'm jaime colby. >> and joining us is dr. marc siegel, the author of "the inner pulse, unlocking the secret code of sickness and health." >> dr. david samadi joins us as well, chief of robotic surgery. welcome, doctor. good to have you here. ready to get healthy, everybody? healthier? i wanted to ask you both about a condition that affects millions of americans because there's a brand new study that finds eczema that starts in childhood

and goes into adulthood is likely going to be with you forever. dr. siegel, this can be so painful, so aggravating, some people can't even stand to have clothes rub against them. what's out there that's new and at least can we be optimistic about a cure? >> well, we haven't gotten to the cure stage yet but i'll talk about that and david will talk about that. but eczema is a chronic condition and that's the breaking news here. people think after childhood, jamie, you're done with it. 10% to 15% of children have it on their face, other parts of their body. adults tend to get it in areas where you move a lot like elbows and knees and necks. but the reality is, and what is eczema? eczema is an irritated, inflamed skin. it comes from the greek meaning bubble over. it's dry skin, it's associated with allergies, it's genetic but it is not an allergy per se like you're allergic to something so your skin blows up. it's that people with allergies

tend to have it. this study shows something dramatic, which is it's a chronic recurrent condition. in 80% of people who get it at the age of 2, the university of pennsylvania followed 7,000 children, 80% of them still had some evidence of it at the age of 20 to 26. whether they were getting skin creams for it, steroid creams or whether they were getting other treatments or whether they were just having breakouts. and this means really that you have to go and see a dermatologist and be followed for it. what brings it on? stress tends to bring it on, alcohol tends to bring it on. again, not keeping your skin hydrated, especially in the winter. you've got to use those creams. david has more -- >> how bad can it get? >> well, it can affect socially. a lot of these children may not be able to get out there and socialize on the beach or take their clothing off. it's kind of embarrassing to have these lesions all over your body and we don't understand it well. we think it's an inflammatory process, jamie, that the immune system is overreacting and that's part of the reason why by reducing any kind of

inflammatory process, the food that you eat, for example, stay away from dairy food, nuts, soybeans. you know, all of those can reduce -- eggs, for example, can reduce any kind of inflammatory process. now, as mentioned they have the itch and the scratch so we have to break that cycle. stay away from wearing wool clothing and stay with cotton. no hot shower because that makes it worse. if the itch is really bad you just take an ice cube and hold pressure and that will take the itch away. >> is it contagious? >> it's not contagious and there's no harm, if you touch it you won't get it. the symptoms wax and wane. it disappears for a while and comes back. make sure that you keep the skin well hydrated. the lotion that i like is sarna lotion. it's a lotion that reduces the itch. and finally nothing really helps. you've got to so see a dermatologist. they will give you cortisone.

>> is that safe for children, cortisone? >> well, you have to talk to -- there are side effects, but you want to make sure that you talk to the doctor. based on this study, we are finding out that there's really no cure. the symptoms may go away. and if you stay away from everything we said, reduce the stress, you may get away with it. >> you know, really severe cases get immune owe suppressives but there's a dr. stone at the nih who's wrapping people for days in steroid creams and zinc. he views the skin as a barrier. if he can rebuild the barrier he thinks, you might be able to have a better chance of putting it in remission. i've seen remarkable results from nih. >> you have to stay away from any irritants. anything that bothers you, whether it's a soap, shampoo, any irritants you've got to stay away. >> but those are all temporary fixes. you can put on all the court zone cream in the world. eventually your skin might rebound. >> jamie, you're absolutely right because sometimes this is

a hereditary problem, genetics plays a role. sometimes these kids have asthma, hay fever and eczema. >> don't ignore it. thank you, doctors. well, beer and barbecue already go hand in hand. with summer on the way some studies have found that grilled meats can sometimes contain some cancer-causing substances, but doctors now say that marinating your meat in beer not only will make it taste good but be a lot safer to eat, dr. samadi, why would marinating my meat in beer prevent cancer? >> this sounds a little funny and there's some humor with this but it's also a very, very serious topic. we've spoken about the fact that you should take a lot of veggies, fruits and vegetables and that's good for colon cancer, et cetera. we also have talked about the fact that barbecued beef, whenever you grill and barbecue at a high temperature of 300, what you to is increase the risk of some of these carcinogenic

chemicals. as you take these chemicals after barbecuing your beef, they get into your system. you metabolize them and they cause some dna changes. we think that in animal studies it causes colon cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer so it's absolutely serious. so what do you do with this? after the horrible winter we've had oom i going to say don't barbecue? absolutely not. but don't bring it is up to the temperature of 300. you can also do garlic, olive oil. the reason is with the an antioxidants in the beer, they think it reduces it. >> you've got to make sure it's cooked too. >> the dark beer worked better than the light beer because they had more antioxidants. other studies show that other marinades work. caribbean marinades, herbal

