Month: March 2017

The 14 Most WTF Medical Procedures That Inexplicably Exist

Post author By Lisa M. Douglas
Post date March 1, 2017

Bizarre medical procedures have been around since, well, pretty much forever. And you’d expect that as you go back further in time, the operations would get weirder because people didn’t have the knowledge or the technology that we do today.

Case in point? The hemiglossectomy, which was done in medieval Europe, involved a portion of the tongue being removed to eliminate stuttering and other speech impediments. Thankfully, by the 17th century they stopped doing it.

More recently, in the 1940s, lobotomies were performed on psychiatric patients. During this operation a part of the brain was cut out in order to heal the patient from psychiatric disorders; unfortunately, it often left these people in vegetative states. Much to many patients’ relief, this technique faded out by 1950.

In the 21st century, you would expect medical procedures to have drastically improved. For the most part, they have. But that’s not to say that all is completely normal these days. Here are the 14 most messed up, shake-your-head-at medical operations that are still being done today…

Tooth in Your Eye

Yup, you read that right! The procedure calls for implanting a person’s tooth in their eye in order to possibly help them regain their eyesight. It’s a real thing and it’s called osteo-odonto-keratoprothesis (OOKP).

A tooth is removed and a piece of tissue is taken from it. It’s then grown in the person’s body for months—sometimes in the cheek—and is then implanted in the eye to help facilitate the healing of a damaged cornea.

Sharron Thornton, shown above, had her eyesight restored through this wacky operation. Weird stuff… but guess what! Apparently it works!

Head Transplant

No seriously. There’s a procedure to help you get a new head if, well, you lost yours, or yours is no good anymore!

In the past the procedure has been iffy because attaching a spinal column proved to be a bit troublesome. But the researchers at a neuro group in Italy have been busy in the labs and have reported their first successful working head transplant. That’s something to think about.

Pelvis Sawing

If it sounds pretty harsh, it’s because it is. It’s got a fancy name and it’s called a symphysiotomy. Though it first was advocated in the late 16th century, some genius doctors in 20th century Ireland got the bright idea that bringing this procedure back would be a good idea. It wasn’t.

A symphysiotomy involves cutting the pelvis during childbirth was better than a C-section and helped women to (get this) have an “easier childbirth.” Unfortunately, the procedure can cause death, leave a woman paralyzed or at the least in severe pain for the rest of her life.

A 2012 exposé documentary claimed that some 1,500 women underwent this procedure throughout the second half of the 20th century. In 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that the practice breached the women’s rights to freedom from inhuman treatment and torture; the Irish government responded by investigating and establishing the Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme to compensate survivors for their injuries.

Fecal Transplant

We know what you’re thinking—why in the heck would you need someone else’s poo inside of you? And the reason is that it can save your life.

Research has shown that if you suffer from being sick from the bacteria Clostridium difficile you can die. Antibiotics seem to rarely help because they kill off good bacteria as well as bad. Placing new, healthy poop (with its healthy bacteria) in your intestines can help you fight the disease naturally and effectively. Gross, but it’s worth it to save your life.

Bee Sting Therapy

Most of us go out of our ways to avoid getting nasty stings by bees while some people are paying to have hundreds bite them at one time! The procedure is called Bee Venom Therapy (BVT) and it’s done wonders for those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or joint pain.

When a bee stings it sends a message to your body to release hormones that relieve inflammation and pain. The pain relief isn’t localized and can successfully temporarily treat issues all over the body.

Trepanning

This one actually sounds better than it is. This procedure involves the scraping or drilling of a patient’s brain in order to treat intracranial diseases.

It dates back 8,000 years ago as depicted through the drawings in caves of our ancestors drilling into their heads with primitive tools. Some surgeons these days use the procedure to treat things like hematomas, but others self-administer it with the hopes that it will cure migraines and seizures. Don’t believe us? Check out the International Trepanation Advocacy Group.

The G Shot

Want more vavoom in the bedroom? There’s a shot for that! The famous (and interestingly labeled) “G Shot” is considered a “lunchtime” procedure and involves an injection of hyaluronan (a collagen filler found in skincare products) to a woman’s private areas, in order to heighten that kind of pleasure.

Patients seem to be quite happy and have reported amazing experiences. It lasts for up to four months and can be yours for only $1,000.

Eyelash Transplants

Who needs fake eyelashes when you can grow your own? Hair is taken from the back of your head and attached to your eyelids to make them fuller and thicker.

Unlike the fake option, though, transplant hairs contain DNA and will grow just like regular hair. You must trim them periodically or suffer hair knots, tangles, or just weirdly long eyelashes.

Palm Line Alterations

Not happy with the fate that life has given you? There’s an operation for that!

You can head on over to Japan where a plastic surgeon uses an electric scalpel to “re-define” new lines of your choice that can head you karmically in a new direction.

Prelamination

Many people thank the heavens that this weird procedure exists today! Say you’re outside playing with your friend and his pit bull takes a chunk out of your ear. What do you do? Good news! Your body can actually GROW you a new one.

The procedure is called prelamination and it’s actually been around for centuries. Soft tissue is used from other parts of your body and constructed in multiple layers on another part to allow it to grow into a makeshift, look-alike organ. Once the growing is completed and the look attained, the finished reconstructed tissue is transplanted to the correct area.

Tongue Splitting

This one is for all the snake lovers out there. Known as tongue bifurcation (or forking), this procedure disgustingly involves the use of a scalpel, laser, or fishing line to split the tongue in half. Care must be taken to cauterize each half of the tongue to ensure that both sides don’t heal and join back together (heaven forbid).

Because of the great blood flow, the tongue heals in a week or two, during which time patients have reported difficulty with speech or their normal dietary habits (ya don’t say). If you happen to get a case of “tongue splitting remorse” the procedure is reversible but doctors warn the reversal is even more painful than the tongue splitting procedure.

