Month: February 2017

Most people tend to think that having twins just comes down to the luck of the draw, but did you know there’s actually way more to it than that? In fact, a woman’s age could play one of the biggest roles when it comes to seeing double.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two weeks, we have no doubt that you’ve heard the news—Queen Bey is having twins. She made the announcement on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, with an epic glamour shot photoshoot that looks like it was taken by Deb from Napoleon Dynamite herself, and we mean that in the best way possible.

Her fans were nothing but overjoyed to hear this type of news in what many of us are considering to be a pretty dark time in our nation.

Now, we’re not suggesting that Beyonce is old in the slightest bit, but having twins over the age of 30 is something that’s pretty significant for any woman.

However, it’s not as if having twins is uncommon—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has actually reported that the birth rate for twins has been on the rise since 1980, especially for mothers over age 35. Is it just sheer luck, or is there something going on in the mid-30s female body that makes it more of a possibility?

As it turns out, there are actually a few different factors that make having twins more common among women who are 35 years old or more.

Some of the reasons are:

• Their hormone levels tend to fluctuate more often, particularly their levels of follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH), the hormone that is responsible for stimulating ovulation and egg production.
• As women get older, they tend to rely more on fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and fertility-increasing medications, both of which can make it easier to conceive multiple babies.

• Women in their mid-30s who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more may also be more likely to conceive multiple babies, fraternal twins in particular. This is thought to be because heavier women produce more luteinizing hormone, which is what causes ovulation. It is said that women who are overweight may actually release up to two eggs during each monthly cycle.

As women get older, they tend to be subject to more prenatal screenings than younger women, and this is especially true for women who conceive twins at an older age. It definitely makes sense, as the risk of experiencing pregnancy complications increases when a woman gets pregnant when she’s older, especially when she’s carrying more than one baby.

Carrying twins at any age isn’t easy, and women who carry twins when they’re older are more likely to give birth to their babies prematurely. They may also:

• Give birth to babies with low birth weights, even if they aren’t born prematurely
• Be more likely to develop gestational diabetes, as there are obviously different dietary needs for women carrying multiple babies

• Be more likely to develop high blood pressure because of the additional placenta and increase in hormone production
• Have issues with the placenta like placenta previa, which leads to excessive bleeding either before or during birth

In general, older women who become pregnant at all tend to feel everything pregnancy has to offer pretty intensely, much more than a younger woman would. Unfortunately, it really does have everything to do with age—the body doesn’t handle stress as well as it ages, and just isn’t as well-suited for pregnancy as a younger body would be. Additionally, mothers of any age might experience certain symptoms more intensely while they’re pregnant with twins, including:

• General achiness, pain, and fatigue throughout the entire body
• Much more fetal movement
• Increased constipation, indigestion, heartburn, and general digestive upset
• Strong feelings of nausea, no matter what time of day it is

Many of these exacerbated symptoms occur because of the extra hormones produced during a pregnancy carrying with twins, along with the extra weight that comes along with it. The bright side, though, is that double the babies doesn’t always mean double the pregnancy trouble—ultimately, every woman is different.

So, are there any other factors that can increase the chance that a woman of any age will conceive twins?

• In general, women with a history of twins in their family will be more likely to have twins themselves.
• Women who have been pregnant before are more likely to conceive twins during later pregnancies.

• Women who are vegan or vegetarian, along with women who typically follow a fairly low-fat diet, are much less likely to conceive twins. It is thought that these types of diets can alter women’s hormone levels, and those who don’t consume a lot of fat will probably have a lower BMI.
• Apparently lightning can, and may, strike twice—women who have had twins before are also more likely to conceive multiple babies at once in the future.

• Black women are most likely to conceive twins, followed by white women. Asian or Hispanic women are the least likely to have twins, but obviously anything is possible.

Prenatal care is definitely an incredibly important aspect of a twin pregnancy, especially for older women with twins. These women will typically be scheduled for more appointments with their doctor, even if their pregnancy is completely normal, to ensure that no complications are developing with either baby.

It’s also pretty vital to make sure that the mother is eating enough, eating the right things, and gaining enough weight to support each baby.

A doctor can help you to determine what you should be eating more of, what you should be eating less of, and how you can safely gain weight throughout your pregnancy to ensure that you avoid complications like gestational diabetes.

Many of the guidelines that apply to pregnant women in general also apply to any women carrying twins, they just recommend more of certain things. For example, women with twins will require more protein and iron than a woman carrying a single child.

When complications occur for any pregnant woman, the symptoms can definitely be alarming, and it’s especially true for an older woman pregnant with multiple babies. They tend to feel all of the pregnancy-related symptoms much stronger than others, so it can be difficult to determine if a random ache is just a bout of gas or something they should really be worried about.

Depending on where a woman is in her pregnancy, certain symptoms may be more or less alarming, but it’s important to talk to your doctor if:

• You don’t really feel the babies moving or kicking anymore after they have already started to move around regularly.
• You have strong and persistent pain in your abdomen.
• You begin to notice spotting or more severe vaginal bleeding.
• You start to produce more discharge than normal, or if you notice any changes to what you normally produce.

• You begin to feel intense lower back pain or pressure in your pelvic area.
• You don’t urinate as much, or feel pressure and pain when you do.

Of
course, certain complications can happen no matter what you do to avoid them, but there are certain steps women carrying twins can take to keep their pregnancy as normal and as healthy as they can.

• Start taking folic acid supplements as soon as you can—we’re talking the day you find out you’re pregnant. Women with twins naturally need more of it, and studies show that folic acid can reduce the chance of a fetus developing any sort of neural tube defect.
• Make sure you’re eating! It is recommended that women carrying twins add 1,000 extra calories to their daily diet. As a comparison, women carrying only one baby are only supposed to add an extra 300 calories to their daily intake.

