Tag: care

Can a place make you sick?

According to psychologists, the answer is “yes.” Or, more accurately, it’s “maybe.” We don’t know the mechanism by which a visit to Paris gives some visitors anxiety attacks. And scientists haven’t isolated what causes some children in Sweden to appear to become comatose.

All we know is that it happens. Traveling to certain geographic locations is associated with recognizable, reproducible mental breakdowns. Here are some of the most outlandish, strangest psychological syndromes associated with particular places in the world.

1. Resignation Syndrome

Refugee children relocated to Sweden are suffering a strange epidemic. Facing threats of deportation, hundreds of would-be immigrants between the ages of 8 and 15 are giving up, lying down, and disassociating from the waking world for years at a time.

The Swedish call it uppgivenhetssyndrom: resignation syndrome. They call the young sufferers de apatiska, the apathetic. The refugee children simply collapse in a medically inexplicable coma. They don’t respond to doctors or family members. They don’t move. They don’t do anything at all.

The only known cure for the ailment is allowing the families to stay in Sweden. Recognizing this harsh truth, the Migration Board of Sweden decided to allow the families of children suffering from uppgivenhetssyndrom to stay in the nation.

Once the news comes through that the family won’t be removed from the nation, the children return to life, slowly but surely.

Rachel Aviv of The New Yorker wrote a comprehensive article about the condition. Interviewed by NPR in March 2017, Aviv shared the results of a 2006 Swedish government report about resignation syndrome.

“The report posed a theory that the children, many of them Roma, came from holistic cultures, without a clear boundary between the individual self and the family,” she said. “The children were sacrificing themselves for their families. They take on a martyr role. And, in fact, the illness does allow the family to stay.”

2. India Syndrome

Jonathan Spollen, an Irish journalist and spiritual seeker, took a trip to India in 2012. One day, he walked out of the city of Rishikesh, the “yoga capital of the world,” and disappeared. His family hasn’t heard from him since.

Spollen wasn’t the first young Westerner to take a spiritual quest to India never to return. And he likely won’t be the last. French psychiatrist Régis Airault wrote a book about the strange and pervasive phenomenon in 2000: Fous de L’Inde, which translates as Crazy for India.

“More than any other country, India has a way of stimulating imagination and stirring intense aesthetic emotions which can at any moment plunge the traveler into utter anxiety,” Airault wrote, as quoted by CNN.

“Freud himself was sensitive to the intimate feelings stirred up by certain places. Travel, like hypnosis, is partly evocation, and some more easily than others let themselves be carried away without resistance.”

Some assume that Spollen and others like him are out there still, meditating in a remote cave. Others believe they’ve joined wilderness monasteries. More tragically, perhaps they leaped from a bridge or fell into a river. One thing is for sure: For now, they are far beyond the reach o
f their families.

3. Jerusalem Syndrome

Around 1870, an Anglican priest named J.E. Hanauer made an observation about the Holy Land, as quoted in the Telegraph: “It is an odd fact that many Americans who arrive at Jerusalem are either lunatics or lose their mind thereafter.”

In this regard, at least, times have not changed.

A 2000 paper published in the British Journal of Psychiatry by Israeli psychiatrist Yair Bar-El and colleagues outlines three types of a disorder called Jerusalem syndrome.

Type 1 Jerusalem syndrome concerns patients who have existing psychotic tendencies that drive them to the Holy Land in pursuit of unrealistic goals.

Type 2 describes patients who have personality disorders or obsessive thoughts and act out of a religious compulsion, sometimes haranguing passersby or delivering strange sermons.

Type 3 Jerusalem syndrome is the most baffling. Sufferers of this subtype have no previous mental health issues. They don’t visit Jerusalem planning to lose their minds. They’re regular tourists.

Then something in the city, its history, and importance to three major world religions, perhaps, takes control. The patients isolate themselves; they tear hotel sheets into makeshift togas.

Finally, they begin preaching incomprehensibly. They march to a prominent holy site in the city and offer a bizarre sermon. Once these stages pass, most patients return to their previous state of mental health.

Removing the patients from Jerusalem tends to be the best cure, Bar-El writes.

4. Stendhal, or Florence, Syndrome

Legendary French novelist Stendhal (who was really named Marie-Henri Beyle) visited Florence, Italy, in 1817. While there, he stopped in at the Basilica of Santa Croce, where he encountered a stunning fresco of the sibyls, created by Renaissance artist Il Volterrano around 1560.

An article from the British Journal of General Practice quotes Stendhal on what happened next:

“I was already in a kind of ecstasy, by the idea of being in Florence, and the proximity of the great men whose tombs I had just seen. Absorbed in contemplating sublime beauty, I saw it close up—I touched it, so to speak. I had reached that point of emotion where the heavenly sensations of the fine arts meet passionate feeling.

“As I emerged from Santa Croce, I had palpitations (what they call an attack of the nerves in Berlin); the life went out of me, and I walked in fear of falling.”

Hundreds of fellow art lovers across the centuries have a similar experience when they visit Florence. By 1979, the condition was widespread enough for an Italian psychiatrist named Graziella Magherini to give it a name. She chose “Stendhal syndrome,” but others call it Florence syndrome to this day; it’s essentially an art-induced panic attack.

5. Paris Syndrome

Japanese tourists who visit Paris are taking a risk. For reasons that scientists don’t fully understand, Japanese visitors to the City of Lights occasionally come down with a psychological condition called, appropriately, Paris syndrome. Symptoms include sweating, anxiety, and even hallucinations.

Psychologists suggest that the anxiety attack comes from a combination of typical travel woes (jet lag, language barriers, culture shock) with dashed expectations. Many Japanese visitors associate Paris with love, romance, and magic.

When they arrive in the all-too-real city, complete with unkind locals, their disappointment is profound. Their minds collapse under the weight of it.

According to Australia’s SBS News, the Japanese embassy in Paris operates a 24-hour hotline for sufferers of Paris syndrome. The embassy sends about 20 of their nationals home from France every year; leaving Paris is the only cure.

Summing It All Up

Okay, let’s review. What have we learned?

