Tag: care

Hot sauce can be dangerous.

Take the case of an unnamed Austin woman, who was assaulted after a round of karaoke by an assailant holding a bottle of hot sauce.
“Because the bottle could have caused more severe damage or death,” a report from KXAN concluded, “authorities considered it a deadly weapon.”

Granted, just about anything can be deadly when hurled at a mediocre karaoke singer. But what about if you use hot sauce, you know, the normal way? Is it good for your health, or will the spiciness eventually catch up with you?

First, The Potential Benefits

One 2015 study of capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their spicy quality, concluded that “dietary capsaicin… has intriguing potential for health promotion.”
The study, conducted by researchers in Encinitas, California and Kansas City, Missouri, recommend further clinical evaluation related to how spicy foods may help with a number of ailments, including diabetes, liver disease, hypertension, and even obesity.

The study concludes noting that too much spice can trigger the same receptors that tell your body to react to exceedingly hot temperatures and acids, so “the possibility that high-dose capsaicin might exert unanticipated or unwanted physiological effects should be borne in mind.”
In other words, while closely-monitored intake of spicy foods may have its benefits, these scientists aren’t exactly endorsing keeping hot sauce in your bag (swag).

Just An Irritant

But what about heartburn and ulcers? Traditional wisdom holds that spicy foods can cause these painful conditions.
Fortunately, science doesn’t really back that up. The foods that cause heartburn, or acid reflux, cause the valve at the top of the stomach to relax. Caffeine, mint, and alcohol can contribute, but spicy foods aren’t the worst culprits—even if they can irritate the lining of the stomach.

What about ulcers? A 2006 study coming out of India notes that investigations “have revealed that chilli or its active principle ‘capsaicin’ is not the cause for ulcer formation but a ‘benefactor.'”
“Capsaicin does not stimulate but inhibits acid secretion, stimulates alkali, mucus secretions and particularly gastric mucosal blood flow which help in prevention and healing of ulcers,” the study’s abstract notes. “Capsaicin acts by stimulating afferent neurons in the stomach and signals for protection against injury causing agents.”

That means that capsaicin irritating properties might actually benefit ulcers. However, we should note that the science is still out on this subject.

A Cancer Correlation?

Scientists from the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University in China looked at 250 people who had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the communities near the hospital. The researchers concluded that this specific type of “cancer could be caused by genetics acting in synergy with environmental factors.”

One of the factors listed was “hot food” consumption. Still, the study only looked at 250 people—far too few to prove a correlation. For now, spicy foods seem to be perfectly fine in moderation, provided that you don’t have dietary restrictions.
So, there you have it; hot sauce is probably perfectly fine, as long as you’re not experiencing serious, ahem, gastric distress. Just be sure that you don’t wield it like a deadly weapon, and you shouldn’t have to curb your habits.

We watch movies for their magic, not their realism. So it’s not surprising that they frequently defy the normal rules of the universe.

For instance, a bullet wound to the shoulder requires no more than a splash of disinfectant and some gauze. Knocking someone unconscious makes them sleep for a few minutes and no one seems to worry about potential brain damage when they wake up.

Although movies often understate the severity of some injuries, they overstate other threats. Here are three nasty ways people meet their maker in movies and why you shouldn’t stress about them.

1. Quicksand doesn’t suck you under.

From Lawrence of Arabia to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Hollywood portrays this mixture of sand and water as impossible to escape without outside help. We’ve all learned by now that the more someone struggles in quicksand, the faster they sink.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam tested how deadly quicksand could be with an experiment. Their results showed that quicksand will not suck a person under.

The mucky substance can still be dangerous, though. Although quicksand won’t pull you under, it can immobilize you. If high tide comes in or a nearby river rises, a quicksand victim can drown due to being stuck in place.

2. Sharks aren’t out to get you.

Despite what you’ve seen in Jaws, Open Water, and The Shallows, sharks do not want to eat humans.

Yes, there are about 82 unprovoked shark attacks per year, but very few of those are fatal.

In fact, sharks don’t even break the top 10 of the deadliest animals to humans. Even if you remove mosquitoes, tapeworms, and other parasites, sharks aren’t in the top six. Snakes, dogs, crocodiles, hippos, lions, and elephants all fatally attack more people per year than sharks.

After reviewing the data, we have to ask. Where are the horror movies with hippos as the monster?

We guess if you’re cute enough, people will forget about the 500 people per year you fatally stomp, bite, or drown.

3. Five-point-palm exploding-heart technique requires perfect timing.

After Kill Bill’s three hours of carnage, it was fitting that Beatrix Kiddo dispatched Bill with a quiet flutter of her hand. Director Quentin Tarantino made the martial arts move even more mysterious by not showing Pai Mei teach it to Beatrix. Instead, the move comes out of nowhere to stop Bill in his tracks.

