Doctor Reacts To "Strange Addictions"

- "My Strange Addiction" is back.

I know some of you may have the urge to laugh or make fun.

Let's try and be patient

and be empathetic in watching some of these videos

because they're quite unusual,

but clearly they're impacting people's lives.

Let's get to it. (graphic chiming) (graphic whooshing) (jaunty music) Oh,

are we gonna smoothie everything?

(blender whirring) - My name is Kathryn, I'm 31, from Alexandria, Virginia.

I blend every single food that I eat. (graphic whooshing) - Okay,

that's not that strange.

I feel like drinking eggs, though,

maybe it's 'cause I had a bad experience in my childhood of being forced.

I don't know why they did this.

They forced me to drink raw eggs before an ultrasound.

And I don't know why.

Is there a medical read- - Your dad did this?

Your dad, the doctor, made you do this? - Yeah,

hold on a second. (keyboard clacking) Let's see.

It's a local weird practice that some people do. - Ah. - Okay,

so I don't know why anyone made me drink raw eggs,

but I had to drink raw eggs. - Breakfast is served.

(Kathryn sniffling) - I thought she was gonna drink it. -

And I'm addicted to snoring all of my food. - I thought she had

a swallowing condition where she wasn't able to swallow.

(Kathryn sniffling) Snorting her food?

(Kathryn sniffling) Hmm.

(Kathryn exhaling) - When it hits the back of my throat... - She's

so smiley about it,

I love it. - It's very different, but at the same time,

I taste all of the same flavors,

as if I was to have food

and drinks normally. -

So why not drink it normally? - My favorite way to start my day

is with an omelet

and coffee.

(Kathryn sniffling) (Kathryn exhaling) (jaunty music) - I mean,

there's a lot of risks here

because the nasal passageways are not equipped to handle food in this way.

And as a result, you're gonna increase risks of sinusitis.

Even Eustachian tube dysfunction,

where the Eustachian tube in the back of your nose there connects to your

middle ear.

That tube can get inflamed and clogged.

You could even develop issues with your septum there.

That can be problematic and disfiguring long-term.

Plus, this could end up in your airway.

This is a much easier way for food to end up in your airway,

leading to inflammatory pneumonitis, aspiration pneumonia. - My relationship with food was very normal,

up until the point where I was in community college. (jaunty music) It started,

honestly, with a dare to try snorting a flavored fruit drink. - I wonder

how she deals with spicy fruits. - It was an odd sensation at first,

similar to if you accidentally get a little bit of water through your nose

in the pool. - Interestingly enough,

that's a sensation people dislike. -

And it was phenomenal. (jaunty music) (Kathryn exhaling) - It also looks like it

increases her,

like, intracranial pressure.

She gets quite flushed

when she does this. - I have been having my entire diet nasally for

about five years. (blender whirring) I don't have an aversion to chewing,

but I have an aversion to the weird textures that come with food. - Hmm,

that can happen.

Absolutely. - You don't like the way it feels in your mouth? - No, no,

I think it's awful, and I think it's like primitive,

you know what I mean? - I don't know

if she's saying that sarcastically. - I do not see snorting my food

as a problem.

I think it has a lot of benefits.

No risk of choking. (record scratching) - You can absolutely aspirate. - I don't overeat,

I consume less calories. - I was about to say, thank God this popped up,

because I was hoping

that she didn't do this

as a way to curtail her calories 'cause I don't know

if that would be a healthy coping mechanism. (compelling music) I think this is

one of those scenarios,

much like intermittent fasting,

people think there's some sort of miraculous benefit to doing intermittent fasting,

when in reality you're just shrinking the window,

the time period which you are able to eat.

Therefore, you consume less calories simply because there's less time.

Here, there's less volume.

The nose is smaller than the mouth, so you consume less volume of food.

This would really need to be investigated further to figure out what is driving

the sensation,

the need, their version to chewing.

Because there could be a very unhealthy outcome, especially as one ages.

(Kathryn sniffling) - It has really no drawbacks, except...

(Kathryn laughing) That is spicy.

Nobody accepts my habit, nobody accepts me. - Well, that's unfair.

I feel like people should accept her, but also at the same time,

present the risks that could come with this

because it's very clear

that she believes there are no risks.

But there are definitely risks. - I have been dating this guy, Justin,

for several months now.

I wanna take things to the next level,

but he has no idea that I snort my food. - How is that possible?

You don't drink water around him? - Do you guys need any recommendations

or anything like that? - Are you able to blend the food? - God,

I hope this is not one of these reality show situations,

where they're faking it. (pensive music) (Kathryn sniffling) - Kathryn,

what the (beep) are you doing?

