Weird Medicine: The Podcast · Dr. Steve & Studio71

628 - Microgravity and Floaty Stools

·1 hr 8 min·5 clips

What causes floating stools? It might be fat malabsorption or gas from bacterial fermentation in your gut.

Dr. Steve and Dr. Scott host this uncensored medical advice show, originating from SiriusXM. The episode opens with a comedic musical introduction about desperate health desires. A caller named Tacey asks about using DMSO for arthritis and tingling hands upon waking. Dr. Steve explains DMSO is an organic solvent that permeates skin, causing a garlic taste, but cites safety sheets showing limited long-term data and studies finding it no better than placebo for osteoarthritis pain. He notes the FDA only approves DMSO for bladder instillation and warns it can increase absorption of other skin contaminants or medications. For the tingling hands, Dr. Steve recounts missing carpal tunnel syndrome early in his career and describes how it affects the thumb, index, and middle fingers. Dr. Scott suggests prayer stretches to alleviate symptoms and describes a physical test involving wrist flexion to check for carpal tunnel. They discuss other potential causes like cervical spine issues or thoracic outlet syndrome, outlining a pulse-check diagnostic maneuver. The hosts transition to a question from Bill about why some bowel movements float. Dr. Scott explains floating stools can result from excess fat due to malabsorption or from gas produced by bacterial fermentation in the colon. Dr. Steve shares an anecdote about the fat substitute Olestra causing accidental orange oil leakage. They recommend fermented foods like kombucha, kefir, and homemade sauerkraut to improve gut flora and reduce foul gas. Dr. Scott provides a detailed recipe for fermenting cabbage using a 3% brine and special lids to prevent explosion. A final caller asks about physiological effects in microgravity, like on blood flow and the brain. Dr. Steve clarifies the environment is microgravity, not zero gravity, leading to fluid redistribution that swells the face and upper body. He lists impacts including decreased heart size, orthostatic intolerance upon return, spinal decompression increasing height, and a weakened immune system. He mentions astronauts use treadmills with bungee cords but lack large centrifuges for artificial gravity, noting the Coriolis effect would prevent cycling inside one. Dr. Steve states the blood-brain barrier itself is not compromised by increased cranial blood volume, explaining its role in protecting the central nervous system from certain chemicals. The tone is consistently informal and comedic, filled with personal anecdotes and tangents. The hosts maintain a conversational, advice-driven style while frequently promoting their other projects and merchandise. Listeners who enjoy unscripted, humor-laden medical Q&A with crude anecdotes will appreciate this episode. Those seeking concise, strictly clinical information or who are offended by graphic bodily function discussions might skip it.

As heard by us

A loose call-in medical show built on banter, advice, and familiar plugs.

Weird Medicine stays in its loose call-in lane, with Dr. Steve and Dr. Scott trading banter around an uncensored show built for listeners who would not usually gravitate to a medical program.

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Dr. Steve keeps Weird Medicine blunt, uncensored, and funny.

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