DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter has accused me of not caring about the environment. She complains that I flatulate more often than most individuals. Furthermore, she claims that the gas an individual passes contributes to global warming. Thus, she says that my passing of wind shows no concern for the environment. I don’t know if I am physically able to keep my gas to myself in order to go green. Is my daughter really right? — Anon.

ANSWER: Is your daughter for real? No human can stop the production of intestinal gas. We have little control over it. Every human passes gas, including your daughter. People do so from 10 to 20 times a day.

Colon bacteria are responsible for gas production. They feast on foods we don’t digest, and gas is a byproduct of their feasting.

The major gases in colon-produced gas are nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen. Traces of sulfur-containing gases are responsible for its unpleasant odor.

Greenhouse gases — the gases that blanket the earth and warm it, the way greenhouse glass does for a greenhouse — include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen and fluorocarbons. Most of the carbon dioxide that contributes to greenhouse effect comes from the use of fossil fuels — gas, oil, gasoline and coal. The majority of methane gas that adds to the greenhouse effect is derived from livestock, coal mining, drilling for oil and from garbage landfills.

Carbon dioxide is the byproduct of many industrial processes. If your daughter is truly worried over your contribution to the greenhouse effect, she should realize that her breathing contributes a significant amount of carbon dioxide to it. She blows out carbon dioxide with each exhalation. Humans contribute more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the yearly production of this greenhouse gas. No one suggests we stop breathing.

If your daughter is serious, she needs to understand this phenomenon better.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Will you please give your opinion on an infection beneath the female breasts? Could it be a yeast infection or an allergic reaction to underwear elastic or to saccharin? How is it treated? — B.M.

ANSWER: The red, raw skin on the underside of the breast and the opposing chest skin is due to moisture and heat, which, in turn, provide an environment that facilitates the growth of the yeast candida. This skin often cracks and scales.

You have to work to get rid of the problem. For 15 minutes, apply compresses soaked in Burrow’s solution to the involved skin three times a day. You can find Burrow’s solution in almost every drugstore. The compress can be an old towel or a washcloth. After applying the compresses, gently dry the skin. You can use a blow dryer if you’re careful not to burn yourself. Then apply a cream, ointment or gel that works for candida. Miconazole (Micatin, Zeasorb-AF) is an example. No prescription is required. It takes two to three weeks before you see results. Once the skin heals, continue this treatment for one more week. Then use a dusting powder daily.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: The flu virus has resulted in constant reminders to wash your hands. It seems to me that this works only until you touch another object or person. You become re-infected in a short period of time. I don’t think hand washing is all that effective. — J.H.

ANSWER: Hand washing is effective in preventing many infections. The common cold is mostly passed from one person to the next by way of the fingers and hands. Virus coats the fingers of an infected person. After that person contacts another person’s hands, virus coats the second person’s hands. When that person touches the lips, mouth, nose or eyes, the virus has found a new home.

Influenza virus is spread mainly through airborne droplets coming from a cough, sneeze or laugh. The virus can, however, live for a short time on inanimate objects. Viral transfer is possible when an uninfected person touches such objects — not the most common mode of transmission, but a possible one. The virus also can live for a short time on an infected person’s hands if that person covers a cough with his or her hands.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.