What are you doing?

(pensive music) - And they took her to a restaurant so people can judge her?

How is that helping her?

Like, if you're a producer on the show,

you're clearly taking advantage. -

So this isn't just like every now

and then. - Well- - This is what you do.

And it doesn't burn going through your nostrils, down your throat? - No.

I've been doing this a long time. (jaunty music) - I have never seen

anyone ingest food any other way

but through their mouth,

which is, in my opinion, why we have mouths. - I mean,

at the same time,

you have to be reasonable enough to understand

that this may shock someone

because it's so unusual

and not typically how humans consume food.

He's not being disrespectful, at least I don't feel that way.

He's just shocked that you've kept this from him, which is, again,

a reasonable emotion.

So, while you want him to validate your emotions,

you should also be validating his emotions.

It's a two-way street. - This is something that is...

A big (beep) deal, Kathryn, so. - I'll catch you around,

Justin. - She broke up with him? - I'm going to try my best

to stop snorting my food.

I'm not exactly sure how I'm gonna go about it. - Well,

working with someone who specializes in eating disorders could be a good place to

start from a mental health perspective.

And just exploring that, spending some time exploring why you have that drive.

And definitely visiting with an ENT and just doing a fiber optic exam,

where they put a little camera, they're not putting you to sleep,

they just spray a little nasal numbing spray,

and then they put in this tiny little camera,

I've had this done to myself,

and you could actually see the back of the nasal passages,

as well as all the way down to your vocal chords. - My name

is Tarah,

and I live in the remote desert of Southern California.

I am a ritual priestess

and musician. (gentle upbeat music)

And I'm addicted to sunning my perineum. - I've seen this on social media.

- Perineum sunning is the practice of allowing natural sunlight to reach our perineum,

the perineum being the area between your genitals

and your butthole. (record scratching) - I love how all of the words were

very scientific,

perineum, genitals, and then she didn't wanna say anus,

she went for the butthole. (crickets chirping) That's another thing I never thought I'd

say in the channel.

She reached for the butthole.

♪ You are made of ♪ - I mean, this is a spiritual experience.

The only risk I would say here is

because this is not a frequently sun-exposed area,

it is more sensitive to UV,

and therefore has a higher chance of burning. - What I would do is

be barefoot or nude in nature,

and my legs naturally open and I could feel the sunlight.

So, I discovered it pretty naturally and organically of just like, "Wow,

that feels really amazing." - There's no scientific health benefit.

I've seen some claims on social media about better hormone production

or vitamin D production.

Sun exposure helps with vitamin D levels, for sure,

but whether it's on your perineum or other parts of your body,

as long as the majority of your body is being exposed to sunlight,

the conversion for vitamin D is still happening there.

(Tarah singing) That's a lot of hours per day without sunblock,

so you have to be careful.

And I say careful for the fear of developing skin cancers. -

And I do my morning ritual,

sunning my perineum. - Her home is awesome. - I like to place my

perineum directly towards the sun. - Also,

she's doing it when the sun is setting.

That's already a better situation

because the UV levels are lower

then. - Tarah's exposure to the sun is a lot.

It's not only the perineum, it's everything, the anus and vagina.

So, I hope that she is really,

really looking after it

because it'll add up over time how much sun exposure happens. - That's a

great point,

and I hope that she has a good relationship with a dermatologist who can

do skin exams very thoroughly.

Because, honestly, when you get skin exams,

you should be checking all parts of your body,

even non-sun-exposed areas 'cause those are the places where skin cancer can form.

Melanoma does appear there. (pensive music) - My name is Charlotte, I live in Plymouth,

Oregon, and I have two children.

My daughter Reyce Anne is seven and my son Malachi is four.

(Malachi screaming) I make sure to give them love, compassion, caring,

and that's what every mom brings to their family. - That's very important

and one of the most important variables

that predict childhood success into adulthood. (indistinct chattering) - Can I have some Mama

milky,

please? - Yes.

Yes. (jaunty music) And I'm addicted to breastfeeding. - So her child is seven,

and she's breastfeeding.

You know, generally, we say after the age of two,

it's until both parties stop.

And then also, we think about nutritional gaps

that could be formed by continuing breastfeeding 'cause you wanna consume solid foods in

order to get all these nutrients.

Things that jump out of my mind, vitamin D, iron,

even protein with just breast milk alone is very difficult, if not impossible,

to get solely from breast milk. - Currently,

my kids breastfeed a couple times a day,

but also I have pumped extra breast milk. - It seems like they do

it for comfort more than anything else,

and as long as there's no coercion happening

because she pointed out

that she's addicted to breastfeeding.