A small but not insignificant number of visitors to Jerusalem, Paris, Florence, and India have mental breakdowns during their trips. These psychological crises are associated with the cities themselves.

Plus, refugee children in Sweden lose their will to live when the government threatens to deport them. Only removing the threat returns the children to their lives.

Places have power over mental health. Traveling is stressful.

Shoot. Who’s up for a nice, relaxing staycation this year?

Over 50 million Americans suffer from some kind of allergy disorder. An allergic reaction occurs when the body’s immune system attacks a foreign substance that typically isn’t a threat to human health. These substances are known as allergens, and they can elicit a reaction when they are ingested, inhaled, or touched.

Not all allergic reactions are life threatening. Some allergies cause minimally invasive symptoms that can be managed by taking over-the-counter antihistamines. Others are more serious and require immediate medical attention. Knowing the signs and symptoms of a severe allergic reaction can help save a life.

Know the symptoms.

Symptoms of a minor allergic reaction typically include itchy or watery eyes, nasal congestion, itchy skin or hives, and a scratchy throat.
A more severe allergic reaction, also known as anaphylaxis, involves the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Anaphylaxis symptoms include abdominal pain or cramping, tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, sudden weakness, the skin feeling flushed, and difficulty swallowing.

Part of the difficulty when it comes to caring for someone with severe allergies is that each of their reactions can be different. Exposure to an allergen last week might have resulted in a mild or even undetectable reaction, while the next exposure to the same allergen could turn serious quickly.

Be prepared.

Recognizing the signs of an allergic reaction is the first step in pursuing proper treatment. It’s also important to know that severe allergy symptoms can be slowed or stopped with the use of an EpiPen.
The EpiPen is an easy-to-use device that administers the drug epinephrine. The epinephrine in the EpiPen, which is widely recognized as a rescue drug, is actually synthetic adrenaline. When injected into the body, it opens up airways to facilitate breathing and raises an individual’s blood pressure by narrowing blood vessels to reduce the risk of fainting.
In the case of a severe allergic reaction, you must react quickly, using the EpiPen as soon as symptoms become noticeable.

The EpiPen is a great first line of defense, but it must be administered right away to be fully effective. To use an EpiPen, hold the pen firmly in one hand with the orange end pointing down. Remove the blue cap at the opposite end by pulling straight away—do not twist or bend this end.
Next, swing the orange end (this is the end containing the needle) toward the outer thigh with some force. You will hear a click when it comes in contact with the body. Then it should be held in place for 10 seconds. The EpiPen should always be administered in the thigh and will work through clothing,

A person should always be seen by a medical professional immediately after use of an EpiPen. Epinephrine can only control the symptoms of an allergic reaction for a short period, but it is okay to use a second injection if needed while waiting for an ambulance or to be seen by a doctor.

Focus on prevention.

Of course, it’s always best to avoid allergens altogether. If you can tell that you or a loved one has allergies but are unsure of what’s triggering reactions, ask your doctor for a comprehensive allergy test. Testing will equip you with information about what foods, insects or other animals, chemicals, or medications need to be avoided.

While checking every food label or taking extra precautions when going outside may seem like a pain, preventing an allergic reaction is well worth the extra effort.
Committing to prevention will lessen the likelihood that you’ll have to reach for and inject an EpiPen.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing developmental disability in the U.S. There are many theories as to why the rate keeps rising, but one thing is certain—early detection is essential to improving affected individuals’ outcomes. Fortunately, a simple eye test may help physicians catch the disorder earlier than traditional methods.

An article published in “European Journal of Neuroscience” describes the test, which measures rapid eye movements.

John Foxe, PhD, director of the University of Rochester Medical Center Del Monte Neuroscience Institute, co-authored the study.

He told the University of Rochester Medical Center, “These findings build upon a growing field of research that show that eye movement could serve as a window into a part of the brain that plays a role in a number of neurological and development disorders, such as autism.”

Approximately one in every 68 children born in the U.S. has ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The disorder affect people’s lives differently.

Patients with some serious forms of of autism suffer a complete lack of speech development. Others with milder forms may experience difficulty making eye contact or have tendencies to use language repetitively.

Early detection allows parents to address problems and more quickly bond with their children.

Many of the symptoms of ASD don’t surface until a child grows older (for example, lack of interest in relationships with peers). Because of this, many children with ASD do not receive an early diagnosis and in turn lose out on opportunities to make significant gains in IQ, communication, and social interaction.

Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of Autism Speaks, led a five-year study of early intervention for 18- to 30-month-old children with ASD. Children who received 20 hours a week of intervention after their early diagnosis had an improvement of 18 IQ points as opposed to children who received less specialized intervention.

“Parental involvement and use of these strategies at home during routine and daily activities are likely important ingredients of the success of the outcomes and their child’s progress,” Dawson told Autism Speaks.

She went on to say, “The study strongly affirms the positive outcomes of early intervention and the need for the earliest possible start.”

The new eye test would be another tool to diagnose and start intervention early.

To some, it seems strange that eye movement could be an indication of ASD. However, the part of the brain called the cerebellum is involved with emotion, cognition, and motor control, which is how eye movement comes to be a measurable element of cerebellar function.

Scientists still don’t understand the exact relationship between the cerebellum and autism, but there is growing evidence that people with ASD have cerebellums that are different from those of their peers without ASD.

Foxe’s eye test helps identify children who cannot perform rapid, precise, and accurate eye movements. This indicates a problem with the cerebellum, which may mean those children are more likely to have ASD.

Foxe’s test has the potential to identify children with ASD at a younger age, which is a great achievement alone. But the research also adds to the growing body of knowledge about how the cerebellum of someone with ASD works differently from the cerebellum of someone who does not show symptoms of the disorder.

As autism rates continue to climb, researchers are beginning to understand more about the disorder. Developing financially accessible, minimally invasive tests to diagnose ASD will lead to earlier intervention. This eye test has the potential to yield huge improvements in the lives of autism patients and those who love and care for them.