Dimple Creation

If you always wanted those cute, little indentations in your face, your wish can be granted! This relatively new procedure involves a small, painless incision and dissolvable stitches placed in the desired dimple location.

After
a few weeks the stitches get absorbed and you’re left with “like-you-were-born-with-them” dimples.

Hemispherectemy

This operation involves the removing of a part of the brain to treat disorders like epilepsy and tumors. Sound daunting? Well, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that patients have reported improvement with no effect on personality or memory. The bad news? The procedure is often a last resort option, so if your doctors are suggesting it, you kinda have no choice.

Toe-besity

Got ugly, fat feet? Foot binding be gone! Now there’s a new and improved procedure for your feet problems. It’s known as the “foot face lift” and it’s quickly become a $45 million industry.

A plastic surgeon will remove the unsightly fat and bone in the feet and toes to make them look more appealing. Doctors can go as far as shortening toes to make the feet look more delicate, but have been known to draw the line at removing a pinky toe in order to fit into tight-fitting shoes.

Tags 50016461, balance, hemingway

Wellbeing

Researchers Say There Is A Link Between "Inappropriate" Girls' Clothing And Body Image

Post author By Anna Cherry
Post date March 1, 2017

Sexuality is complicated. So is gender identity. Let’s just get that out of the way. The scope of it is too big for one article, but let’s go smaller: girls, clothing, and body image.

We get a little queasy when we hear the word “inappropriate” applied to girls’ and women’s clothing. We break out in small hives when we hear the word “should” applied to it.
We get palpitations, our mouths go dry, and we feel rage rise like bile at the back of our throats when we observe people—specifically male people in male bodies— criticize women who are probably intellectually and morally superior to them all because of some arrangement of fabric the women have chosen to drape around their human forms. We want to plug our ears and close our eyes and hum loudly while remembering this Danish couple from Into the Wild.

There exists a long and convoluted history of women being ridiculed for what they wear—in whether it covers too much or too little, and in how it relates to their sexuality. No woman is safe from this. It happens to female celebrities, high school students, politicians, journalists, athletes, and, basically, regular women everywhere JUST TRYING TO LIVE THEIR GODFORSAKEN LIVES.
Whew. Sorry, blacked out for a moment. Where were we? Oh yes: girls, clothing, and body image. It’s complicated because, on the one hand, we want girls to be free to wear what they want. On the other hand, we have to take into consideration that girls, like all young humans, are sponges, susceptible to the messages they receive from the world around them.

One of those messages, for example, is that a female human’s value is inextricable from her sexuality—whether she is sexy enough, pure enough, “sexy without being sexual” enough. (Yes, that’s a real thing, we’ll get there.) All of her other attributes? Beside the point.
So it’s not surprising when some researchers say there is a link between hypersexualized girls’ clothing and poor body image. When people are programmed to express themselves in ways that don’t feel authentic, autonomy takes a hit and some parts of themselves are erased.

Equally damaging is the message that being sexual makes a girl bad or gross—or that her worth and integrity are directly proportionate to her “purity,” an entirely subjective concept. We would recommend taking on this topic in your private studies. But for starters, here are eight probably damaging views of girls and women and the clothes they wear.

Girls Are Like This

If you haven’t watched this video of an 8-year-old girl slamming the gender stereotypes perpetuated by the messaging she finds in gendered clothing while shopping with her mom (boys get “Hero!,” “Think outside the box,” and “A desert adventure awaits,” while girls get “Hey,” “Beautiful,” and “I feel fabulous!”), you’ve probably at least seen it circulating on social media.

Surely this messaging acts in some ways as a social cue, but the problem lies mostly in that it’s a symptom of a larger sickness—a world culture that grooms women as girls to be collapsible objects with limited autonomy and domain. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with girls who like “girly” things. The problem is when girls are explicitly or implicitly told that the only appropriate way to be is “girly,” and that their interests should naturally lie only in specific areas. And then there’s the related issue of treating “girly” things and behaviors contemptuously.
Those who like to roll their eyes at this point and harken back to the good old days when people weren’t always making such a fuss about political correctness should take note that, while these signals are subtle, they are important. We still live in a world where, for example, it may take 170 years for the economic gender gap to close.

On top of all that, just as women’s clothing is often inferior in quality to men’s clothing, apparently the same holds true for girls’ clothes versus boys’. We just can’t with these clothing companies.

The Paris Paradox

Here’s a fun torture chamber of ideas: Girls should be sexy without being sexual. If this piece of advice sounds confusing, it’s because it is! It’s one of those often repeated, little examined maxims that we hold within our collective consciousness where it can erode our souls slowly and secretly.

Women and girls being sexy for someone else is more or less OK, as long as no actual sex occurs, and as long as the version of ‘sexy’ has appropriate markers of being middle- or upper-class, writes Jill Filipovic for The Guardian. “Women who exhibit a degree of sexual agency by acting – rather than only appearing attractive – or women perceived as inappropriately powerful or aggressive inevitably face being branded sluts and whores.”
It’s referred to as the “Paris Paradox” in a 2010 Jezebel article because Paris Hilton, whose ethos resonated with many young women, referred to herself as “sexy, but not sexual.” (The irony of referencing an article written by a “male feminist” notorious for his own abuses of power to get sex from women, often young minority women, not to be confused with that world-famous “ethicist” who reportedly did the same, is not lost on us. But what he writes here resonates so we’ll use it and leave others to argue the rest, which makes us want to leave our earthly form and reside as a spirit in the mountains.)