So as long as she's not forcing it on the children,

something also that you need to be careful of is dental caries,

cavities forming because there are milk sugars in the milk that, after breastfeeding,

especially if it's happening at night,

it could predispose you to having higher risk of dental caries. - I've kept

breastfeeding when I learned about the benefits of it. -

So there are benefits to breastfeeding,

but not extended breastfeeding.

We don't have proof that that is actually beneficial. - The hormone oxytocin is released,

and that's the love hormone,

and that just floods your body and it floods your brain,

and it is a euphoric feeling,

but also it helps the health of my children immensely.

There's cognitive benefits, there's emotional. - All the things she's talking about are true

up until age two,

and at that point, we don't see those benefits continuing long-term.

And we do see even a change in the quality of the milk after

a year of breastfeeding.

It does become higher fat content.

There's also a social stigma attached to this, bullying that can happen in schools.

Those things, while they may seem trivial,

are actually really important in a child's development. (jaunty music) - I also use

it when the children might have a ear infections,

if there's a fever. - Unfortunately, breast milk does not cure ear infections, nor fevers.

So, that doesn't work. - How far would you go?

Is there a cutoff age?

(Charlotte laughing) - The longer they breastfeed, the benefits increase.

So as long as they're still willing,

then we'll keep going. (lighthearted music) I do worry 'cause I'm getting older,

you know, my milk supply's lessening,

but I'll seek out the help

that I need to help support me through

that because for right now,

there's nothing that would stop me from continuing to breastfeed my kids. - Nothing

that would stop?

What if some evidence comes out

and shows that this is harmful for your children?

Like, that's why these conversations are very interesting with people who are passionate about

a subject when they say nothing will change their mind.

But what if it's you learn something new?

I feel like you have to be at least open-minded,

to some degree. - This is a breast milk jewelry making kit.

I know that I have to be very diligent about taking my vitamins

and making sure I'm eating protein.

So I came to make sure

that the milk is gonna be pure

and perfect. - I don't know what it means for milk to be pure.

There's this natural fallacy

that some folks have

that everything in nature must be safe

and we need to live like we used to in the good,

old days.

The good, old days, we died from stubbing our toes because they got infected,

because we didn't have antibiotics.

We didn't have clean water filtration systems.

In fact, when I did my debate in Jubilee,

one of the people I was debating against kept saying like,

"I want pure water, I want pure water."

Look, pure water is filled with bacteria, and streams, and parasites.

Like, no, no, you want the water that's disinfected by your local water treatment

facility and has fluoride in it

because it helped your teeth form.

You don't want pure nature all the time.

There are some times where natural could be better

or there's a natural approach

that can perhaps be with less side effects.

And if the condition is not so severe and there's no harms,

maybe natural is the way to go.

But, man, you can't just have a blanket policy.

It's like imagine as a doctor, I said,

"I don't use lifestyle modifications at all of my patients.

Only pharma, only meds."

You'd think that I'm not a great doctor, and you'd be right.

Much in the same way

as if I claim to be able to cure all sorts of conditions with

just lifestyle modifications.

It's not true, there's a balance to be had there. (jaunty music) - I

am a licensed cosmetologist.

I have a full background in skincare, all things cosmetology. (jaunty music) Okay, now,

I'm ready for the good stuff.

(Brandy chuckling) (jaunty music) - Product has arrived, babe. - Thanks,

baby. (jaunty music) (lips smacking) Look like you worked hard for it. - Of

course I did. - This is good. - Is this... - This is really

good,

thank you. - Semen? -

And I'm addicted to semen facials. (record scratching) -

That means something else. (jaunty music) I like

that she's dosing it with the syringe,

a one mL syringe. (jaunty music) Now, again, man,

I hope the show is not just trying to be funny

and like take advantage of people,

but besides maybe some initial hydration that is very temporary,

there's no real benefit to be had here.

This is...

This is interesting. (keyboard clacking) - I love the way

that it feels on my skin,

it's nice and smooth, has a very sticky texture to it,

and I also love the glow

that it gives me at the end of the day. - I mean,

the majority of it is water, and you have some sugars, salts, proteins,

none of the...

Like, even zinc is in there,

but it's not like it's a stable zinc

that the skin is ready to use.

A big part of creating a product for your skin is not just about

the ingredients,

it's about the stability of those ingredients,

the usability of the skin for those ingredients. - I usually give myself a

semen facial,

I would say, twice a day.

In the mornings, I'll get a fresh batch,

which usually means it came directly out of my husband

and then later on in the night.