If you’ve been feeling overly stressed lately, you could be suffering from burnout. Work burnout isn’t just a joke about a particularly long day—it’s a serious issue.
Feelings of anxiety, physical exhaustion, and depression are just a few of the side effects of working too hard for too long.

It’s important to know how to recognize the symptoms of burnout—and how to address them when they arrive.

The Curse of the High Achiever

Burnout occurs when someone is under constant stress over an extended period. Perfectionists and high achievers often experience this problem, but it can affect anyone. Working every day and failing to take full advantage of vacation and sick days is a leading cause of burnout.
Americans specifically are taking less time off from work and even bringing work on vacations. This unhealthy level of commitment definitely contributes to burnout.

According to a survey conducted by the American Psychology Association’s Center for Organizational Excellence, “More than half of employed adults said they check work messages at least once a day over the weekend (53 percent), before or after work during the week (52 percent) and even when they are home sick (54 percent). More than 4 in 10 workers (44 percent) reported doing the same while on vacation.”
With the ability to answer emails and check in on work with our smartphones, it’s becoming more and more difficult to separate ourselves from our jobs. However, there are distinct signs of burnout to look out for, and if these sound familiar, it might be time for a real break and some high-quality self care.

Physical Symptoms

Work burnout can seriously and very adversely affect your body. Burnout can cause chronic fatigue and insomnia, which means you never feel fully rested or truly awake during the day.

Your immune system can be compromised, leading to more frequent illness. Forgetfulness and loss of appetite are also very common symptoms of burnout.

Mental Health Concerns

In addition to physical problems, burnout also affects your mental health. Anxiety and depression are both extremely common symptoms of working too hard for too long.

Cynicism, detachment from friends and family, anger, an overall loss of interest in life, and a lack of motivation are other serious signs of a potential bout of burnout.
Don’t worry, though. There are way to handle and reverse burnout.

1. Commit to doing stuff at home.

When you’re in the throes of burnout, it’s almost impossible to be motivated to complete any tasks at home. You may look at the same pile of laundry or dirty dishes every evening but have no energy to do anything about it.
While you may think it’s comforting to indulge in hours of television, your brain and body need you to do something other than binge-watch seasons of The Office. Make a list of chores or activities you genuinely rejoice in completing and make yourself accomplish at least one each night.

Make time to read a book, do your laundry, or invite friends over for some low-key social interaction. Finding joy in experiences at home will start to bring you out of your funk.

2. Make time for yourself.

Self-care is incredibly important, especially when you’re combating burnout. Take a moment each day to do something nice for yourself—something that relaxes you.

Even if it’s just for 10 minutes a day, it will be beneficial.

3. Figure out what’s causing the distress.

If feeling burned out is new for you, there’s probably a single identifiable aspect of your life that’s causing the problem. Did something change at work? Do you have new responsibilities? Has there been some kind of shift in your family life?
Any of these things can create a sense of burnout. Try to think of ways to improve your work situation or communicate your feelings to your family to help minimize stress or at least get it off your chest.

You can also make a plan to fix these problems and work on each thing one step at a time. And don’t despair. There is life after burnout, but sometimes you have to slow down to get there.

One in three participants in a 2014 Gallup poll of Americans revealed that they hadn’t been to the dentist for at least a year.

Although you probably already know that your dentist wants you to come in for your annual cleaning, here are eight other pieces of information your dentist and hygienist want us to pass on to you.

1. You need to think about health benefits, cosmetic benefits, and your dental insurance benefits.

Dentists and hygienists certainly possess troves of knowledge the average person doesn’t, but they aren’t insurance experts. When they have to stop and check out insurance coverage for a patient, it takes valuable time, potentially throwing the rest of their day off schedule.

Damian Dachowski, DMD, says, “People come in for an appointment without knowing what their insurance covers. They think we have a crystal ball that tells us everyone’s insurance information. We don’t. And we need to find out what’s covered before we can do anything.”

2. Your oral hygiene can impact your baby and your heart.

Sure, it seems silly to act like our mouths exist in a vacuum, not affecting any other parts of our bodies. Unfortunately, many people treat their dental hygiene in precisely that way.

According to Kimberly Harms, DDS, dental health issues can lead to other surprisingly serious health conditions. “There’s been research that links gum disease and low birthweight babies,” she says, referencing a 2010 study.

Harms also mentions a 2006 study that shows a link between the bacteria associated with gum disease and increased risk of heart disease.

Yes, that’s right—dental health is literally as serious as a heart attack.

3. X-ray radiation is real, but it’s way less serious than this.

While it’s normal to be concerned about health and safety, those concerns are easily misplaced. For example, when you combine anxiety about going to the dentist with an all-too-common distrust of technologies we don’t understand, the results can be less than rational.

In a Buzzfeed discussion, a dental assistant responding under the username laurenrae1211 says, “People who think that one or two X-rays will instantly cause cancer: a full set of X-rays (18 films) is comparable to the radiation you receive from a 30 minute flight in a plane. You are much worse off if we are unable to detect decay or any other issue because you refuse X-rays.”

Bryan Tervo, DDS, seconds that, using another point of reference when it comes to radiation. 

“A lot of patients are worried that dental X-rays can cause cancer, but if you’re outside for an hour, you’re exposed to more radiation than you’d get from a full set of dental X-rays. What I worry about is that if I don’t take an X-ray, I might miss something serious.”

4. Just because you don’t feel like you have socks on your teeth doesn’t mean they’re clean.

Many medical conditions are obvious (if your arm’s broken, you’re probably going to know), but that’s not always the case with dental health, especially when it comes to plaque.

Because bacterial plaque—a main cause of tooth decay and other dental diseases—is often extremely thin, it can coat your teeth without being noticed.

According to Harms, “That bacterial plaque sticks to the front, back, side, in between and right under gums.” 

And that’s why regular and thorough dental hygiene regimen is enormously important. “The best way to fight plaque is brushing for two minutes twice a day and flossing properly once a day,” she says.

5. Dry mouth can have serious consequences for your pearly whites.

Harms says, “Many people don’t know how important saliva is for cleaning our teeth and fighting cavities.”