The Paris Paradox is often, consciously or unconsciously, pandering to the male gaze at its finest—presenting as a sort of “virginal s***” who is sexually palatable to hetero dudes but also untouched by them. (A read-through of the mostly hostile, clearly male-authored Urban Dictionary definitions of the term yields no sympathetic explanation, like that it’s a mode of behavior that may have been adopted by a young woman who is trying to navigate a world in which she is damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.)
As the Jezebel article reasons:
“Young women with the Paris Paradox were raised in a culture that promised sexual freedom, but what they ended up with looked a lot more like obligation than opportunity. It’s not hard to understand why the pressure to be sexy so often trumps the freedom to discover one’s authentic sexuality. … It only takes a girl a few seconds to realize what someone else may want from her sexually. It often takes her much longer to figure out what she really wants, to discern the pleasure she gets from bringing pleasure to another from the pleasure she wants for herself.”

Girls Who Show A Lot Of Skin Are Sexual/Sexy

The idea that just because a girl dresses in a way that shows a lot of skin means that she either does or should behave sexually can be found in angry, dude-heavy threads all across the internet, as if wearing something that men find sexually arousing is the equivalent of entering into some binding, unspoken contract with them. This thinking is wrong.

Men are not wrong for being sexually attracted to these women; they’re wrong for believing that their perceptions of the world are the only or the most important realities, and that their perceptions of reality should dictate the way that women lead their lives. Men who would like to argue that the same should be true vice versa lest we be unfair would do well to read up on something called History, which shows that their (straight white male) realities have consistently been favored as the Proper And Most Important Perceptions and, as such, institutionalized in laws and social mores.
Consider the history of toplessness, and the ways that bared female breasts, especially in places like the U.S. where their tabooness likely does more to fetishize them than anything, have often only been weaponized as some hostile attack on purity or sexualized as an invitation for leering.

Breasts are not so one-dimensional. Sometimes they are sexual, sometimes they are comforting, sometimes they feed new humans, sometimes they are good for dancing, sometimes they are a good place for storing things like pencils or credit cards or a small package of crackers, and sometimes they are just there doing absolutely nothing.

Sexual/Sexy Girls Are Good

But only the “right” kind of sexual and sexy, which is, of course, defined by hetero dudes. The idea that what hetero dudes find appealing in women is superior to other ways of being as a female person is a persistent one, and it’s basically the conviction that the only girl who is worthwhile is “a cool, chill girl who is Cool and Chill,” aka a figment of the male imagination. She is described thusly by Beth McColl in Dazed:

The cool and chill girl enjoys stereotypically masculine things like watching ‘Sports’ […] Her favourite movies are Die Hard [and] Fight Club … She doesn’t bother her man with serious conversations. She’s there when he wants, but when he needs space, she’s gone without him even needing to ask. She looks like a supermodel without spending hours getting ready.

Sexual/Sexy Girls Are Bad

It’s interesting to watch this American Psychological Association video interview with six middle-school girls talking about women celebrities, women represented in ads, and the sexualization of girls. How people feel about things is usually a tangling of our natural reactions and how we believe we are supposed to feel (different still are how we feel about things and how we say we feel), and these girls’ responses reflect these unclear boundaries.
All sexually suggestive images of women are deemed “gross,” “not cute,” and “not attractive.” Maybe they actually do feel this way, maybe they simply believe these are the “correct” answers, or maybe they’ve absorbed the message that girls and women who appear or behave sexually are morally bankrupt, and they haven’t been exposed to the language of sexual empowerment for women who do choose to dress in ways deemed provocative.

Also apparent are some racialized notions of beauty and purity, as when the picture of Nicki Minaj’s booty is deemed “more big than attractive” (perhaps unsurprisingly, by the white girl) and another girl (of color) seems to dub Michelle Obama’s classiness a rarity among African-American women.
There is indeed a double standard for white and black women, with the former afforded more freedom to explore different identities with comparatively fewer and lower-stakes repercussions. As Lutze B. points out in this Salon article: “The bodies of black women are highly politicized and critiqued no matter who they belong to, from the first lady to ‘the help.’ The physical movements and choices of black women are always viewed through a filter of suspicion.”

Girls Who Cover Up Are Modest/Prudes

A woman who covers more of her body is not, as a rule, automatically less sexual in thought or behavior than a woman who covers up less. She may be, but she may not be. We don’t know her life!
What if she’s naturally shy about showing her body to anyone? What if she finds it more erotic to cover more of her body on some occasions and go completely nude on others? What if she’s tired of getting catcalled and she’s experienced it less while covering more?

What if she likes the feeling of an all-silk suit against her skin? What if she prefers the aesthetic? What if she is entirely uninterested in clothing and covering more just seems more practical to her? What if she’s worried about skin cancer or has a skin condition that worsens with exposure to sunlight?
The possibilities are as endless as your imagination. We shouldn’t assume that we understand her motivations for being covered up.

Modest Girls Are Good

The narrative that women are sinful seductresses who “cause” men to “stumble” is literally as old as the Bible. (See Genesis.) When you take that deeply cherished conviction and pair it with the reactionary social climate of the 1990s, you get the purity movement, an evangelical Christian philosophy that promoted abstinence as the key to progress and—surprise—placed the onus of responsibility for men’s sexual behavior primarily on the shoulders of women.