• If you suffer from frequent morning sickness, try to keep a small snack handy all throughout the day to help ease it. Fresh fruit, crackers, protein shakes, and yogurt are all good options to keep around.
• Keep chugging water throughout the day. You won’t be happy when you’re running to the bathroom every five seconds, but your body will need the extra fluid to make sure all that extra blood is flowing as it should be.

Breast implants have been a huge trend in the beauty world for quite some time, but it might be time for their legacy to come to an end. The new kid on the block in the world of the plastic surgery has become known as the “un-boob job,” and it’s become so popular that even celebrities are now sharing their stories about why implants weren’t right for them anymore.

Admit it—we all do things when we’re young that we end up regretting when we’re older. For some people it’s getting a tattoo, for others it’s getting pierced somewhere other than their ears. For many women, however, those regrets come in the form of getting breast implants.
In fact, many of those woman who confidently get breast implants during their younger years regret them so much during their adult years that they actually get rid of them.

One celebrity, Victoria Beckham, recently decided to speak out about her decision to get rid of the breast implants she got when she was 18 years old. The process of getting breast implants removed has actually become so common that the trend has even been given a name: the “un-boob job.”
Of course, Beckham and any other women who have their implants removed have their own personal reasons for doing so, but did you know that they often extend far beyond looks?
Beckham penned a letter to her younger self in January’s issue of British Vogue, which included many pieces of advice she wished she could’ve given herself back then. She said she wished her younger self would’ve had more fun with what she wore, celebrated the unique aspects of both herself and others, and kept a diary to make sure she could keep track of her most memorable moments.

She also told her teenaged self not to, “mess with your boobs,” and to, “just celebrate what you’ve got.”
We can only speculate as to why Beckham got her implants in the first place—maybe due to insecurity at a young age or just wanting an enhancement for fun—but she confirmed in 2014 that she had them removed.

“I don’t have them anymore,” she told Allure magazine. “I think I may have purchased them.” Though she didn’t give specifics about why she made the decision, she did say it wasn’t due to pain.
Beckham won’t be the first or last woman to make the decision to remove her breast implants—in fact, Health magazine noted that approximately 24,000 made the decision to say goodbye to theirs in 2014.

While there are plenty of reasons why that may be, one doctor says a big factor for many women is the amount of upkeep that implants actually require—though most of us know that sometimes implants might burst or deteriorate, they still require some maintenance even if nothing goes wrong.
“Implants are not lifelong devices,” said Janette Alexander, MD, one of the FDA’s plastic surgery medical officers in its division of surgical devices. “The longer a woman has them, the more likely it is that she will need additional surgery, which could include replacement or removal.”

For many women, this could mean going through thousands of dollars in additional medical procedures just to maintain the look and quality of their implants.
Besides what essentially comes down to the inconvenience of breast implant upkeep, there are plenty of physical reasons why women choose to take them out.

For some, it’s because they leak or rupture, which can become incredibly dangerous if the damaged implants go without treatment or removal.
Other women begin to experience significant back pain, most likely due to getting implants that are too large for their frame. In many cases, however, women get their implants removed because they are just too hard to live with, even if they do like the way they look.

For some women, everyday tasks become too hard to perform with implants, whether it’s because they’re too heavy or because they’re not positioned well. “I was unable to do an unmodified push-up without feeling like my boobs were about to explode,” said a fitness instructor who eventually made the decision to have her implants removed.
So, how do you know when it’s time for your implants to go? If you’re making the decision simply because you feel like they’re not for you anymore, you really don’t need a better reason than that.

In fact, you could walk into the doctor to have them removed or reduced and potentially leave a mere three hours later. There are, however, a few signs that it might be time for your implants to go, even if you don’t necessarily want to part with them.
-If your implants are too large for your frame, they can cause significant pain that will probably continue until you take them out or make them smaller.
-You might experience something called capsular contracture, which means that your scar tissue has become stiff. It can make your breasts look misshapen or hard.

-Your implants might rupture, which could allow the implant material to leak into your body.
How can you tell if your implants have ruptured? At first, you might not notice anything at all. When an implant gets placed inside of the body, a type of fibrous tissue called capsule will begin to grow around it.

When an implant ruptures, it can be what is called a silent rupture, which means that all of the leaked material gets absorbed by the capsule, so you feel nothing. However, when left for long enough, this tissue can eventually become inflamed, which can then lead to:
-Breast pain
-Breast lumps
-Breast swelling, or severe changes to the shape and size of the breast
-Breast tissue that feels either harder or softer than normal

If you think you may have a ruptured implant, it’s definitely a good idea to see your doctor as soon as possible. Women with silent ruptures may be able to just wait and see what happens with their situation, but anyone who’s actually experiencing symptoms will probably have to have their implants removed via surgery.
Whether your implant has leaked just a little or it has deteriorated to the point that it needs to be replaced, the goal of your surgeon will be to remove the material they need to through the smallest incision possible.

Doctors can use what is essentially a small vacuum attached to a syringe, which can removed any leaked implant material through a fairly small incision. The best part of this kind of technique is that it doesn’t require anything sharp to remove the material, so there’s less of a risk that the implant will get punctured again and leak even more.
If an implant needs to be fully removed, doctors can use the vacuum device to suck the remaining material out of the implant and then remove the actual implant once it’s empty.

For women who don’t have ruptured implants, a doctor will probably be able to remove them whole, usually through the incisions that were made to put them in.
Whether you have implants and are ready for the “un-boob job” to take place or you’re thinking about getting some for the first time, there are a few things you should think about before you take the plunge.
– Consider this—if you were to get breast implants at age 22, their placement and proper maintenance over the next 25 years would cost you a whopping total of $46,000.