While it’s obvious that saliva helps wash away larger food particles, that also occurs on a micro scale. Additionally, saliva neutralizes acids that eat through tooth enamel, helps to repair teeth, and even has antibacterial properties.

If you regularly find yourself with a dry mouth—which can be caused by certain medications—chances are your teeth are worse off because of it.

According to Harms, “You need added protection or attention to teeth cleaning if you have dry mouth.” While numerous rinses and toothpastes are available that contain ingredients to increase saliva production, there’s another much more straightforward solution: Drink more water.

6. Fluoride is fabulous, even if kids hate how the treatments taste.

Exposure to fluoride via water, toothpaste, or some sort of mouth rinse has been shown to decrease tooth decay by up to 40 percent. Similarly, the occurrence of tooth decay is significantly greater in geographic areas where fluoride hasn’t been added to drinking water, a process known as fluoridation.

On fluoride, Harms says, “There’s a lot of debate about fluoride, but researchers have proven that fluoride prevents decay.”

In contrast to many other preventive dental health measures, which are overwhelmingly topical, ingesting fluoride sends it into the bloodstream. From there, it can help to maintain dental health from the inside out.

Harms says, “It’s nature’s cavity fighter.”

7. There’s no substitute for floss.

According to the results of a study published by the American Dental Association (ADA), only 40 percent of Americans floss daily.

What’s even more disconcerting? About 20 percent of respondents reported that they don’t ever floss.

Despite these dismal numbers, dentists and hygienists still emphasize the enormous importance of flossing for your dental health.

A dental professional going by the username emilypicklesk in the Buzzfeed discussion says, “If you don’t floss every day, bacteria left between the teeth, plus acid from foods (sugars and carbs), lower the pH in the mouth to the point where demineralization of the enamel occurs.”

As far as exactly when to floss, she continues, “Although it’s easier to tie one habit in with another, I tell my patients they don’t HAVE to floss right after brushing. Floss in the shower, floss while you’re watching TV, or heck, pick up some floss and use it while you’re doing pretty much anything.”

While it’s likely easier to remember to floss if you make it a part of a daily dental hygiene regimen, ultimately, she says, “The main goal with flossing is to disturb the bacteria between your teeth so it doesn’t have an opportunity to adhere to the surface and cause damage. So go disturb that bacteria!”

Buzzfeed user baileyr49eber7f1 found a shorter and more colorful way to sum of the necessity of flossing, saying, “Not flossing is like wiping your butt cheeks and not the crack.” Uh, right.

8. Blood in the sink? Something’s seriously wrong.

User patriciah415412f37 on Buzzfeed says of the flossing-related bleeding that she sees in her office, “We didn’t make you bleed. You not flossing and developing gingivitis from poor home care is what made you bleed. Floss daily and I guarantee you your next cleaning will be a lot easier.”

Outside of that all-too-common scenario (which is still an indicator of less-than-optimal dental health), bleeding from the gums is a sign that something is wrong.

As Chicago dentist Ron Schefdore says, “If your hands bled when you washed them, you’d run to the doctor. But in the public’s mind, bleeding gums are okay. Unless you’re really whaling away with your brush, if your gums bleed even a little, that’s periodontal disease, period.”

Last week I hit a wall. Our family had been on a hamster wheel of contagious illness for a full five weeks. We had been rotating through stomach bugs, summer colds, and ear infections.

Not only had I been sick myself, I had been the go-to caregiver for several weeks.

Between spending nights sitting up so my congested baby could doze on my chest and cleaning up puke early in the morning, I was absolutely beat.

My kids were finally well, but I was sick and exhausted from surviving on just a few hours of sleep night after night, and I had to call in reinforcements. My mom loaded up my kids in my van and sent me to bed, demanding I not get up until they get back from the park and lunch.

I fell in bed and found myself unable to sleep. It didn’t make sense. I was so far behind on sleep, why was it impossible to doze off?

It definitely wasn’t the first time being a mom brought me to the end of my rope, and I’m certain it won’t be the last. For years since becoming a mom, I have dealt with on-and-off insomnia that has kept me from getting the rest I need to be my best self.

If you’re a mom, I’m sure my story sounds familiar, because there really isn’t anything special about my life as a completely worn-out mom. Every day, moms like me are giving up on sleep to care for their families and spending their waking hours working non-stop to make sure everyone’s needs are met.

As a result, we’re all really, really tired. The reality is that most moms are putting in longer hours than any other occupation out there, and that is the reason that we’re all so tired.

The Truth About Mom Life

The truth about mom life is that many moms are putting in more hours than some of the most demanding professions out there.

A new study organized by Welch’s surveyed 2,000 women to find out how many hours of work they are putting in each day. The average mom is “clocking in” around 6:30 in the morning and doesn’t stop until after 8:30 in the evening, according to the data they collected.

Of course, we all know most moms aren’t taking the weekends off, either. So, when you take into account the fact that being a mom is a seven-day-a-week job, most moms are putting in 98 hours of work each week. Talk about exhausting!

Moms aren’t just tired, they’re also struggling to take care of themselves. A little quiet time is essential when you spend most of your time caring for tiny humans, but most mothers can barely find space in their day to take care of this basic need. In fact, the average mom only gets one hour and seven minutes to herself each day, according to Welch’s.

When you’re exhausted and over-scheduled, caring for your family well feels impossible. So it makes sense that 4 in 10 moms told Welch’s that their life feels like one non-stop to-do list. They also admitted they were having a hard time keeping up with their workload, and 72 percent felt they were too busy to make sure their kids were eating a healthy diet each day.

Most moms aren’t all that surprised by t
his data. We know just how tiring the job can be, and we know how difficult it can be to get a good night’s sleep. Feeling like you’re constantly drowning in a list of to-dos with no time to recharge or care for yourself is discouraging, to say the least.

The first step is taking charge of your mom life.

Many moms are so focused on giving their family the best that they forget that wanting motherhood to be fun is okay, too. Being tired might be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean mothers should give up on their hopes for an enjoyable and fulfilling family life.