I really love the way that it feels,

especially when it's fresh and warm. - Also, this could be comedogenic,

like it can clog your pores, lead to acne folliculitis, and okay,

I know this is her partner,

and I don't even know if it's a monogamous relationship,

but STI concerns are real, especially if you have open abrasions,

because semen can transmit infection.

It could also dry out the skin.

And you know what's also interesting?

Semen allergy is real, it does exist in people,

so it can cause an irritant dermatitis. -

So one of the other ways

that I like to store the semen is in these ice trays. - Good,

old semen in the refrigerator. -

When I know that my husband is gonna be gone for me,

let's say he's gone for a weekend,

I know to go ahead

and stock up. (plastic bag rustling) I've definitely become obsessed with the product. -

Well,

that's good that she's calling it out,

that there is an obsession component here because that can signal to me,

my mental health alerts her,

or being on the focus on the identification track. - I don't like to

go 12 hours without it.

I can't go 24 hours without it. - She's saying a lot of things

that are leading to a potential diagnosis here.

"Can't go 12 hours without something, I have an obsession over it."

I'm curious what happens

if she was to go without the product. - I'm

so used to using it all the time

and reaching for it.

It does stress me out

when I don't have it. - Is this a compulsion of hers?

Again, a little bit more investigation is warranted here. - Well,

another method I like to do with the semen is to pour it in

my little handy-dandy steamer.

So, I just like to go in before I apply either my skincare

or my makeup. - This is another thing.

She's saying her skin improved, but she's doing skincare on top of the semen.

So, which is actually giving the benefit?

This is like one of those scenarios where you institute three treatments

and you are not sure

which worked.

Or on the flip side,

let's say you remove three foods and you feel better.

You don't know which one of them was causing the symptoms. (upbeat music) Look,

if this is a romantic thing and it's not causing any harm, it's okay.

Again, very limited risk here.

The only thing is like

if your friend's coming in to give you a kiss on the cheek to

say,

"Hello," (jaunty music) they'd probably want to know

if your husband's semen is on your face. (static crackling) (jaunty music) -

And I'm addicted to vabbing. - Vabbing?

Is that vaping with...

Vabbing. - I stick my fingers in my vagina

and I rub it on my body

so that people can smell my pheromones. -

That is not where I thought

that would go.

Interesting. - When I first started vabbing,

it started from maybe once or twice a day to then more,

like 50 times a day. - This is becoming quite the sexual episode,

but vaginal fluid can potentially be infectious if there's a untreated STI.

So that's of concern.

And also, let's rewind a bit.

She said something about pheromones.

The existence of human pheromones has not been scientifically even proven.

The idea that there are some chemical messengers

and signals have been initially proposed

and some scientific evidence exists for,

but to say that we have a bioassay of human pheromones,

and we can point to it, and we can explain what it does,

and it's replicatable, no, we don't have that yet.

And what's interesting is we do have them in other animals. - I feel

like vabbing is something

that kind of like boost my confidence

because I'm not that great with talking. - Oh,

that's a good point that she's raising.

If people are doing this

because they think that this will make them more appealing

and there's a placebo infect in there

because it allows them to feel more confident,

that is not any miraculous scientific impact from vabbing,

that's from your perception of what vabbing does. - I have no social skills.

I have the social skills of probably a goldfish,

and I'm a 32-year-old woman. -

That could be investigated

as well because there are certain diagnoses

that can predispose one to having poor social skills.

Or it could be a lack of experience,

obviously don't know her. - What gave me the idea to vab was social

media. - Oh,

social media, bringing all the interesting health trends to light. (lid clattering) - I

usually put two fingers up there,

so... (jaunty music) Okay. - I mean,

this is clearly someone

that has something going on mentally

that they're fully taking advantage of for the production of this show.

It's really disappointing. - When I first started, I would go up there,

and the more I did that,

I started to create rips in my vagina. - Rips,

but also potentially introducing other forms of bacteria,

leading to potential diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis. - I'm always sticking my hands in

my vagina,

so I wash my hands a lot. (water splashing) If I got a boyfriend,

it would be really amazing. - She's looking for connection,

and I wish she would find some way to get help where she doesn't

feel the need to vab in order to find connection.

This is something that can be discussed in a cognitive behavioral therapy session.

Not necessarily to change her,

but to allow her to reflect on how this is impacting her everyday life,

how she feels addicted to it, whether she truly needs to continue doing this.

And those type of reflective conversations would be very valuable.

He only eats french fries.

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As always, stay happy and healthy. (upbeat hip-hop music)