Ask Dr. Jay: Subway Warts And Coping With Crohn's Disease
Dear Dr. Jay,
I had these dryish, warty bumps on the inside of my fingers where I would hold a rail on the subway. Is it at all possible for me to get some sort of gross fungus thing on my fingers just by standing on the subway? Personally, I always try to sit or lean and don't even like touching the exit handle on the bathroom, but honestly I think that was the case.
—Finger Fucked
So I'm going to do my best to put this issue to rest. It's very unlikely that you'd get a fungal infection from casual contact with a subway pole or bathroom doorknob. However, the first thing we learn in medical school is never say never—damn near anything, and I mean anything, can happen and DOES happen. Fungi really like warm, moist environments like showers and locker rooms. The last time I put my hand on a subway pole, it wasn't warm nor moist. But it did feel like someone just slimed it with a slice of bologna.
So it's very unlikely you'd get a fungal infection from a subway pole or a bathroom doorknob. When was the last time I touched one of those things? Years and years and years ago. Catching something is nearly impossible, but I'm not taking any chances.
So wash your hands frequently and don't slime subway poles with bologna and we'll all be just fine.
Dear Dr. Jay,
I have Crohn's Disease—more accurately Ileitis, diagnosed ten years ago. I've largely been very lucky with it, and only get sick with bad abdominal pains and indigestion occasionally. However, I often have pain in my joints (knees, hips, back, and neck). I feel like an old person. I remember reading that this can be a symptom of my Crohn's. How can a digestive-specific disorder be connected to my skeletal system? Is there a way to treat this so I don't feel like I'm cracking all the time?
Thanks,
—Z
Thanks for writing Z.
So the specific, black & white cause of CD is unknown except for the fact that we know it's a combination of environmental triggers and genetic susceptibility that causes a problem with your immune system. Something triggers your immune system to attack your own body—in CD, it's the lining of the intestines. It causes chronic inflammation which leads to horrible pain, diarrhea, and generally feeling like shit. Normally, all these immune system cells in your blood happily float around recognizing friendly proteins that make up all your body's cells. It's trained to recognize old friends. Sometimes they see a foreign protein (like a flu virus), and when they do, they gang up on it and kill it. In CD, your immune system gangs up on your gut. But the "invader" happens to be something you need—your intestines. And when your immune system makes a mistake, it doesn't walk away, it works harder and harder trying to accomplish it's mission.
Until just a few years ago, doctors thought our body had hundreds of thousands of unique proteins in our cells. Then the Human Genome Project came along and debunked that theory. Our DNA only has about 30,000 genes. We're a highly efficient machine that makes use of relatively few building blocks. That's stunningly beautiful to think about except when you consider that, for efficiency's sake, cells use the same protein in different parts of your body. In your case, the same protein that's found in your gut, is also found (maybe in smaller amounts) in your joints. It's the doppelganger effect. So your immune system thinks that both your gut and your joints are foreign and works harder and harder to accomplish it's mission. As you know, that only causes problems. It would be a hell of a lot better if your immune system admitted its mistake and walked away. And that's what doctors are trying to do for you—figure out a way to re-train your immune system so that it realizes it's errors and leaves your gut and your joints alone. Unfortunately, with CD, we haven't yet figured out a good way to do that. We do have some medications that suppress your immune system, but with CD, we're often just chasing our tail trying to play catch-up with a very tricky disease. Hang in there.
If you need more information, one of the best resources on the internet for any health issue is Organized Wisdom.
If you have any questions for Dr. Jay, send an email to askdrjay@freewilliamsburg.com!
Comments
Posted by: tiffany necklace | February 7, 2010 03:45 AM
I'm very talented at avoiding such measures - things like using your shirt, or paper towels in the bathroom and always standing in the subway doorway to lean up against something. But yeah, it may have been a bit of a stretch. I think I touched a subway pole about 9 months ago.
Posted by: Dr. Jay | September 5, 2008 07:30 PM
I don't get it, Dr Jay ... you live in NY and the last time you touched a subway pole or bathroom doorknob was "years and years ago"? Could you please explain?
Posted by: Drew | September 3, 2008 11:59 PM