The first step to taking charge of your mom life, whatever that means for you, starts with getting some sleep. We know that struggling with sleep has an impact on mood and may even contribute to depression in certain individuals.

We also know that poor sleep is related with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health issues. Lastly, we know that running on little to nosleep is dangerous; safe driving and safe work performance require us to be well rested.

In a nutshell, you cannot be your best self or enjoy your day-to-day life when you are running on empty.

Some phases of motherhood may more marked by sleeplessness than others, and it may be true that sometimes interrupted sleep can’t be helped (#newbornlife). But when you finally can crawl into bed at night, it is essential that you are doing everything you can to get the best sleep possible.

So many moms like me find they are facing sleep troubles even when their kids are sleeping well. They have so much on their plate, they’re feeling too anxious or stressed out at night to sleep.

Insomnia, even when it is only occasional, is a burden. To take back your nights, keep reading to learn how to start getting some sleep.

Avoid these four things if you’re not sleeping well.

Moms need all of the energy they can muster to keep up during their 14-hour workdays. If you’re are struggling to sleep, there is a chance you could be making matters worse with negative habits you may have picked up unknowingly.

Staring at Tech

We’re all guilty of spending a little too much time on our phones, but using screened devices before bed can be seriously detrimental to sleep. Blue light emitted by screens throws off our circadian rhythms by signaling our body to make less melatonin, according to Harvard Health.

Melatonin is a hormone that is essential to getting to sleep, so if you’re feeling wired at bedtime, using your phone or computer is probably making it worse. Most experts suggest turning off your tech at least half an hour before bed, but some suggest wrapping up screen time as early as two hours before you plan to catch some Zs.

Tossing and Turning

Okay, so picking up your phone when you can’t sleep is clearly a bad idea, but what should you do instead? Even though it may seem like common sense, staying in bed and trying to make yourself fall asleep actually makes matters worse.

When you are experiencing sleeplessness, trying to force the issue can increase your anxiety, which in turns makes it more difficult to sleep. Instead of tossing and turning, sleep experts suggest getting out of bed and leaving the bedroom to do something relaxing, like reading a book. Once you feel drowsy again, head back to bed and give getting some shut-eye a second try.

Over-the-Counter or Prescription Sleep Aids

For the occasional bout of insomnia, sleep aids can be a big help, but taking them on a regular basis isn’t a great idea. The truth about sleep medication is that extended use can increase sleeplessness because your body can develop a dependence on it.

Once your body adjusts to a sleep medication, you may actually have a harder time sleeping without it and need a higher dose to get sleep, according to WebMd. If you must take a sleep aid, reserve it for your most difficult nights, and look for other options for the in-between.

Stimulants Before Bed

We all know that coffee makes the world go round, especially if you are an exhausted mom. But consuming caffeine too late in the d
ay can have a serious effect on your sleep. Giving up caffeine six hours before bed is what the National Sleep Foundation recommends, since caffeine remains in the body for a long time.

Caffeine isn’t the only stimulant that can mess with your sleep. Working out before bed can also keep you awake. It’s best to avoid anything that could disrupt your sleep after lunchtime if you are having a hard time catching your 40 winks.

So if these are the things you should avoid when you are struggling to sleep, what should you do instead?

Experts suggest creating a solid bedtime routine and sticking with it. Instead of picking up the phone before bed, pick up a book until you begin to feel drowsy. Avoid too much light or too much noise in the bedroom, and keep up with your routine even when you feel discouraged. If all else fails, see a doctor, they can help you figure out the next best step.

When “John” (a pseudonym used in a Fox News interview) was in kindergarten, he realized he was missing something. Or maybe that’s not quite right. Can you miss something that isn’t missing?
John felt that he had too much and was missing out on who he really was.

“I remember riding in the subway, and opposite me, one of the kids in the play group had no left hand, that was apparent,” John, now an adult, recalled to Fox News. “I was really very curious about this … and I got up and crossed the car and tried to put my hand up his sleeve to try and figure out where his hand was.”
Even at that young age, John knew he wanted to be like the boy on the subway. But unlike that little boy, John was born with all four limbs and all 10 fingers. Still, John never felt whole again. Quite the opposite. Since that childhood encounter, he has wished to lose a limb.

“I remember two buses going in the same direction, and I was standing by the second bus, and I said to myself, ‘If I just stick my leg under the rear wheel of the bus, it will run over it and it will have to get cut off,'” John said, recalling a boyhood memory.
“And then I can remember saying to myself, ‘How will I ever explain why I did this?'”

John is not alone with this question. Psychologists are also striving to understand the reasons that some people have a powerful desire to amputate a limb.
Is it a mental illness? Or is it a totally valid way of life, albeit one on the fringes?
And are there surgeons who cater to this class of patients?

First things first. Here’s what we know about a condition known informally as body integrity identity disorder (BIID).

Early Medical Theories on Why People Want to Lose Limbs

The modern medical history of BIID begins in 1977. That’s when a trio of researchers—John Money, Russell Jobaris, and Gregg Furth—published a study called Apotemnophilia: Two Cases of Self-Demand Amputation as a Paraphilia.

The landmark paper followed two men who attached erotic significance to the fantasy of losing a limb. That’s where the early term apotemnophilia—Greek for “amputation love”— comes from.
Though scientists have learned a lot about the condition since the 1970s—including the fact that it’s not always tied up with an individual’s love life—Money, Jobaris, and Furth were among the first to identify the core danger of BIID.

“The apotemnophiliac patient finds no surgical tradition within which he can expect to obtain the service he requests,” the researchers wrote.
“Therefore, if he arranges a self-mutilation or amputation and presents himself for follow-up care, he has little choice other than to be secretive about the origin of his injury.”
There’s a real medical risk that people with BIID will try to take their obsession into their own hands.

In fact, one of the men in the 1977 study did just that. His technique involved a hammer and what the study describes as a “stylus,” but sounds more to us like an ice-pick—and that’s about all you need to know when it comes to the grisly way his story unfolded.