As Amanda Barbee writes in “NAKED AND ASHAMED: WOMEN AND EVANGELICAL PURITY CULTURE” for a digital and print journal focused on the intersection of theology and culture:
“While the church has often taught that sexuality can only be properly expressed within marriage, the purity movement takes that premarital prohibition to a deeper level, not only calling for physical abstinence but also for emotional and mental purity. Similar to Jesus’s teaching on adultery in the Beatitudes—that a man who even looks at a woman lustfully has already sinned—the movement teaches that any sexual feelings, desires, or thoughts that occur before marriage are sinful.”
The result? “During a time when sexual curiosity and exploration is a normal and important part of sexual and psychological development,” Barbee writes, “these teenagers and young adults are being indoctrinated by a shame-based culture that trains them in the ways of sexual dissociation.”
Out of this also came the modesty doctrine, promoting hyper vigilance among women of the way they dressed or behaved for fear that they might unsuspectingly arouse male attention. (“My mind reeled when I met one young woman who told me she was once ordered by her father to wear her seatbelt underneath her chest—apparently he felt when it cut across her chest, it accentuated her breasts too much and could cause some men to ‘stumble,'” writes Jennifer Mathieu for Time.)
This way of thinking removes the agency of both men and women, and encourages women to fuse their self-conceptions with a sexualized male gaze. As many have pointed out, it’s also the basis of rape culture, which shifts the blame onto the victim rather than the perpetrator.

Modest Girls Are Bad

Belittling women who do choose to cover up more of their bodies is unhelpful and reductive. Janelle Monáe, for example, has often opted to wear outfits that don’t show very much skin. One man tweeted at her, “girl stop being so soulful and be sexy..tired of those dumba** suits..you fine but u too damn soulful man.”
Her response was perfect: “sit down. I’m not for male consumption.”

Not every woman who covers herself for religious reasons feels victimized, either. In a BuzzFeed article enumerating all the items of clothing women were told not to wear in 2014, Rossalyn Warren highlights the contradictions of this kind of policing.
“In Australia, it was announced this month that Muslim women wearing niqabs could be forced to sit in glass enclosures instead of regular public galleries in Federal parliament,” writes Warren. She goes on to quote Mariam Veiszadeh, an Australian lawyer and a Muslim, who notes, “There’s a distinct irony in the suggestion that women who are allegedly forced to wear a face covering should be forced not to wear it.'”

In summary: Respect girls and women. Listen to their experiences with compassion. Don’t make laws about what they can wear. And when you’re feeling overwhelmed personally by these dissections, because all humans and ideas start to seem problematic when you look at them too deeply and there are no clear answers to anything, step away and breathe.
All we can do is our very best to love one another well. If we’re lucky, soon we’ll leave our earthly forms anyway and reside together as spirits in the mountains. Until then, we’ll continue to dress only for the sea witch that cursed us.

Tags 50016276, hemingway, mind

Lifestyle

Life-Saving Hacks Every Parent Should Know

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date March 1, 2017

Being a parent is hard. Fortunately, the internet is full of hacks and tips that can help parents deal with all the craziness. Some of them save time, others save space, and some could even save a life!

1. Safety Bracelet

Losing a child is a terrifying and very real possibility for every parent.

If you’re headed out to a mall, zoo, or other crowded place with your little ones, give them a bracelet with your phone number in case you get separated.
These temporary tattoos also do the trick!

2. Pool Noodles for Bedtime Security

Worried that your child will roll off the bed? Put a pool noodle beneath the fitted sheets to prevent that from happening.

3. DIY Slipper Grips

Apply hot glue dots to the bottom of your child’s slippers or socks to keep them from falling on slippery floors.

4. Toilet Paper Guide

Worried your kids are using way too much toilet paper? Leave a marker on the wall for them to measure.

5. Shoe Stickers

Are your kids having a hard time deciphering which shoe goes on which foot? Cut a sticker in half and put each section in one of your kid’s shoes.

It’ll help them figure it out.

6. Lint Roller for Glitter

Kids love glitter, but it can be an absolute nightmare to clean up. Many times, it can be almost impossible. But it turns out, running a lint roller over the affected area will pick most of it up.

7. Lock-Safe Rubber Bands

Worried your kids will get themselves locked in a room?

Use a rubber band like this.

8. Fitted Sheet Awning

Want to take your kid outside but worried about sunlight and bugs?

Use a fitted bed sheet to cover the crib!

9. Just Enough Lotion

Keep the kids from using too much lotion or soap by wrapping a rubber band around the pump.

This will also stop the kids from making a mess, making your life a whole lot easier.

10. Clean Pacifiers

Keeping pacifiers clean can be a constant struggle.

But if you have a couple of extra portion cups lying around, store extra pacifiers in them for easy, clean, worry-free storage.

11. Sink Helper

For little ones who have trouble reaching the sink, use an empty lotion bottle to create an easy-to-reach spout.

12. Monster Spray

If your child is afraid to go to sleep because of “monsters,” make them a special spray to help them fight those evil guys! It will make them feel much safer and help them sleep at night!

(They don’t need to know it’s just water!)

13. No-Mess Straws

Worried your kids will make a mess with their straws?

Use crazy straws upside down so the kids can’t pull the straws out.

14. Babysitter Info

Finding a babysitter is difficult enough, not to mention having to relay the same information over and over. Use a template like this and just fill it out accordingly, the babysitter will thank you!

15. Pool Noodles…Again

Use a bit of pool noodle to keep kids from slamming their fingers in the door.

16. Tooth Fairy Fun

Add a little “fairy dust” to the money hidden under your child’s pillow to make the tooth fairy extra magical.

17. Kid-Friendly Hammock

Help your child relax by creating a small hammock with just a table and a blanket!

18. Folded Shoulders

This one isn’t even a hack. In fact, you should already know it.

But in case you don’t…the folds on the shoulders of your baby’s onesie are there for a reason—to allow you to pull the onesie down instead of over the head for a mess-free situation.

19. Juice Box Helper

Those little triangles on the juice boxes actually serve a purpose…they are to make it easier for little kids to lift.

20. Diaper Wetness

You can actually tell if your child’s diaper is wet without opening their diaper.

Most diapers have this yellow line that turns blue when the baby is wet.