– When looking for a plastic surgeon, a bargain is never the answer. Make sure you find a doctor who’s board-certified, and make sure that their certification is actually in plastic surgery—believe it or not, some doctors won’t specify this up front. One doctor, Daniel Mills, MD, said, “When a revision patient of mine had gone for her original consultation, she asked a staffer if the doctor was board-certified. The staffer said yes but didn’t bother to add that the doctor was board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, not plastic surgery. When she came to see me, her implants had dropped like they were in tube socks, down to her belly button.”
– Make sure you get a good idea of what your plastic surgeon’s “style” is. Many will make recommendations based on what is popular where you live, or try to sell you on what they had in mind, as opposed to really listening to what you want.

– Don’t skip trying on tester bras with different sized implants to get a feel for what a particular cup size will look and feel like on you.

Remember when women were considered men’s property? It was a pretty wild time! Thankfully the women’s lib movement happened in the mid-20th century and men realized that women were actual human beings—with values, preferences, and rich inner worlds equal in complexity to their own—and they all lived happily ever after.

Just kidding! Donald Trump is president. Anywho, if you have a vagina and you’ve often experienced the creeping suspicion that men misunderstand you on some fundamental level…well, yes.

But if you want to take that misunderstanding to a whole other, more empirical level, check out these fully bonkers theories based on of-the-time Science And Stuff, crafted—you guessed it—by the minds of men.

Women Were Underdeveloped Men

Whereas now traditional models of gender hold that there are two sexes—male and female—this was not always the case. It wasn’t until the 18th century, apparently, that the current gender binary emerged. Before that, women were not understood as a separate sex, but rather a lesser version of men.

As Stephanie E. Libbon writes in her 2007 analysis, “Pathologizing the Female Body: Phallocentrism in Western Science,” for the Journal of International Women’s Studies: “According to the writings of ancient Greeks, there was a hierarchical order to life that placed all living creatures on a vertical continuum. Those bodies possessing the lowest heat or energy were located at one end of this spectrum and those possessing the greatest at the opposite end. By locating humanity at the hottest end and men above women, the Greeks defined humans as the most perfect life form and men, by reason of their excess heat, more perfect than women.”

Sounds right!

Women Produced Semen, Maybe

If you remember studying ancient Greece, you probably remember how into body fluids—”humours”—they were as an indicator of physical and mental health.

“Of these humours, blood was seen as the most precious and life-giving,” Libbon writes. “When purified through heat, blood was held to reach its most refined state—that of semen.” Naturally.

So dudes running science and philosophy agreed that semen was pretty great. What they couldn’t agree on was whether women, too, could produce semen.

A prominent physician of the time, Galen, held that, since male and female genitalia were the same (though women’s testes were inside near their uteruses, and men, due to their hot hot bodies, carried their organs externally), women could produce semen. The difference, Libbon writes, is that Galen believed female semen “was thinner and cooler than the male’s, and thus indicative of her lower standing in nature.”

Meanwhile, “Aristotle claimed only men had the heat necessary to convert blood into this purest form.” Vintage Aristotle.

Women Who Craved Sex Had A Mental Illness

If you’ve never seen the movie Hysteria with Maggie Gyllenhaal, consider watching it as a fun educational primer on a condition whose existence has decidedly less fun implications—namely that women who craved sex were deeply disturbed.

Hysteria has a long history that Maya Dusenbery explores in the Mother Jones timeline “Female Hysteria and the Sex Toys Used to Treat It.” Symptoms for hysteria “included fainting, anxiety, sleeplessness, irritability, nervousness and ‘a tendency to cause trouble for others.'”

Oh yeah, also “erotic fantasy and excessive vaginal lubrication.” In other words, these women were what some of us might refer to today as horny af . “For centuries,” writes Dusenbery, “galloping on horseback, riding in carriages, or vigorous use of a rocking chair had been recommended to treat hysteria.”

The idea that women might just, you know, have sex drives exactly like men did not compute, however, so doctors came up with various “treatments” for hysteria over the years, many of which concluded in a “hysterical paroxysm,” or what some o
f us might refer to today as an orgasm. Pelvic massage anyone?

Women Who Exhibited Typical Human Behaviors Had A Mental Illness

Men calling women crazy is a trope that persists today with varying degrees of seriousness. In the 19th century, however, when men called women crazy, there was little doubt that they meant it literally, because they sent them to literal mental institutions.

The reasons that might lead to a woman’s mental downfall and resulting institutionalization were myriad, and absurd, as is evidenced by a list from the Weston State Hospital for the Insane ’s log book that includes things like “novel reading,” “laziness,” “egotism,” “fits and desertion of husband,” and “masturbation.”

As you may have already guessed, some of these men had ulterior motives. Maureen Dabbagh notes in her 2001 book Parental Kidnapping in America: An Historical and Cultural Analysis that “[t]his opened the door to many spousal abuses,” including “[using] lunacy laws to rid themselves of their partners and in abducting their children.”

Dabbagh goes on to to tell the story of 35-year-old Georgia mother who, in 1884, was “tricked” into a courtroom with her seven children after her husband had petitioned to have her admitted to an asylum for “unsoundness of mind.”

Women’s Uteruses Detached And Strolled Around Inside Their Bodies

You know that common joke about how a man’s penis has a mind of its own? Well, for a while, people really believed that a woman’s uterus was an autonomous agent—one that was inclined to get up and wander around her body, wreaking havoc on her mental and physical stability.

This idea of the “wandering womb” originated, yes, with the ancient Greeks, specifically Plato and Hippocrates. But even centuries later, by the Victorian age, folks hadn’t gotten it right.