Understanding BIID

Through the years, doctors have treated more and more patients, both men and women (but mostly men) who want to lose a limb. In 2012, a new study  added a whole new dimension to BIID treatment and care.
The study found that not all BIID patients actually want to amputate a limb. Some just want to live with a condition that medicine recognizes as a “disability.” They may wish to lose function in their legs and travel via wheelchair or to induce blindness or deafness.

Both subsets of BIID (individuals who pursue amputation and those who do not) are considered part of the same condition according to the study’s authors.
“The amputation variant and paralyzation variant of BIID are to be considered as one of the same condition,” the researchers wrote.

Of all the treatments doctors have tried to help people with BIID, only one seems to work. The 2012 study, published in PLOS ONE, was one of the first to articulate the only known cure for the condition.
“Amputation of the healthy body part appears to result in remission of BIID and an impressive improvement of quality of life,” the paper states.

It goes on to say, “Knowledge of and respect for the desires of BIID individuals are the first steps in providing care and may decrease the huge burden they experience.”
Despite this advice, BIID remains silent on the absence of BIID as a formal diagnosis in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM), which bills itself as “the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders.”

Because of its omission from the DSM, patients are unlikely to find surgeons who will perform the amputation, even if it would improve their quality of life.
One surgeon tried to help in this way, and it didn’t go well.

What Happens to Surgeons Who Treat BIID With Amputation

In 2000, a surgeon named Robert Smith safely amputated the healthy legs of two men who had BIID. Smith was planning his third BIID-related amputation when the director of the trust that runs the hospital declared the procedure “inappropriate.”
The uproar around Smith’s decision was so intense that as of 2012, no hospital in Britain has allowed the amputation of a healthy limb. (It’s likely that no such amputations have taken place since 2000, but we could only find data going back to 2012.)

The 2012 PLOS ONE study found that their subjects overwhelmingly wanted amputation “to feel complete” or “to feel satisfied inside.”
As the medical ethicists debate the morality of serving a voluntary amputee, those with BIID continue to live in extreme dissatisfaction or—worse—turn to purposefully injuring themselves.

John’s Ongoing Plight

When BIID sufferer John spoke to Fox News in 2009, he didn’t have many options left. For the reasons mentioned above, he couldn’t find a surgeon to safely perform the amputation he believed he needed.
“I just want to get on with it,” he said. “But I want to do it safely. And my wife—who I won’t say accepts it, but is willing to go along with me, also insists—and I think she’s right, that this be done safely.”
Currently, John’s out of luck. There aren’t safe means of cutting off your own leg—not that John hasn’t wished for them.

“When I see an amputee—when I imagine the amputee—there is this inner pull that says, ‘Why can’t I be like that?'”
There may be a light on the horizon for John and others like him, but in medicine and bureaucracy, some things move slowly. The latest research suggests that there’s a neurological cause for the desire to amputate a body part.
A May 2017 study found that most people who wish to lose a limb focus their disdain toward their left leg. These patients also showed “changes in cortical thickness in the right parietal lobe.”

Could this be the part of the brain that controls BIID?
For now, scientists have more research to do. John and others with BIID, meanwhile, will struggle on.
“People keep saying you got to be awfully darn sure because there’s no going back,” he said. “What I realized, well, maybe a half a year ago, is that if I keep putting it off, there’s no going forward.”

Leon Levine was born into a retail family. His parents owned a Rockingham, North Carolina, department store called The Hub. North Carolinians dressed their families in clothes from The Hub during the hard years of the ’40s and bought new purses and ties there during the post-war boom.

Levine grew up in and around the store, watching his parents buy low and sell a little less low. In 1959, Levine took his lessons and $6,000—every penny he owned—and started a new kind of retail empire. Nothing in Levine’s little Charlotte store cost more than $2. That was his boast. That was the point.
Levine called his store Family Dollar. He soon opened another location, then another. By 2009, Family Dollar Stores was a publicly traded, Fortune 500 powerhouse. Competitors like Dollar Tree and Dollar General began springing up in neglected storefronts wherever the square footage was cheap.

As a result, there’s probably a dollar store within walking distance of your home. And you should definitely visit.
We’re not saying that everything in the average dollar store is a good value, though. You’re better off paying for top quality with some things, like mattresses, shoes, and produce. But why pay more for paper products? Why go name-brand on plastic cutlery?
True thrifty consumers don’t write a single shopping list. They write several: one for the grocery store, one for the farmers market, and one, yes—a sizable one—for the dollar store. If you’d like to do the same, here’s what you should write on your dollar-store shopping list.

1. The Key to Clean Dishes

Sure, you could buy an $8 all-natural sea sponge to scrub your dishes. But what happens when it starts to stink? You could end up shelling out $8 a week just to keep your dishes clean.

We didn’t pull that once-weekly figure out of nowhere, either. As we’ve mentioned previously on HealthyWay, sponges pick up tons of bacteria, and there’s no way to effectively sanitize a sponge.
A recent study discovered just how frighteningly active the microbiome of your average kitchen sponge actually is.

The authors of the study concluded that “we … suggest a regular (and easily affordable) replacement of kitchen sponges, for example, on a weekly basis.” So drop by your local dollar store and stock up. You’ll save a fortune, and you might even prevent an illness.

2. Household Chemistry

You can’t really mess up household bleach. It’s just a chemical, a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and water. Same with ammonia, really. It’s just nitrogen and hydrogen.

This is not to say these products are “safe.” They’re both highly toxic, and if you mix them together, you get poison gas. So don’t do that.
But there’s also no reason to pay a premium for a fancy bottle and a name brand. Bleach is bleach is bleach, for the most part, and you can usually pick the stuff up cheaper from the dollar store than from your local dealer of artisanal, hand-crafted bleach.

(If you don’t have one yet, just wait; the neighborhood will get there.)

3. The Most Necessary Product in the World

You’d think toilet paper would rank pretty high on our list of must-splurges. There’s a lot at stake. But when we started looking closer at the claims of the name-brand TP czars, we found that the premium products don’t always justify the price.