21. Toilet Target

If your little man has trouble keeping it in the pot, try giving him something to aim for!

22. Untangle a doll’s hair.

Fill a small bottle with 2 tablespoons of fabric softener and water to detangle doll hair.

Dish soap and hair conditioner work too!

23. Cool off hot seatbelts.

In the summertime, seatbelts can get red hot and potentially burn your little ones. Keep a spray bottle handy to cool off the buckles.

24. No-mess Creativity

Let your baby create beautiful (clean) designs by adding dollops of paint to ziplock bags.

25. No More Brown Apples

Apple slices make a delicious snack but if they’re not eaten immediately, they tend to get brown.

Keep the slices fresh by sprinkling a little salt on, then wash with water. The taste goes away but the exposure to salt keeps the brown away!

26. Remove crayon with WD-40.

If your little Picasso gets creative on on the walls or floor, spray some WD-40 on the marks and wipe with a clean rag.

27. Keep kids close.

To prevent your kids from wandering off in the parking lot, invest in a couple of Parking Pal magnets to make safety fun.

28. No-Drip Snacks

To prevent sticky fingers, put a cupcake liner on a popsicle stick to keep it from dripping.

29. Crayons to Go

Don’t get stuck at a restaurant or doctor’s office without an activity for your child.

Keep a few crayons handy in an Altoid tin.

30. Handy Ice Pack

Use a frozen sponge in a ziplock bag as a makeshift icepack for lunches or boo-boos.

Tags 50011286, care, hemingway

Lifestyle

6 Foreign Hygiene Norms That Some Americans Find Disgusting

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date March 1, 2017

Jane Stine is the managing director of Loop Abroad, a study-abroad service that takes high school, college, and veterinary students to distant nations, where they work with animals you’ll rarely find at your typical suburban U.S. vet’s office. We’re talking about koalas, cheetahs, and elephants, oh my!
So Stine is no stranger to world travel—or to the culture shock that comes with landing wide-eyed in a foreign country. During her time in Nepal, Stine says, she was unnerved to see locals spitting on the street.
“It was hard for me to get used to,” she says. But her perspective flipped when she landed back stateside.

“I laughed a little when I returned to the U.S. and found I was totally fine with people having their dogs poop on the sidewalk and then picking it up with a plastic bag with their hands,” Stine says. “Is spitting really that gross in comparison? No.”
The lesson here, Stine is quick to share, is that one nation’s gross-out is another’s daily walk with the family pet.
“The first thing to remember is that most of what we think is ‘best’ is just what we’re most used to, so try not to judge something as ‘worse’ if it’s just new,” she says.
In that spirit, here are some of the “new” experiences U.S. travelers abroad might have to get used to themselves:

1. The International Game of Thrones

The first time you have to pee in large parts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, you’ll be in for a surprise. Walk into the restroom and, instead of a porcelain throne, you’ll probably just find a hole in the floor. So if you plan to visit, you’d better start working on your aim now.

Cristal Dyer, founder of the travel blog Tofu Traveler, got used to these squat toilets during her first visit to India. It turns out that there was another new experience in store for her at a public restroom near a historic palace in Jaipur, the capital of the Western Indian state of Rajasthan.
“It was the first time I used a setup similar to men’s urinals,” she remembers. “There were three holes all in a row, and women just went next to each other without any partitions!”
Score one for gender equality, courtesy of India’s squat toilets.

2. Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin (For There Is No Charmin Here)

It’s not just the toilets you’ll have to adjust to if you visit China or Korea. Once your business is complete, you’re in for a new shock: Toilet paper is not provided in most bathroom stalls in these nations, reports Travel and Leisure.
That only leaves two choices. You can carry a roll of TP with you everywhere you go, or you can dive in and clean up like a local. In India, another country that’s not huge on toilet paper, that could mean rinsing rather than wiping.

“I experienced a bidet-like system in Indian homes where there is a small hose near the toilet to be used for cleaning instead of toilet paper,” Dyer says. “Sometimes there is a bucket with a cup instead…I actually really like this system and stopped using toilet paper in India after a while. It really does feel cleaner.”
This is a common theme among travelers from TP-forward nations to the lands of the water-cleanse. Once you wash the crack, it seems, you never go back. (Sorry.) Wash it completely and you’ll throw out your TP. (Sorry.) When you try a water-scraper, you’ll be done with toilet paper. (Not sorry!)

Stine also expresses affinity for the wet finish, which she knows from her time in Thailand. There, the post-relief custom is to rinse, dry with toilet paper, and then throw the paper in a trash can, she says. Whatever you do, do not flush the TP in Thailand.
“If you think about it, it’s much more hygienic,” Stine says of the Thai way. “But it’s hard to get used to! My biggest piece of advice is that you not think, ‘Well, I’m only one person, I’ll just flush this toilet paper.’…The pipes simply can’t handle it!”
So even if you do bring your own toilet paper to a foreign toilet, be aware that flushing may not be an option. There are terrible consequences to breaking this rule, Stine says.

“First of all, the toilet can flood and you’ll be very embarrassed!” she says. “But more importantly, you’re a visitor, and you’re being asked to follow a very easy rule so as not to cause expensive damage. Just try it!”

3. The Real French Kiss

In many parts of the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe—perhaps most famously in France—it is customary to perform a greeting with a pair “air kisses” on the cheeks.

Customs vary considerably in terms of inter-sex kissing, so be sure to do your research. (In Arab countries, only people of the same sex do the air kiss, while in Argentina, men air-kiss commonly—but only if they’re friends of friends, reports The New York Times.)
In some parts of the world, the refusal to give or accept a kiss is taken as a sign of disrespect or antipathy. So, uh, don’t do that. Instead, remember Stine’s advice—and just try it!

