Welcome back to the Doctor Rich channel! By popular demand, we have Veronica Hernandez back to do a reaction video to physician, actor, comedian, and all-around funny guy — Ken Jeong. (You know who I’m talking about — Leslie Chow from the Hangover movies!)
Don’t have time to read this post? Watch the video here instead!
Dr. Ken Jeong:
Let’s do this #$%!
@KipPierceJr says, “How much is too much drinking to the point it’s a problem? Four days a week? A drink or two a day? Only on the weekends? Situational per person?”
[sarcastically] Can you ask more f*&$%@! questions in a tweet? You know what? If you have more than three questions in a tweet — you’re an alcoholic! And that’s what you are, Kip — I’d get some help. You obviously do a lot of day drinking, and day drinking — as you know — is some medical fact. It leads to annoying questions on the internet.
Doctor Rich:
I mean — it’s a fair question! So if we look at the Framingham data, a glass of wine a day DOES have some cardiovascular benefits. Once you get more than, like, two glasses — you actually get the reverse, and it actually has negative effects on your overall health. So one glass or two a day is probably reasonable. If you’re day drinking in America, there’s a stigma. I just got back from France — where day drinking is just called “being French.” But otherwise, stick to one or two glasses at the most. But yeah, probably answering four questions in a tweet is a red flag.
Dr. Ken Jeong:
@charkeishaaa asks, “Can someone tell me why I’m sick after getting a flu shot that’s supposed to PREVENT me from getting sick???!!??1?1”
That’s actually a very nice question — because sometimes there is this myth that says, “I got the flu from the flu shot.” That is not the case. If you’re already having a cold (okay?) — and if you get a flu shot — you can get a little bit sick from the combination of having a cold and that flu shot. But you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. You have a better chance of having a weaker, flu symptomatology than somebody else who didn’t get the flu shot. You should get the flu shot.
Doctor Rich:
That was actually a really good response! You can get sick if you’re already sick and you get the flu shot, for sure! But we have to understand the entire purpose of a vaccine (and if we’re talking about the flu vaccine, we’re talking about either a killed virus or some small portion of the virus that is delivered into your body). Your body then “sees” this foreign invader, and it creates an inflammatory reaction in your body to kill this antigen that it sees as foreign. The purpose of this is to form something called B memory cells that are available (in stock, ready-to-go) so that when you become exposed to the actual disease — the flu disease — you’re two steps ahead because you already have this memory built up in your immune system. Patients can get a reaction that they feel, but that is the intended purpose of their body reacting to this killed version. But you cannot get the flu from the flu vaccine.
Dr. Ken Jeong:
@awsikee “Is there any magical remedies for a cold and runny nose? I feel so unhealthy for the time being.”
“Ow-see-kee.” [looks at the camera with deadpan sarcasm] Oh… That’s, uh… That’s cute. “Is there any magical remedies for a cold and a runny nose? I feel so unhealthy for the time being.” That’s actually a great question. And the problem is there is actually no cure for the common cold. You just have to treat the symptoms. There is actually no antiviral, there’s no antibiotic… You just have to ride out a common cold. And you know, that’s actually a very good question. So great job, Eileen. Just work on your @Twitter handle — it’s horrible!
Doctor Rich [laughing]:
Okay, so totally true! What we would prescribe is supportive care. So rest, plenty of fluids, Tylenol, Motrin, antipyretic, anti-inflammatories… and as you said, just ride it out.
Veronica:
Yeah, decongestants.
Dr. Ken Jeong:
@ashleyrenee94 says, “Can you lie when filling out paperwork at the doctor’s office?”
[dripping with sarcasm] Of course you can! You should ALWAYS lie when filling out paperwork. Telling the truth in life rarely does you any good — unless it fits your narrative. So can you lie when filling out your paperwork? Not all the time — but you should. [Mumbling] What the *$%^ kind of question was that…
Doctor Rich:
So yeah — don’t lie on your paperwork! And there can be omissions — commonly, patients will (in their surgical history) forget to mention that they’ve had breast implants or abdominoplasty. Maybe they’re like, “Oh, I, I don’t want to admit I’ve had surgery,” and maybe the surgeon goes to do surgery — and there’s scarring that they didn’t anticipate or something like that. And many other examples where these are things you need to know! So if you’re on a bunch of medicines that could affect the medicines that we’re gonna give you (or the surgery you’re going to have) — this could actually affect your health. So don’t lie. Don’t lie to your doctor.
Veronica:
Yeah… drugs or herbs can affect a lot of stuff.
Doctor Rich:
Yeah, natural supplements…
Dr. Ken Jeong is one of my idols — he was able to balance a medical practice and then go into acting and movies… You know, maybe they’ll cast me in The Hangover 4. So we’ll see you guys next time.