Consumer Reports has been tracking major toilet paper brands since 2009. Between then and 2015, the magazine found, some of the leading manufacturers have shrunk their rolls by more than 20 percent. Meanwhile, they’ve justified price bumps with vague claims.
By switching to certain totally decent store brands of toilet paper, consumers can save around $130 per year, Consumer Reports found. Go ahead and thrift out on this necessity. You can strike a balance between the needs of your backside and your pocketbook.

4. A Smile in an Envelope

Millennials are always surprising the folks whose job it is to figure out what to sell to millennials. For instance, did you know that young adults love greeting cards?

“The demographic has really shifted,” Sarah Turk, an analyst who studies the stationery industry for IBISWorld, told the Boston Globe. “Instead of it being more of an older consumer that values paper, we’re seeing a lot of millennials also purchasing paper products. I think that, especially in a digital age, paper now has more value than it ever has.”
That is true in a literal sense. The price of the average greeting card hovers between $2 and $4, according to the Greeting Card Association. The Boston Globe story refers to millennials spending up to $8 for a fancy new paper card.

We’re thrilled that millennials are into greeting cards, but it’s time for them to take the next step: buying cheap. And that means a trip to the dollar store. The sad truth is that once delivered, greeting cards might hang around on a fridge for a year or two, tops. Ultimately, they all end up in the recycling bin. Why throw $8 away when you could throw away a single Washington?

5. Paper Plates and Plastic Cutlery

We actually don’t have a whole lot of deep analysis for this one. It seems pretty obvious.

Save money on your next picnic by spending less on things you’ll only be tossing soon.

6. The Final Touch for Any Great Gift

The same principle holds here: Products that are destined for the recycling bin—or worse, the landfill—shouldn’t be too expensive.

We can’t think of anything more temporary than wrapping paper, which you can pick up on the cheap at the dollar store. And you should.

7. Garden-Fresh Decoration

Frugal florists have a secret. They get their vases for a fraction of the price their wholesalers charge—and all they have to do is take a trip to the dollar store.

We’re not sure how or why dollar stores offer the cheapest vases you can get (short of visiting the sell-by-weight Goodwill outlet, which is another story entirely). But they do. The next time you need a vase for your own backyard bouquet, look no further than your nearest dollar store.

Reimagining the Dollar Store

As we compiled this list, we began to notice a pattern emerging. The real dollar-store deals seem to cluster around a common theme. They sell everything you could ever want for a party. Specifically, a child’s birthday party.

Just picture it. You stock up on your paper plates and plastic forks for cake. You buy plenty of low-priced birthday cards; kids don’t value hand-made Amish paper curling, anyway. Then, when the chaos subsides, you clean up after the kids with all the low-cost cleaning supplies you picked up. It’s almost like it was designed this way.
Dollar stores could just as easily be considered children’s-birthday-party stores.
That’s a heavy legacy for good old Leon Levine, the father of the dollar-store concept. He would probably disagree with our analysis. Since the first Family Dollar opened in 1959, the industry has rooted itself firmly within the broader American retail landscape—which, admittedly, covers a lot more than birthday parties.

Between 2010 and 2015, the U.S. dollar store industry boasted a 50 percent growth rate. It was worth a total of $45.3 billion by the end of that growth period. That’s a lot of $1 items—45.3 billion of them, to be exact. May some of them be yours, and thereby may you save.

We all go on vacation for different reasons. Some of us like to play golf, others like to tan, and most of us like to catch up on sleep. Even though vacation goals differ, we can all agree that no one wants to come back from our holiday sick from being bombarded by not-so-everyday viruses and bacteria. Unfortunately, most of us are unknowingly putting ourselves at high risk when we hit the road for fun and relaxation.

Studies show that planes are teeming with bacteria, and hotel rooms are even worse—infested with more icky stuff than planes, homes, and even schools. The good news is that with a little knowledge and a little more care, you can protect yourself from the microscopic beasts that can make you and your loved ones ill while you’re trying to live it up. Here are the top ways you can protect yourself while you’re away from home.

1. So Fresh and So…Clean?

We know baths can be relaxing and make for the perfect end to a sightseeing-packed or sandy beach day, but unless your idea of relaxation includes immersing yourself in a big bowl of bacterial and chemicals, we suggest you avoid hotel bathtubs altogether.

A 2012 study published by the American Society for Microbiology found that a hotel housekeeper’s cleaning implements (e.g., sponges, mops, and rags) had the highest level of contamination of any objects or areas in the hotel industry.
The same objects are used on all different fixtures in your hotel bathroom, including the tub, toilet bowl, sink, and even the tile floors. This means germs from all those high-traffic places are spread from surface to surface and between hotel guests. (Do you really want to think about who used your hotel bathroom before you?)

Additionally, experts say the surfaces of tubs are regularly covered in a biofilm, a visually undetectable layer of bacteria that has to be tackled with an abrasive brush or sponge and soap. Unless you commit to spending precious vacation time cleaning, this film will be keeping you (unwanted) company while you bathe.

2. Reality Check

Think the only place you can catch a nasty foot virus is at a sweaty gym or public pool? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Stand in line at the airport for 20 minutes, and you’ll be able to count hundreds of people waiting without their shoes on. Imagine how many people are standing in those spots—shoeless—in a typical day, week, or month.

The floors of the security line withstand constant traffic and aren’t cleaned often or well, leaving the bacteria, fungi, and viruses of all an airport’s travelers to reside happily beneath your soles too.
From athlete’s foot to plantar warts and worse, it’s in your best interest to be footwear free for the shortest time possible and to avoid ever being barefoot. In this situation, socks are your first line of defense.

Think you’re safe once you arrive at your destination and make it to your hotel room? Guess again. Sanitation experts warn that although the soft carpet may feel wonderful beneath your feet, it’s a breeding ground for unwelcome organisms that can cause infection. Be sure to keep slippers or socks on as you walk around your hotel room.

3. Think before you drink.

It’s no secret that a quick junket to some other countries can leave you pounds lighter, dehydrated, and sore from belly pains. Why does this happen? It’s severe gastrointestinal distress.