As is noted in the paper “Women And Hysteria In The History Of Mental Health,” the majority of “women carried a bottle of smelling salts in their handbag: they were inclined to swoon when their emotions were aroused, and it was believed … the wandering womb disliked the pungent odor and would return to its place, allowing the woman to recover her consciousness.”

Surprising no one (probably), physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia compared the womb to “an animal within an animal.” Cool to meet you too, Aretaeus!

Educating Women Would Make Them Infertile

Learning has typically been a no-no for oppressed groups, and women are no different. Usually the concern was more that the oppressed would become enlightened, realize they were mad as hell, and decide that they weren’t going to take it anymore.

You know, things that oppressed groups have been doing historically since the beginning of oppression.

With women, the concern was more localized: would they still be able to pop babies out of their vaginas? The consensus among some thinkers of the time, strangely, was no.

In Pathologizing the Female Body: Phallocentrism in Western Science, Libbon quotes an 1898 essay from German pathologist Paul Möbius: “If we wish to have women who fulfil their responsibilities as mothers, we cannot expect them to have a masculine brain. If it were possible for the feminine abilities to develop in a parallel fashion to those of a male, the organs of motherhood would shrivel, and we would have a hateful and useless hybrid creature on our hands.” K.

Women Had Vampiric Vages

If folklore is a reflection of a group’s most primitive fears and desires (hint: it is), men from back in the ancient day were kind of terrified of vaginas.

Evidence would be the pervasive vagina dentata myth about vagina with teeth. It’s a theme that’s shown up all around the world, dating back to ancient times.

As Gabrielle Moss writes in Bustle, “Most theorists believe the myth to be linked to ‘castration anxiety’ and a general fear of the power of women’s sexuality — especially because a lot of that folklore ends with the hero triumphing by breaking off his ladyfriend’s vag teeth and then doing it with her.”

Given the number of horror movies relying on plotlines that feature toothy or otherwise frightening vaginas , we’d say there may be some unresolved issues. You’d almost get the impression that men still have some sort of hangup about female bodies or women with power?

Women Had Poisonous Period Blood

We’ve heard women apply a host of descriptions to their periods, and while it’s true that most aren’t particularly overjoyed by them, they’ve never said something like, for example, “My period blood is actually poisonous and it can wilt flowers and ruin children’s eyes with a single glance.”

Yet, these are a couple of real things that certain people (ahem, men) over the course of history have speculated that period blood, or a woman on her period, was capable of.

In a Refinery29 slideshow of “8 Of The Craziest Myths About Women’s Bodies You Never Heard,” it’s noted that “there was a serious debate in the 1920s about ‘menotoxin,’ a toxin that was believed to exist inside menstrual blood.” However, the theory of toxic menstrual blood “originally popped up in the 13th-century book De Secretis Mulierum (The Secrets of Women) ,” a book that notably calls women monsters.

Monsters? That’s a pretty serious claim. We’ll address it just as soon as we finish vigorously using this rocking chair.

The birth control method: Dried crocodile dung. Yes, seriously.
As we’ll quickly establish in this article, ancient civilizations used what was around them for contraception. In Ancient Egypt, crocodile dung was common, and women used them as pessaries; think of it as sort of an IUD, but much more disgusting. Women would often wrap the dung in honey before, ahem, inserting it.

So, did it work? Probably, in a limited sense. Setting aside the obvious risks of bacterial infections, reptile droppings are slightly alkaline, so they could alter a woman’s pH enough to act as a mild spermicide.
However, we should note that modern spermicides aren’t especially effective, so crocodile dung probably didn’t provide anything close to perfect protection from pregnancy. It wouldn’t provide any protection from most sexually transmitted infections.

For some reason, scientists haven’t really tested this one out—we can’t imagine why.
The birth control method: Weasel testicles and black cat bones.
According to medieval folklore, you could avoid pregnancy by tying a weasel’s testicles around your neck (hopefully after the weasel had been disconnected from them). You could also carry the bones of a black cat, wear an amulet with the earwax of a mule, or hang a mule’s uterus in your home.

The last two actually make some kind of sense, as mules (the offspring of a donkey and horse) are unable to produce viable offspring. As for the other “remedies,” they came from a place of total ignorance.
So, did they work? Yes, actually, all of these methods were 100 percent effective. Weasel’s testicles are still widely recommended by leading gynecologists.

Actually, no, sorry; none of these methods worked, as they didn’t actually do anything to inhibit insemination or implantation. We can only assume that thousands of weasels, mules, and black cats died in vain.
The birth control method: Honey, linen flax, and date paste.
This one dates back to 1550 B.C. Women would soak linen flax or cotton in date paste, then cover it in honey. The device acted as a very basic diaphragm. Since some of these ingredients were fairly expensive, women would often re-use the same device.

In fact, some archaeological evidence suggests that women were buried with these diaphragms, likely to prevent pregnancy in the afterlife. After all, nobody wants a ghost baby.
So, did it work? It was probably better than nothing. The date paste would be slightly spermicidal, while the cotton or linen flax would prevent insemination. The honey could also reduce sperm mobility.

Once again, we’d really doubt that this method was especially effective, and the risks of infection would have been extremely high, particularly if the device was re-used over and over again. Plus, untreated cotton and linen flax wouldn’t have been very comfortable for either partner.
The birth control method: Ginger or pomegranate.
If you want great birth control, you’d better ask a gynecologist, and Soranus of Ephesus was one of the most respected physicians living in Greece around the 10th century B.C. He recommended rubbing ginger or pomegranate around the genitals.

