A New Jersey man is suing popular daytime host Dr Oz over a suggestion that he says burned his feet.
Faithful viewers of Dr Mehmet Oz’s daytime talk show know he’s always promoting new tips and tricks to live a healthier life. However, one New Jersey man is now suing the surgeon for a tip that he says left him with serious burns.
According to the New York Daily News, 76-year-old Frank Dietl was severely burned after he used the “knapsack heated rice footsie” trick promoted on the show in April 2012.
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“He wound up with third-degree burns on his feet and was confined to his bed for weeks,” Dietl’s attorney, Dominick Gullo, told the Daily News on Monday.
On the show, Dr Oz told viewers to put uncooked rice in a sock, warm it in the microwave and then put them on to help them get to sleep.
“You do this and lie for about 20 minutes with those socks on in bed. The heat will divert blood to your feet,” Oz said.
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“When your feet get hot, guess what happens to your body? It gets cold. Your body will automatically adjust its core temperature and as it gets cooler, you’re going to be able to sleep better because your body has to be cold in order to get sleepy.”
Dietl wasn’t sure how long he put the rice in the microwave, but he couldn’t tell how hot the socks were because he suffers from neuropathy, a diabetes-related complication that numbs the feet.
“There were no proper instructions or proper warnings,” his lawyer added. “There were no warnings to anybody with neuropathy to not try it.”
Dr Oz and the production company behind his show haven’t commented publicly other than a simple statement.
“We stand by the content in our program as safe and educational for our viewers,” a rep said Tuesday.
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