When you drink local water or eat local fruits and veggies, you leave yourself vulnerable to contaminants that live in the untreated or less-treated water of some areas. The water can contain bacteria, parasites, and viruses that can cause serious illness.
Experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition suggest that you avoid eating raw fruits and vegetables; raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs; unpasteurized milk and milk products; and food sold by street vendors when vacationing abroad.

Avoid sink and tap water as well, since it is usually connected to municipal stores that can contain further contaminants such as lead, excessive chlorine, and E. coli. Stick with bottled water when abroad, and if you know in advance that you’ll be drinking tap water, bring along a travel purifier.

4. Good Circulation

Most people think that the air circulated around planes is filled with germs and bacteria, but it’s actually the surfaces on planes that people come in contact with that harbor the most harmful microorganisms. When you fly, keep yourself safe by avoiding contact with too many surfaces.

While on the plane, keep your hands away from your face and keep the vent over your airplane seat open. This air vent creates a current that blows germs away from you—keeping you healthier.

5. The Dirty Truth Contained in Those Security Bins

Everyone’s “everything” gets thrown in a security bin during airport security—bags, shoes, phones, laptops, jackets. Ever notice anyone cleaning the insides of the bins? We haven’t either. Just imagine—by placing your phone in a bin, you’re exposing yourself to whatever germs were on the bottoms of the shoes that came out of that same bin just minutes ago.

A study done by TODAY involved swabbing two random bins used at security. Dangerous levels of bacteria and high levels of fecal matter were found in the bins.
We know that you don’t have a choice when you fly, but you can protect yourself and your belongings by using antibacterial hand sanitizer and wipes to disinfect your valuables after making it through security.

6. Skip the chip.

So you pull up by the pool to relax and chat with the new friends you’ve made while sharing a bowl of snacks.

Little do you know, you’re sharing more than just conversation with your newfound chums.
You’re mixing in with your chips or popcorn whatever germs you’ve all got on your hands from using the bathroom, sneezing, or holding on to the subway pole. 

When you’re in this atmosphere, it’s best to stick to your personal drink and skip the communal snacks.

7. Cleanliness is key.

It may seem really convenient to have a computer available for your use at the hotel cafe or business center, but when you sign on to the internet, you may be signing up for more than you bargained for.

Studies show that the average shared desk can have up to 400 times more bacteria than a recently flushed toilet. In terms of everyday office items, keyboards and telephones fared the worst.
The reason keyboards are so dirty is that they’re either not cleaned well or not cleaned at all.

This is a problem because viruses can survive up to three days on computer keyboards. Considering that the average person touches their face once every three minutes, the probability of these germs getting on you (or in you) is pretty high.

8. Bottoms Up

You may be saving the environment by refilling your water bottle at a public water fountain, but apparently you’re not doing much for your stomach or your health.

A study conducted by the Toronto Star involved randomly testing 20 public water fountains around Toronto, Canada.
It found that half of the spouts tested contained bacteria levels that were “too high to count.”

E. coli and legionella are just two of the many harmful microorganisms that were found on the fountains and are known to cause serious gastrointestinal problems and pneumonia-like symptoms. Experts warn that pregnant women, children, and people with compromised immune systems are most vulnerable.

9. Coffee Break(down)

While coffee in your hotel room may sound like a perfect start to your morning, unfortunately, brewing your morning joe in the machine that’s provided may leave you with a day of bellyaches instead of vacation fun.

ABC News investigated the coffee devices provided in hotel rooms and found that the machines were improperly cleaned, allowing bacteria to build up and leach into your coffee as it’s dispensed.

I scream, you scream, we all scream in pain when we get brain freeze. We all know the horrible feeling of eating ice cream too fast. Your mouth goes numb, then a wave of pain stretches across your head. But what’s really happening to our bodies during a brain freeze?

Our Bodies vs. Frozen Treats

The roofs of our mouths are full of blood vessels, capillaries, and nerve fibers that detect pain. When we eat ice cream or any kind of very cold food or drink, the blood vessels and capillaries in our palates constrict. Eat these types of treats too quickly, or on an especially warm day, and the constriction of the vessels occurs so suddenly that the nerve fibers register pain.

The trigeminal nerve (one of the major facial nerves) then sends the pain message straight to the brain. The brain processes that something painful is happening but can’t tell exactly where, so the sensation registers across the face. Eventually, we experience the pain in the form of a sudden-onset headache.

Help us, science.

It’s taken a lot of time and research for scientists to figure out this phenomenon. A study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s (FASEB) journal explains it all.

Researchers recruited 13 volunteers and asked them to sip ice-cold water through a straw. Then they monitored the blood flow in the subjects’ brains. During the study, subjects raised their hands when they began to feel the effects of brain freeze.

Researchers noticed an increase in blood flow to the anterior cerebral artery while the brain freeze occurred. Scientists believe this excess blood flow is part of a temperature regulatory system in place to keep the brain functioning in a warm environment despite extreme cold. The increased blood flow builds pressure in the skull, resulting in a headache.

“The brain is one of the relatively important organs in the body, and it needs to be working all the time. It’s fairly sensitive to temperature,” wrote researchers. “So vasodilation might be moving warm blood inside tissue to make sure the brain stays warm.”

Have no fear—there is a cure. You can press your tongue to the roof of your mouth, drink something warm, or simply wait a few minutes for the artery to return to normal on its own.

Brain freeze is actually helpful.

This new information is helping scientists better understand the physiology of headaches and migraines, hopefully leading to more effective treatments.

“We can’t easily give people migraines or a cluster headache, but we can easily induce brain freeze without any long-term problems,” wrote Dr. Dwayne Godwin, a neuroscientist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. “We can learn something about headache mechanisms and extend that to our understanding to develop better treatments for patients.”

The research published in The FASEB Journal has already found that migraine sufferers are more likely to experience brain freeze than those who never have migraines. Hopefully, research like this will help doctors better treat the pain migraine sufferers deal with on a regular basis. The irony is pretty sweet when you think about it: A painful-but-temporary headache could lead to a cure for horrible chronic migraines.