Ginger, of course, is a mild irritant, and pomegranate juice is quite acidic. Both substances probably acted as spermicides. Incidentally, the Ancient Greeks believed that the woman merely acted as an incubator for the “seed” of the child, as they didn’t know about eggs, so they were working with limited information.
So, did it work? Probably not. Soranus recommended rubbing the chemicals on the outside of the genitals, where they wouldn’t be especially effective, and neither substance is a truly effective spermicide.

However, they might have worked in a sense: These treatments likely caused burning, itching, and other irritation, which might have compelled lovers to avoid sex altogether.
The birth control method: Lemons.
Believe it or not, many cultures used parts of lemons to prevent conception.
The Talmud describes using sponges dipped in lemon juice to kill sperm, while Casanova, the world-famous lover, allegedly used lemon peel as a sort of contraceptive barrier. The peel was placed near the woman’s cervix, where it would prevent impregnation.

Medieval peoples probably used other citrus fruits, too, since it’s not hard to make the logical connection between lemons and grapefruit, for instance, but lemons were fairly common. Oh, and they have a higher acidity than most other fruits, so they were also probably the most effective option.

So, did it work? Remarkably, yes. While lemons couldn’t possibly compare to modern contraceptives, they were apparently effective at soaking up sperm, and the fruit’s natural acidity would act as a functional spermicide. However, we doubt that the juice was anything close to an aphrodisiac.
The birth control method: A plant called laserwort (also known as silphion).
Harvested in the African city of Cyrene, laserwort was used throughout Libya, Rome, and Greece for its purported medicinal properties. According to Hippocrates of Kos, one of the founders of modern medicine, the plant caused menstruation and could be used as a sort of proto-Plan B contraceptive. However, it was also commonly used for sore throats, fevers, warts, and much more.

 
So, did it work?
 
Apparently, yes. Modern scientists believe that it had estrogenic properties, which might have been strong enough to terminate early-stage pregnancies or disrupt a woman’s cycle and prevent egg implantation.
It was also delicious, apparently, and was frequently used as a condiment (given that this article is about contraceptives, be sure to read that last word carefully.)

Alas, laserwort was a little too useful for its own good. The plant was harvested to extinction. Oh, and one more interesting note: its seed pod may have been the inspiration for the modern heart symbol. Ancient Greek coins frequently pictured the stalk of laserwort on the front and the seed pod—a heart—on the back.
The birth control method: Mercury.
In Ancient China, women drank hot mercury to prevent conception. Sometimes, the mercury was part of a potion with arsenic, strychnine, and other poisons.
Obviously, this could eventually lead to mercury poisoning, which is characterized by numbness, muscle weakness, and brain damage. Still, what’s a little brain damage between lovers?

Mercury was actually a common medication through the 20th century. The element has antimicrobial properties, so it was used as a topical treatment for scrapes and burns. People also drank it to treat everything from dental issues to cancer, and mercury was found in eye drops, laxatives, and nasal spray. Today, physicians occasionally use medicines with mercury, although safer alternatives are much more common.

So, did it work? Well, probably, but the risk was certainly greater than the potential reward. We’re not sure whether it was palatable, but we can’t imagine that anyone was looking forward to a hot, steaming mug of mercury after sex.
The birth control method: Animal intestines. In Japan and China, animal intestines were fashioned into rudimentary condoms. The practice eventually spread through parts of Europe, proving once again that people will do just about anything to enjoy safe sex.

We should note that these condoms were quite disgusting by modern standards; they were likely quite rough, and because animal intestine was expensive, they were commonly reused after being soaked in raw milk. They could also rot and break, and infections were common.
While we’re on the subject, some cultures made condoms out of animal horns and bones, so the animal intestine people didn’t have it that bad.
So, did it work? Provided that the condom didn’t break, yes, for the most part. People were pretty good at making condoms, since the process was quite similar to sausage stuffing (go ahead and make your own joke here).

In fact, some modern condom manufacturers still offer animal intestine condoms for people who are allergic to latex, although these new products are obviously much more reliable than their medieval counterparts.

These days, it seems like we all experience some random annoyance each and every day, whether it’s feeling tired or getting the occasional sore throat. Thankfully, there are some helpful life hacks out there for all of the unexpected things that can happen in a day.

Eye Strain?

If your eyes start to burn or blur after too much time spent in front of the computer, try a technique known as “tense and release.” Just tighten all of the muscles in your face for a few seconds while relaxing the rest of your body, then relax your face. Repeat the process again for a few minutes and you should feel good as new.

Can’t Hear?

We’ve all been there—you’re at a packed club or noisy concert, someone tries to tell you something and, despite them being an inch away from you, you can’t hear a single word. The next time you find yourself in this situation, lean in with your right ear. This ear is better suited for processing and understanding information.

Caffeine Overload?

Did you know that your personality type can affect how you respond to caffeine? Introverts should drink their daily mug later in the day, while extroverts should have theirs first thing in the morning.

Stressed Before A Test?

If you’ve studied day and night but still can’t stop worrying that you’ll fail your upcoming test, try writing down how you’re feeling. According to a study done in 2011, students who tried this very trick saw their test scores improve.

Job Interview?
Before you go into any important meeting or event—a job interview, board meeting, a big test—try practicing a “high power” pose and hold it for five minutes. Doing so will increase your testosterone levels by 20 percent, boosting your confidence, and decrease your cortisol levels by 25 percent, relieving your stress.

Grease Burn?

No one likes an unexpected burn from a hot pan or pop of bacon grease, but there’s an easy way you can treat one with something you definitely already have in your fridge.

After you get burned, just coat the area with yellow mustard, let it sit for a minute or two, then wash it away to prevent scarring and blistering.

Toothaches?