4. No Teeth, No Problems, No Kidding?

According to a 2017 YouGov survey, nearly 30 percent of Britons said they only brushed their teeth once a day. (The American Dental Association recommends brushing twice a day.) Meanwhile, nearly 70 percent of the respondents said they don’t floss on “a typical day.”

Cue the jokes about British teeth. Cue Austin Powers’ smile. Cue British TV-doctor Chris van Tulleken, Member of the Royal College of Physicians, quipping to the Radio Times that, “In the UK we’re okay with brown, foul teeth, it doesn’t really bother us, while in America it’s very socially unacceptable.”
But once you’re done giggling at this long-held stereotype, ask yourself: Are teeth really any better off in the U.S.?
Okay, that was sort of a rhetorical question. We wouldn’t have posed it unless the answer were, as it is, “No.”

A 2015 study published in The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) found that the number of missing teeth in the States is much higher than in England. Even worse, the U.S. showed way more of a disparity in oral health between the high and low ends of the income scale, with similar differences linked to educational attainment.
That said, the availability of dental care differs from one part of the world to another. You may encounter folks with grills that wouldn’t make it onto The Bachelor, especially in poorer regions. However, don’t assume that this is due to simple self-neglect or lack of access to a toothbrush. In fact, absent the trappings of American dental hygiene, lots of cultures are doing just fine.

Environmental news site Mother Nature Network reports that some band-level societies with no access to industrialized foods rarely, if ever, brush their teeth—and still live cavity-free lives. The trouble could be with the developed world’s addiction to sugar, is the takeaway there.
In some Muslim and African societies, people clean their teeth with twigs naturally filled with fluoride called miswak. And some Jains in India brush their teeth with their fingers.
Point being, to get back to Stine’s mantra, “Just try it!” Maybe you’ll develop an affinity for miswak that you can take with you back to your everyday life at home.

5. Pay to Spray

If you’re walking around many parts of Europe, you’d better carry a pocket full of change. Lots of public restrooms on the continent charge at the door.

While that’s an unheard-of concept for most Americans, it does seem fair when you consider the costs of maintenance, water usage, and, of course, staff brave enough to clean a public restroom.
Don’t whinge. Just remember to carry the change.

6. Hygiene as a Human Right

Unfortunately, women in some countries who do not have access to sanitary products are forced to deal with menstruation in devastating ways.

Those who cannot afford pads or tampons use rags, leaves, mattress stuffing or mud as protection during their time of the month. This is not only uncomfortable, but also obviously unsanitary.
Women who can’t get hold of tampons, pads, or menstrual cups may turn to unsanitary practices that can make them sick. Even worse, some cultures discriminate against menstruating women and girls, leading to stigma, missed school, lost work, and general second-class citizenship.

The good news is that some courageous organizations are trying to help. Femme International, for instance, provides kits to women in East Africa that contain things like menstrual cups and reusable pads. This really is a human rights issue (just ask Human Rights Watch), so why not take a moment to throw a little cash Femme International’s way?

Cleaning Up This Mess

So, we’ve learned a lot. Cultural differences are a thing, it’s rude to make assumptions about norms that aren’t your own, and human bodies are gross the world over. Why not embrace it?

According to Stine, there’s no harm in throwing yourself into the local customs, whether you find them initially distasteful or not. After all, what are you traveling for if not to get a taste of how the world works away from home?
“Eating with your hands? Washing yourself instead of using toilet paper? Using an Eastern-style toilet? Just try it,” Stine says. “You won’t die. You’ll get a good story. You might have a good time! The only way for everything to be just like home is to stay home, and where’s the fun in that?”

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The Totally Normal Foods You Never Realized Were Super Risky

Post author By Jami Ganz
Post date March 1, 2017

Food is the fuel that keeps our bodies going, usually. Some foods, as it turns out, tear your body apart. You’ll never believe the risks you’re taking by eating these totally normal foods.

13. Nutella

If you’re a fan of Nutella—which, really, who isn’t, these days?—you’ve probably heard of the recent revelation that it might be dangerous. Now, whether it really poses a risk is still up for debate, but, as of now, “The European Food Standards Authority has previously declared that the palm oil [used in Nutella] contains a contaminant, known as glycidyl fatty acid ester, which is carcinogenic.”

Currently, it’s uncertain whether Nutella/palm oil becomes dangerous after a particular amount is consumed, but “due to a lack of definitive data, no level could be considered safe.” Not to mention that many animal rights groups say that acres of rainforest are cleared hourly to harvest palm oil, which severely impacts the habitats of already endangered orangutans.

Unfortunately, according to the manufacturer, Ferrero, removing palm oil doesn’t appear to be a viable option. Vincenzo Tapella, the purchasing manager, noted, “Making Nutella without palm oil would produce an inferior substitute for the real product; it would be a step backward.”
Well, at least we know they’re putting health and safety above all else, right?

12. Tomatoes

Among the most identity-challenged foods (is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Will the debate and confusion ever end?), one thing is for certain when it comes to these plump red plants. Their leaves are laced with Glycoalkaloid, which is a poison that’s “known for causing upset stomachs, severe cramping, and anxiety.”

To be safe, just ensure that you avoid those pesky leaves, as well as the stems. You can never be too careful, after all.

11. Potatoes

Not only are they featured alongside tomatoes in those famous lines ( “You like potato and I like potahto / You like tomato and I like tomahto”), but similarly to tomatoes, potatoes are stricken with poisonous leaves.
Their stems are also poisonous, and as it turns out, there have even been “potato-related deaths,” which tend to arise from “eating green potatoes, or drinking potato leaf tea.” If you’re ever offered either of these, just politely decline and move along.

10. Cherries

If you don’t get too worked up about eating cherries with the seeds in tact, you might want to be more mindful of it. As it turns out, convenience or not wanting to choke on a seed aren’t the only reasons to avoid them with this fruit.