marinade works very well. at least 30 minutes, according to the cancer institute you have to marinate it. you have to flip it frequently, trim off the fat, put it in aluminum foil. here's my best tip of all. egg plant or zucchini you don't have this problem at all. there's none of these hydro carbons in vegetables. >> so isn't putting it on a charcoal grill where it picks up the carcinogens so if i put my egg plant or even corn on the grill, i won't get any? >> that's a fair point. you'll get some that you picked up from the animal fat. by the way, 60% increase in pancreatic cancer in humans. a huge study at the university of minnesota by doing that with meat. getting that charred meat, getting that well done meat. it is a big risk in many cancers. >> once a week, it's perfectly fine. but to the point that jamie was trying to make is the problem is in that charred tissue.

so you don't want to make it into a big flame. i know you have the flame, you're burning the amino afcid and you get into that char. >> so cook it long and low. >> it's in the meat itself which is why the vegetables are better. >> don't forget the corn if i'm coming over. >> once a week, that's the prescription. i promise you, you will only hear this on "sunday housecall." walking and talking doesn't seem to be dangerous. coming up, we'll tell you why the next time you're out roaming around, you really shouldn't have your eyes on your cell phone. you better look at the road and the sidewalk in front of you. it doesn't even have to be in new york. ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours

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text and walk? there's a new study that found it leads to more injuries for pedestrians than it does to distracted drivers. can you believe that? dr. siegel has this report. >> texting or talking on your smartphone while walking is at least as dangerous as doing it while driving. if you are texting while walking, not only is your mind somewhere else, but you are blind to what is happening around you. >> i think pedestrian safety has been ignored somewhat and the issue with texting and going across intersections is a serious public health issue that results in large numbers of injuries and deaths, and a little bit more attention paid to it and putting the cell phone down while you're doing this can save a number of lives. >> more than 1500 people were treated in e.r.s for cell phone related injuries in 2010 alone. a recent study at new york stonybrook university hospital shows if you use your cell phone while walking, you are 60% more

likely to veer offcourse. offcourse, bad things can happen. you can fall into a fountain, hit a pole or get hit by a car. >> hitting a car is probably one of the most dangerous things that can happen. you don't have that protection surrounding you. injuries to the pelvis, lower extremities extremely common in these. i was just working in the emergency department today and had somebody that was hit by a car, at low speed, but knocked the person down and the car ran over them. had chest injuries, splenic fracture, pelvic fractures and a left knee fracture as a result of this. >> if you actually have to text while walking, there are apps with a camera so you can see what is going on around you. now, the purpose of this is not to make people out there think that texting while driving is not a big risk, it's a huge risk. but i don't think people realize that when you're walking along texting, worse than even

talking, you're not watching where you're going, you're not thinking of what you're doing, you're not seeing what's in front of you. there is an app out there called walk and text, but i don't think it really takes care of the problem. because you're texting and the iphone will show right in front of you but where's your peripheral vision. just last year outside of fox news a car jumped a curb and hit four pedestrians. now, they weren't texting but imagine if people in the area had been. when i was doing this report, about every two minutes somebody walked by that was texting. i think it's a problem. >> it's a serious issue. people can just, a, bump into you. secondly a poor young man was killed recently because he had ear phones on and was -- >> headphones too. >> a truck backed into him. >> i think if you have to get that app with the camera, you need to go to texters anonymous. seriously. we've got to give it up a bit. great report. thanks to both of you on that topic. eric has one that's important to all of us. >> mouthwash supposed to keep your mouth nice minty fresh and

clean? well, there's a new study that has some risks about mouthwash. you'll want to listen up and hear about this study that could take your breath away. [ male announcer ] staples has everything you need to get your client's attention. from architectural prints and brochures