If an unexpected toothache is giving you trouble, try rubbing an ice cube on the top of your hand between your thumb and index finger. You can also try applying pressure to this area, as it a pressure point often used in acupuncture.

Stub Your Toe?

The next time you stub your toe as you close a door or bang your elbow on the kitchen counter, just curse. Research shows that yelling out a profane word after getting hurt can help reduce the amount of pain you feel.

Jet Lagged?

If you do a lot of travelling, you’ve probably experienced your fair share of jet lag from time to time, and it can be hard to overcome. Starting a few days before you’re going to leave, try eating your meals at the time you would in the location you’ll be traveling to. It’ll help your body adjust to the changes and make them less noticeable.

Feeling Sad?

If you’re feeling a little gloomy, try holding a pencil between your teeth. Doing so activates the same muscles in your face that smiling does, so it essentially tricks your brain into thinking you’re happier than you are, which’ll give you mood a boost.

Feeling Weak?

If you haven’t worked out in a while and aren’t feeling as strong as you normally do, it’s because our bones actually get thicker the more we but stress on them. It’s why boxers have super [linkbuilder id=”3099″ text=”strong bones”] in their hands and arms, and why runners have them in their legs.

Make some time for a little strength training and you’ll feel your body getting stronger again in no time at all.

Annoying Blister?

We all get the occasional blister on our heels from shoes that are way too tight, and sometimes it happens at the worst time. If you don’t have any Neosporin handy, you might have mouthwash and, in this case, it’ll work just as well.

Mouthwash usually contains similar ingredients, so it’ll work in a pinch when you need to keep germs away from an open wound.

Day After Dizziness?

If you had a wild night and the room feels like it’s spinning even after you’re laying flat in bed, there’s a simple trick you can do to make yourself feel more stable. Just let one leg fall over the side of the bed and put your foot on the ground.

Scared of Needles?

Even people who aren’t afraid of shots don’t necessarily like getting them, so it can be quite the traumatic event for someone who hates needles. While it might not sound like the best idea to cough while you’re getting a shot, doing so can actually reduce the pain you feel from the needle. Just, you know, do it gently.

Sleeping on a Full Stomach?

From time to time, we all make the not-so-great decision of filling up before we go to bed, and it’s not always comfortable to sleep on a full stomach. The next time your find yourself in this situation, make sure to lay on your left side.
Laying on your right can make it easier can allow stomach acid to flow into your throat, because it makes it so that your stomach is elevated.

Need a boost?

We’re sure you know about the importance of getting enough water each day, but did you know just how much it can do to perk you up? Start your day off with a glass of water to wake up all of your organs and improve your digestion throughout the day. A glass before bed can also help prevent having a heart attack.

Nose Bleed?

If you’re prone to nosebleeds, place a cotton ball or cotton bad on the sections of your gums that lie below the right side of your nose and press down firmly. Apparently most of the blood from a nosebleed comes from behind this area, so it can help stop the bleeding.

Swimming?

If you want to try holding your breath for longer periods of time, don’t take one huge breath and go underwater. Instead, take a few shorter breaths—it’ll trick your body into believing it has a little more oxygen than it does, so you can hold out for a few more seconds.

Hiccups?

Everyone has their own remedy for hiccups, but some of them don’t seem to work no matter how hard you try. This one might be worth a shot, though—try breathing into a plastic bag for about 30 seconds.
The key to getting rid of hiccups is apparently raising the level of carbon dioxide in your blood.

Motion Sickness?

If you’re feeling nauseous from a boat trip or a long car ride, you won’t always have medicine or patches to help. Next time, try pressing down on the middle of the inside of your wrist—there’s a pressure point there that can help you feel better.

Sore Throat?

When your throat is unexpectedly scratchy and you don’t have the energy to run out for cough syrup, just make some at home. Mix equal parts apple cider vinegar and honey, and just take a tablespoon of the mixture a couple of times each day. It definitely won’t be the best thing you’ll ever taste, but it’ll help destroy your virus and help your throat heal.

Arm Fall Asleep?

It might sound weird, but you can help restore feeling to an arm that’s fallen asleep by gently rocking your head from one side to the other. It’ll help loosen any tension in your neck, which will then help ease the numbness in your arm. The best thing to do when your leg is asleep is just to walk it off.

Nauseated?

If you suddenly find yourself gagging for no explainable reason, all you need to do to make it stop is to make a fist. Just place your thumb inside of your fist and squeeze your hand as tight as you can.

A Modern-Day Miracle Birth
Silas Philips was born three months premature, but that’s not the most astonishing thing about his birth. Silas’ mother, Chelsea Philips, was admitted to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after just 26 weeks of pregnancy. Her doctors decided that, for the baby’s health and her own, it was time to deliver her baby via cesarean section.

The surgeon made the first cut and pulled baby Silas into the world for the first time. But the infant would have to wait to take his first breath of air. Contrast that with the medical staff in the room, who gave a collective gasp.
Doctors Can’t Believe Their Eyes
“Even though it sounds cliched, we caught our breath,” the presiding doctor, William Binder, later told the Daily Mail. “It really felt like a moment of awe…and one that will stick in my moment for some time.”

Despite his premature birth, Silas was born relatively healthy. In fact, the detail that shocked these experienced doctors was once regarded as a sign of good luck.
One in 80,000
Silas emerged into the doctor’s waiting hands still enclosed in his amniotic sac. Infants develop inside this bag of amniotic fluid, from which developing babies absorb oxygen. They also drink small amounts of the fluid, and, on the grosser side of the miracle of birth, begin urinating into it at about 10 weeks.