Cherry seeds are not only a pain to have to spit out into a napkin when no one’s looking, but there just so happens to be hydrogen cyanide in them.

9. Almonds

They may be a handy and convenient way to get your protein in on the go, but almonds aren’t exactly what they seem. For one, an almond isn’t a nut, but a seed—mind blown, right? But more disturbingly, similar to cherries, they’re potentially poisonous. According to Delish, “Bitter almonds, while in their raw form, are full of [cyanide].” How is it that seemingly raw almonds are packaged and sold in supermarkets all over then?

Well, as it turns out, there’s “a specialized heat treatment … [used] in order to remove the toxins.”

8. Raw Meat and Uncooked Eggs

Now this one probably sounds like common sense. After all, most of us have been told the cautionary tales of those who eat raw cookie dough, even if we haven’t experienced it ourselves.

What you might not know though is that uncooked eggs aren’t alone in being possible carriers of salmonella. In fact, “Raw meat—including red meat, poultry, and seafood … can contain salmonella bacteria.” What exactly does this lead to, if consumed though, you might wonder?
Well, it can lead to something called gastroenteritis, as well as “serious complications, such as bacteremia (when salmonella enters the bloodstream),” and it can threaten the life of a person whose immune system is on the weaker side.

If you’re really in the mood for cookie dough, there are plenty of eggless options out there—or else cookie dough ice cream might be your best alternative. If it’s raw meat or fish you’re in the mood for, make sure you’re getting your sushi from a reliable place, certified to serve you rare/raw meat or fish.

7. Coffee

If you’re a fan of iced coffee over hot, then you might only need to worry about “the possibility of increased heart rate, trouble sleeping and discoloration of teeth” when you’re downing a cup of your caffeine of choice. For those who favor a hot latte or anything of the sort though, beware of just how hot your coffee is.

Given an incident in 1992 which resulted in a 170-degree cup of coffee causing a McDonald’s customer to have “third-degree burns over 6 percent of her body,” Mickey D’s has since “lowered the temperature at which it brews coffee and made warning labels more prominent.”
Starbucks though, has done the opposite and “reportedly brews its coffee at higher levels to this day.” Yikes!

6. Mushrooms

No, not that kind of ‘shrooms. If you see a wild mushroom—or just about any food in the wild—you’re not supposed to eat it (common sense, we know, but the reminder can’t hurt).

Certain types of mushrooms (for instance, Destroying Angels) are not only poisonous but potentially deadly if consumed.

5. Leafy Greens

Though you likely believe leafy salads to be among the healthier options when you’re eating out, “Leafy greens — including spinach, lettuce, cabbage, arugula and kale — were listed as the riskiest foods of 2009, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is regulated by the FDA.” Scary, right?
As it turns out, there were “363 separate outbreaks linked to the veggies [in 2009]; 240 of those cases were linked to food from restaurants.”
The pathogen in question? Norovirus. You might want to put away any food while reading this, because it’s more than a bit unsavory. Basically, if the person dealing with your food happens to be under the weather and has forgotten to wash their hands, you’re at risk.

Salmonella and E. coli were among the other culprits, “both of which can be introduced during the production phase if the greens come into contact with animal manure, contaminated water or wild animals.” Maybe you should do more research before you eat out after all…

4. Raw Cashews

Similarly to raw almonds, the cashews you believe to be raw are a bit misleading, as they “have been steamed to remove a deadly chemical: urushiol.” While this “can be found in poison ivy,” which as we know isn’t usually thought of as more than an itchy plant, high levels of urushiol can be fatal.

As a precaution, you should just ensure that your cashews aren’t “truly raw” any time you plan to consume them.

3. Apricot Seeds

In case you hadn’t read enough about cyanide and all the seemingly edible places it can be hidden, we have one more for you: apricot seeds, also known as stones. As it turns out, they “contain cyanogenic glycosides, which are converted to hydrogen cyanide in the body when eaten.”

Many people in Turkey—where apricot trees are particularly common—have died following the consumption of too many of these seeds.

2. Bean Sprouts

Speaking of salmonella and E. coli, did you know that bean sprouts are actually among the most common offenders of foods that contain these dangerous diseases? Oh, and don’t forget listeria, as all of these troubling diseases “thrive in the same warm, humid conditions that sprouts are grown in.”

If that doesn’t give you a hankering for sprouts though, we don’t know what will, but thankfully, they’re usually a garnish more than a main meal.

1. Raw Milk

Do you remember all those lessons you had in middle or high school about Louis Pasteur and the eponymous pasteurization? Well, the milk in your fridge is almost certainly pasteurized—assuming that you purchased it at the grocery store, that is.

For people who are getting their dairy from elsewhere though, it could very well be raw. Unpasteurized milk might sound fine, but “is far more likely to contain salmonella, E. coli and listeria,” so always be mindful.

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Here's How To Reduce A Kid's Risk For Developing A Peanut Allergy

Post author By Megan Senseney
Post date March 1, 2017

We all know that peanut allergies are common—it’s evident from the food allergy warnings on virtually every food product we have. It’s easy to think that any food allergy just occurs naturally, but that might not actually be the case. Believe it or not, keeping kids away from peanuts when they’re young is the very thing that could be giving them a peanut allergy later on in life.

With all of the peanut-allergy horror stories out there, many parents are hesitant to give their children peanut products even when they’re at the proper age. We’ve been told for decades to keep nuts of any kids away from kids less than a year old though many parents take the suggestion even further, some stashing away the peanut butter until their kids are 5 years old or more. Did you know, however, that keeping peanut products away from your kids is exactly what could make them develop an allergy?