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back now with "sunday housecall" the time when we talk about everything that worries us. this week's topic comes from a brand new study that apparently links mouthwash to a higher risk of oral cancer. dr. samadi is this true? is it alcohol that causes the problem? >> it's an interesting study that just game from glaxo dental

and another study that shows there's some association between the alcohol in this kind of mouthwash and oral cancers. there is no proof yet, but there seems to be some sort of a link. this particular study they looked at some patients who had cancer and some who didn't of the ones that used the mouthwash three times or more there seemed to be an increase in the oral cancer. >> a day? >> a day. that's part of the issue that we want people to know. most dentists will say they don't like the alcohol-based mouthwash because it drys up your mouth and has rebound bad breath that comes back. it may be questionable oral cancer in this particular one so look for alcohol -- nonalcohol kind of mouthwash. oral cancer is obviously a very common disease in this country. about 43,000 have diagnosed, 8,000 still die from this, and smoking, alcohol, chewing tobacco and also low

socioeconomic status is a risk factor so we want people to know. the role of a dentist is extremely critical. a good dentist can really look in and diagnose hiv, oral cancers and so many other -- even cardiac disease. we have t gingivitis, et cetera. >> my dentist looks under my tongue, which they never used to do before. mark, what do you think? >> three quarters of the oral cancers and throat cancers are due to smoking or alcohol or at least they are smokers who drink. if you cut down on alcohol and tobacco, you help the problem enormously. then what is your oral hygiene like? are you flossing? because that's how you get rid of gum disease or prevent it with flossing. and are you brushing a couple times a day? we have covered that on the show before. that's the key. are you using mouthwash to cover-up the fact that you have not brushed your teeth today? brush your teeth and floss, maybe if you're going out to an event you can have a little mouthwash, but don't use it three times a day.

>> flossing is so important with heart disease. >> that's absolutely important. and just going back to what mark just mentioned, a lot of time this is mouthwash can basically open up the membrane in the oral cavity. and some of the material can get in to cause this kind of problem. same thing, by doing the floss and toothbrush and brushing your teeth, you are reducing the number of bacterias to get into the blood that can cause endocarditis. >> in the old days, they used to say eat parsley for the stomach and even give it to dogs, i believe, so the stomach acid would neutralize to not have bad breath. >> i like parsley. that's a great idea. now we are into probiotics to neutralize bad bacteria. >> that word comes from bad breath? >> it usually comes from the stomach or bad oral hygiene. use the probiotics, yogurt,

things like that. align the stomach to neutralize acid. parsley is a great idea. >> i had a friend that had bad breath. i turned it down to them taking fish oil or a cavity. there are fish oils that don't cause bad breaths. that's a tip for the day, hope you don't mind. >> you are doing great. but jamie, we want people to know if there's a lesion in the oral cavity not healing within the first couple of weeks, if there's some unknown bleeding from gums, et cetera, or pain around the neck and ear, don't ignore it. see the doctor because those could be early signs of oral cancer. >> a good study to raise important issues. i'm glad we talked about it. also we want to talk about one of the most popular requests right now at a plastic surgeon's office. coming up, we'll tell you why more women than ever before are going under the knife for this. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu.

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you ever notice on this show how i get all the touchy topics? well, today i'm going to tell you about one that's become more popular than ever. women going to plastic surgeons for breast adjustments. we're not talking augmentation, bigger or smaller, we are talking about higher. right, docs? have i said it right? >> exactly. we are talking about breast lifts, where basically a lot of women between the age of 30 or 54 now have their breasts lifted to get rid of excess skin, put them back in place where they were before. 90,000 this year alone. it's up 70% over the past decade. and breast implants, which we're not talking about today, there's a lot more women getting breast implants, but they are not increasing at the same rate. women are turning much more to breast lifts, which require a lot less than breast implants. and they are happy with it. the other thing going up is b

brazilian butt lifts. >> butt lifts, what does that entail, exactly? >> just what it sounds like. >> where do you put it? >> you lift them up and tie them if they are sagging. if the butts or breasts are sagging, we put them back in place. >> let me turn to the surgeon, doctor, if you are not doing an implant and there are a lot of women who don't want a foreign object in their body, it is surgery. >> it is surgery but not major surgery. what they are doing with the breasts, jamie, is basically sizing the skin, putting it back to exactly where it belongs. and there's a very simple test that's called pencil test, and a lot of people do this. it's okay, it works really well. go to my facebook to tell me if it works or not. basically put the pencil at the crease of the breast. if the pencil stays there, then you absolutely need a lift. >> rick? >> eric doesn't count on this. >> the pencil test works.

it's easy at home and tell me if it works. >> then how do you know that? >> as a result of aging, as a result of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and also some of the volume of the breast goes down a little bit. so the nipple will be facing the ground, you want to basically lift it up. it's done and is fairly safe. there's always a risk of scarring, et cetera, but this is becoming very common. now, this won't change the size of the breast, it basically reconfigures and makes it look better. >> puts you back where you were. and you should go to a board certified blasting surgeon. >> absolutely. i should have become a surgeon. >> doctor, behave. >> you should make sure that they have the seal of approval whoever is doing this. now, i don't

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