It is extremely rare to be born “en caul,” as the condition is known. Only one out of every 80,000 births leaves the amniotic sac unbroken.
A Dry Birth
In fact, the breaking of the sac is part of most births. You might know it as the “water breaking.” In most births, the sac ruptures shortly before the birth begins.

It seems that Silas wasn’t in a hurry to meet the open air! Interestingly, he was still absorbing oxygen through the placenta, a flat organ that helped to transfer nutrients into the developing baby.
Cutting the Cord
Silas entered the world protected by the sac of fluid that kept him safe from bumps and vibrations when he was in his mother’s womb. But he couldn’t stay there for long.

“He was seconds old and still in the water bag, with the placenta and umbilical cord tucked inside,” Binder said. The doctor actually had to tear the sac to pull Silas into the world. The infant started breathing without too much trouble.
Mom Is Last to Know
Silas’ mom was a little too busy undergoing surgery to experience the moment herself. Thankfully, Binder thought fast. He was able to snap a picture of the incredible infant—arms and legs and head fully visible through the thin tissue of the sac—before he cut the umbilical cord.

Mom got to see the photos later. “It was definitely like a clear film where you could definitely make out his head and his hair,” she told CBS News. “It was actually really cool to see.”
A Baby Unlike Any Other
When she saw the images of her sweet baby just after his birth, Philips knew she had something special.

“He was kind of in a fetal position and you could see like his arms and his legs curled up…And when I heard that was actually really rare, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re a special little baby.'”
En Caul Company
Silas was born at only 26 weeks, but he grew healthier by the day. Doctors told his mom he’d be able to go home from the hospital after just a few weeks in the NICU.

Rather than being shocked or upset by her son’s unusual birth, Philips grasped just how special it was. And this mom is in good company. Jessica Alba’s daughter Haven was also born en caul. The actress conveyed her excitement when she said, “The doctor had never seen anything like it before. He grabbed the nurse and said, ‘Look at this!'”
Extra Protection for a Premature Birth
In a way, it makes sense that this unusual birth happened to Silas. Most babies born with an unbroken amniotic sac are premature. In fact, some doctors have suggested that an en caul birth is safest for premature babies.

After all, the amniotic sac protected these infants the whole time they developed. Premature births can be dangerous. The extra level of protection—to say nothing of the extra oxygen being supplied by an intact placenta—can help keep these fragile babies safe.
A Mysterious Historical Phenomenon
Babies born en caul, or with a fragment of amniotic sac still clinging to their faces, have a long and storied history. In Medieval Europe, babies born with cauls were considered to be extremely lucky.

On the other hand, one Romanian superstition held that babies born with cauls would turn into vampires one day. We think we’ll go with the more standard European myth on this one.
Cauls as a Sign of Greatness
We already mentioned that Silas’ mom joined the hallowed company of Jessica Alba when her son was born in the amniotic sac. Well, they’re not alone. Both women are part of a long line of famous historical figures who were born en caul, or at least with a caul over their faces.

Such notables include Sigmund Freud, Liberace, Napoleon, Lord Byron, and the Dark Ages king of the Francs, Charlemagne.
Many Names, Many Destinies
Historically, different cultures have used a variety of names to describe babies born en caul or with cauls over their faces. Some in the English-speaking world call them “veiled births,” and name the babies born with this sign of luck “caulbearers.”

The Yoruba people of West Africa call the amniotic sac the Oke, and it is considered a good omen to be born with one. In Russia, people describe en caul births with a phrase meaning “born in a shirt.” This phrase has become synonymous with luck.
More Caulbearer Myths
If Silas had been born in a seafaring town a few hundred years ago, his mother could have made some decent gold selling his caul. One common superstition held that babies born with facial cauls were immune from drowning.

Midwifes would place a sheet of paper over a caulbearer’s face. The thin tissue of the amniotic sac would stick to the paper, and the midwife could then present it to the mother as a good luck charm.
Given the caul’s mythic importance as a token against drowning, sailors would pay a hefty price if they could get their hands on one.

In some circles, the myths about caulbearers have continued on to this day. New Age websites proclaim that the products of a veiled birth have the power of Remote Healing. Others say that these children are gifted with psychic powers. Still others say they’re born to a lifetime of frustrating deja vu.
Rare, Fascinating, and Ultimately Harmless
Whatever you believe about babies born with part or all of the amniotic sac intact, you should know that cauls are generally harmless for the infants lucky enough to be born with them. As we’ve mentioned, premature infants may even benefit from the extra few moments of oxygen derived from the placenta.

Some parents are alarmed at the sight of a newborn with a caul over her face. But the tissue is easily removed. Doctors or midwifes simply pull on the thin veil of flesh and it slides right off. Very few families keep their cauls anymore.
Some cauls are a bit trickier to remove than others. When a baby is born with a thick sheet of tissue over its face, doctors will make incisions to get the infant breathing. Then they’ll gently peel the rest of the caul away.

Silas, born inside an entirely unbroken amniotic sac, was among the rarest of the rare. We can’t wait to see how his destiny treats him as he grows up!

We all know those strange white marks on our fingernails, but few of us know what they mean. In fact, your fingernails can lend way more insight into the state of your body and health than you might realize. Here are what your fingernails can tell you.

1. Nail Beading

Likely caused by thyroid issues, hormonal changes, diabetes, or stress, this condition can be identified by “vertical beaded ridges resembling a candle’s wax drippings.”

Not a fan of the way it looks? You have options. Medium-grit buffers can be used to help with smoothing these ridges.

Onychogryphosis

In general, onychogryphosis is characterized by “a thickening of the nail plate, with associated gross hyperkeratosis and increased curvature.” The surface is known to be irregular, and the most notable physical traits don’t actually manifest until later on. The disease is particularly “common on the great toenail of elderly patients,” and is seen as a result of many issues, such as: old age, peripheral circulation disorders, and self-neglect (which is likely why homelessness is another cause).