A recent study done by the Immune Tolerance Network called Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) is now encouraging parents to begin introducing peanut products to kids before they turn a year old. Why?

Currently it is estimated that 2 percent of American children have a peanut allergy and, although that doesn’t sound like a huge number, it was only at 0.4 percent 20 years ago in 1997.

In fact, a peanut allergy is one of the most common allergies in the United States, and it can often be responsible for life-threatening reactions. It’s even become so common that some airlines will refuse to serve bags of peanuts as in-flight snacks if there is a passenger on board with a severe peanut allergy.

While it might seem like a slight inconvenience at first, you may want to consider that even contact with the dust from peanuts could send someone with an allergy into anaphylactic shock.

That’s right—someone who’s allergic wouldn’t even have to touch an actual peanut to have a reaction. They could be triggered by a food that came into contact with peanuts during processing, even if it doesn’t contain them, or just by walking by a bag of peanuts at a ballgame.

It’s not uncommon for those with peanut allergies to be allergic to tree nuts as well, including:

– Pecans

– Almonds

– Walnuts

– Pistachios

– Pine nuts

– Hazelnuts

– Macadamia nuts

When you compare the United States to other countries, it’s easy to see that we encourage parents to wait much longer before introducing their children to peanut products due to fear of an allergic reaction.

It’s actually become such a serious issue that many schools have actually banned anyone from bringing anything that contains peanuts through their doors.

In countries like Israel, however, the majority of kids start eating peanuts by the time they are a year old, most often in the form of Bamba, a cheese puff-esque snack made from crushed peanuts.

The LEAP study was done to see if there was any connection between keeping peanut products away from young kids and their risk of developing an allergy. The study involved more than 600 kids and went on until they were six years old.

The result? Introducing peanuts into a child’s diet earlier on can reduce their risk for developing a peanut allergy by up to 80 percent.

For any parents rushing to the pantry to get their kid a spoonful of peanut butter, there’s more to it than just giving a child some peanuts and hoping for the best. It’s important to note that how you introduce peanuts into your child’s diet is almost as important as when you do it.

Raw, whole peanuts should never be given to young children, as they pose a very strong choking hazard for kids without teeth or those who don’t chew well. Instead, start them out with a puffed peanut snack or toast with peanut butter.

The recommendations out there for giving peanut products to kids are based on how likely a child is to develop allergies.

Believe it or not, an egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies in kids that can indicate susceptibility to other food allergies or sensitivities. Asthma and eczema can also indicate that a child may be more likely to develop allergies.

Before you give your child peanuts, consider which category they fall into:

– Kids with asthma, severe eczema, or egg allergies: This group of children is at the highest risk of developing a peanut allergy. Parents of children who fall into this category should consult an allergist or doctor before introducing their kids to peanut products so they can perform tests to see if there will be a reaction.

– Kids with moderate eczema, but no asthma or allergies:

Children in this category will be less likely to develop a peanut allergy, but it is still recommended to wait until they are at least six months old to give them peanut products.

– Kids with no asthma, no eczema, no food allergies, and no family history of food allergies: According to LEAP, children in the category can begin to consume peanut products at any age. If the child has a small reaction, keep nuts out of their diet for six months then try again.

How can you tell if a reaction is mild or severe? In many cases, the symptoms can be the same, just much more pronounced for someone having a stronger reaction.

For someone with a mild peanut allergy, they might experience a runny nose, hives or skin redness, slight itching in the throat, and mild digestive issues upon consuming peanut products.

Anyone with a severe peanut allergy may also experience the symptoms above in addition to a tight feeling in their throat, and wheezing or breathing difficulties.

Anaphylaxis is the most severe type of allergic reaction someone can have, and peanut allergies are the most common food-related cause of this life-threatening condition. Its symptoms include:

– Airway constriction

– Swelling in the throat that can prevent breathing

– Severe low blood pressure

– Feeling dizzy or lightheaded

– Losing consciousness

It’s important to seek emergency medical treatment for anyone experiencing anaphylaxis, regardless of if it’s caused by peanuts or not.

You might be surprised to learn how many different products contain peanuts in some form another. Many of them are pretty common household items, including bakery items, cereal, granola, energy bars, and bread.

There are also a lot of items you might not expect to contain peanuts, like salad dressing, chocolate-based candy, almond butter or other nut butters, and even pet food.

For anyone who’s allergic to both peanuts and other tree nuts, you might feel pretty hopeless when it comes to finding something that can come close to peanuts when it comes to either texture or flavor. Fear not, though, because there are plenty of alternatives out there to try out.

– Sunflower butter is a popular option that has become easier and easier to find throughout the years. It’s got a similar flavor and texture to peanut butter, and you can usually them in the same aisle.

– Cookie butter might not be the healthiest alternative to peanut butter, but it’s delicious in its own right and definitely has the same smooth texture.

– If you like coconut, you’ll want to give coconut butter a try. It’s made from ground coconut and has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.

If you have a known peanut allergy, it’s important to take certain steps to make sure you don’t expose yourself to peanuts accidentally. The bright side is that it isn’t uncommon for people to grow out of peanut allergies, but don’t assume this will happen to you—always check with an allergist before you try to reintroduce peanuts into your diet.

If you find yourself stuck with your allergy, though, take these steps to avoid contact with peanuts:

If you’re unsure if something contains peanuts, always assume it does to stay safe. It may seem silly, but a teenaged boy once died after eating chili at a restaurant that had been thickened using peanut butter.

If a food label says that product was made in an environment where peanuts were also processed, don’t ignore it. It could contain only trace amounts of peanuts and still be enough to make you ill.

Make sure you are always prepared in case you do have a reaction. Ask your doctor if you’re someone who should carry an EpiPen, and make sure anyone you’re with knows what to do in case you need it.

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