Though these are only a few of the causes, with others including pressure that arises from “improper footwear,” or hallux valgus, when hereditary, this can affect every toenail and fingernail.

2. Terry’s nails

The best way to describe these is probably nails in reverse. Whereas typical nails are only white at the tip, Terry’s nails are mostly white, aside from the “narrow pink band at the tip.” While it can, in cases, be the result of aging, this can also be the result of diabetes or liver disease. It can even be a symptom of congestive heart failure or kidney failure, so just keep an eye on it.

Terry’s nails, according to data, has “no relation with hypoaluminemia and anemia,” though when it comes to renal damage, the nails are visually affected first.

Pitted Nails

Onycholysis isn’t the only nail-related condition to stem from psoriasis. Pitting, also known as pitted nails, is another consequence linked to the skin condition.

It’s not just a disease you can ignore either, as having pitting on top of psoriasis can increase your risk of something like psoriatic arthritis, “a painful joint inflammation.”

3. Beau’s lines

Multiple issues can serve as the explanation for Beau’s lines, which “are indentations that run across the nails,” and can be found “when growth at the area under the cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness.”

Some of these issues which are linked to a high fever, include pneumonia, as well as measles, mumps, and scarlet fever—though the latter three are no longer particularly common in this day and age. Other possible conditions are peripheral vascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes, or an indication of zinc deficiency.

Spoon nails

Koilonychia, which, in lay terms, has been called spoon nails, can be distinctive in appearance. Unlike healthy nails, they aren’t hard and look as though they’ve been uplifted your fingers and turned outwards, or “scooped out.”

This can signify multiple conditions such as heart disease, iron deficiency anemia, hypothyroidism, or even hemochromatosis—“a liver condition … in which your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat.”

4. Onycholysis

Are your fingernails loose? Do they easily detach from your nail bed? If you answered yes to either of these questions and “the separated part of the nail becomes opaque with a white, yellow or green tinge,” then you should pay special attention to this part, because those are the symptoms of onycholysis.

While the separated nails can be linked to an infection or an injury, that’s not always the circumstance. Sometimes it’s “a reaction to a particular drug or consumer product, such as nail hardeners or adhesives,” or it could also be linked to psoriasis or thyroid disease.

Though the process of the separation is regarded by the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology (AOCD) as painless and relatively common, it’s noted that women, specifically those who have longer fingernails, are most susceptible.

As it happens, this condition usually affects more than one nail, and a bacterial or yeast infection can begin to fester.

5. Yellow Nail Syndrome

Now, this is exactly what it sounds like, in terms of your nails being yellow, but there’s more to it than that. Not only will your nails be discolored, this will render them thicker and slow down their growth. As a matter of fact, that’s what causes them to turn yellow.

In addition to these factors, yellow nail syndrome might result in a “lack [of] cuticle and detach from the nail bed in places,” sounds nice, right?

Respiratory disease—which could be chronic bronchitis, for instance—many times, is what leads to this condition. When your hands swell, which is part of something known as lymphedema, can also result in yellow nail syndrome.

In some cases, this nail condition can be linked to “the accumulation of fluid in the membranes surrounding the lungs and lining the chest cavity (pleural effusion).” The syndrome doesn’t just affect the look of nails either, but people with it tend to have swollen legs and arms as well.

6. Splinter Hemorrhages

Splinter hemorrhages, which can also be referred to as fingernail hemorrhages, indicate bleeding, which occur underneath your nails.

If you recently injured yourself and you notice “long, black, splinter-like lines” ( which “run in the direction of nail growth” ) in your nails following said injury, there’s probably nothing to worry about. It becomes a bit more serious though, when there wasn’t an injury and then, there is cause for concern.

According to Dr. Dana Stern, who specializes in nails and is also a dermatologist, “They could mean you have bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the valves and inner lining of the heart,” especially if you’ve recently undergone a procedure—this can be medical or dental—and you’d need to take antibiotics to clear it up.

Other possible causes for splinter hemorrhages are lupus erythematosus, as well as antiphospholipid syndrome , or microemboli—this is when “tiny clots … damage the small capillaries.”

7. Clubbing

No, your nails aren’t heading off to party until three in the morning. If your nails are clubbed—think of a clubbed foot—it means that “the tips of the fingers enlarge and the nails curve around the fingertips.”

Though this doesn’t usually just occur overnight, rather being a years long process, clubbing can actually signify an assortment of lung diseases, in addition to less oxygen in your blood than there should be.

You should know that it’s a symptom of some additional serious conditions, including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease or an early indicator of AIDS . Liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease have also been cited as possible explanations for nail clubbing, as has hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.

The latter is a condition which affects the bones and joints, which just so happens to be “characterized by clubbing of the fingers and toes, enlargement of the extremities, and painful and swollen joints.”

8. Blue nails

This “could indicate a life-threatening condition such as a heart attack or embolism.” While it isn’t always a sign of something quite so dangerous as those conditions, blue fingernails might denote that you’re near fainting or at least, lightheaded.

You might also want to hold off from working out if your nails are not only blue but heart and lungs are negatively affected as it can be harmful in these “life-threatening cases.”

While Medline Plus notes that abnormal hemoglobin, heart disease, not enough “oxygen being pumped by the blood through the heart,” and lung disease all serve as potential causes for this blue discoloration, the causes are not limited to these.

Additional reasons include, but are not limited to, asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary hypertension. Raynaud’s syndrome, which, while “relatively harmless,” actually results in “[restricted] or [limited] blood supply, leaving behind a bluish color in the fingers.”