The “death touch” (also known as dim mak) has shown up in a variety of martial arts movies like Bloodsport, Clan of the White Lotus, and Executioners From Shaolin. While experts generally dismiss the fatal move as mythical, there is a little truth to it.

There are over 100 recorded instances of cardiac concussions, which occur when a baseball, hockey puck, or other hard object hits a victim in the chest at just the wrong moment of the heartbeat cycle.

The victim can collapse and perish immediately from ventricular fibrillation. While a ninja could apply the necessary force to cause this injury, they would have to rely on luck to strike the heart at the exact right moment within a 15 to 20 millisecond window.

There. You should feel safer already.

A recent study shows that second-born brothers are more likely to develop certain behavioral issues.

The study, performed by researchers from several universities including MIT and University of Florida, followed thousands of brothers in Denmark and Florida.
“Despite large differences in environments across the two areas, we find remarkably consistent results: In families with two or more children, second-born boys are on the order of 20 to 40 percent more likely to be disciplined in school and enter the criminal justice system compared to first-born boys even when we compare siblings,” the study’s authors wrote.
“Across both of our locations, and across different estimation techniques, we find that second-born boys are substantially more likely to exhibit delinquency problems compared to their older sibling.”

Second-born children in both countries also performed worse on reading tests. In addition, Danish second-born children performed worse on math tests, although this wasn’t the case for the Floridian children.

Scientists aren’t sure why second-born children exhibit more behavioral problems.

The study’s authors ruled out health as a factor, since second-born children appear healthier. Other non-factors included schooling decisions and maternal employment.

One possible explanation is parental investment—both in terms of time and money. When parents have a single child, they can afford to lavish them with attention; this isn’t the case when additional children join the household, as the parents must split their time between their kids.
With later-born children, parents are also less likely to provide early cognitive stimulation at home, according to the paper. In other words, parents are generally less likely to read to or play with their second-born children.
The paper also makes the case that sibling influence may play a role.

“Later children, unlike first-borns, will have older siblings as role models,” the authors wrote. “In addition, older siblings may also benefit from teaching younger siblings and acting as such a role model.”

But there is some good news for second-born kids.

Another study from the University of Cambridge found that later-born children benefit from the sibling influence. They develop stronger social skills as a result of the peer effect.
“The traditional view is that having a brother or sister leads to a lot of competition for parents’ attention and love,” said Dr. Claire Hughes of the university’s Centre for Family Research. “In fact, the balance of our evidence suggests that children’s social understanding may be accelerated by their interaction with siblings in many cases.”

“One of the key reasons for this seems to be that a sibling is a natural ally. They are often on the same wavelength, and they are likely to engage in the sort of pretend play that helps children to develop an awareness of mental states.”
And if second children are less successful, they’re at least more likely to make friends.
“Second siblings do better in our tests and children who have better social understanding go on to be more popular in later life,” said Dr. Hughes.
There you have it: If you were born first, you’re more likely to be successful—but less likely to be popular.

A few days ago I gathered seven nearly full bottles of supplements, including apple cider vinegar capsules and a daily multivitamin, and put them in my trash can. I had just read some articles explaining that studies have linked vitamin supplementation with higher mortality rates.

Five minutes later, I worried that perhaps I was being too extreme, that maybe years down the road researchers would do some other studies that would show different results, or that in a few months I would realize that I needed one of these supplements for some reason and then would curse myself for wasting tens of dollars by throwing them away before their expiration dates.

I took them out of the trash and put them back in a drawer. I wouldn’t continue taking them, I told myself, but I would leave them there, just in case.

My back-and-forth is emblematic of the general public’s relationship with health advice. In short, many of us just don’t know what the heck to believe. It’s no wonder. We have

Pauling’s legacy like this:

“Although Pauling’s megavitamin claims lacked the evidence needed for acceptance by the scientific community, they have been accepted by large numbers of people who lack the scientific expertise to evaluate them. Thanks largely to Pauling’s prestige, annual vitamin C sales in the United States have been in the hundreds of millions of dollars for many years.”

Myth: Gluten-free is the way to be.

How many times have you heard about the evils of gluten (the proteins found in wheat)? Lots, yeah?

Let’s see if we can do this from memory: Gluten intolerance is at the root of a number of physical and mental problems for people in countries with many processed foods, because wheat is hiding in everything that we eat, and now we’ve screwed ourselves. The story goes something like that, right?

It makes sense. We are frequently tired! We have skin problems! We eat lots of wheat! Wouldn’t it logically follow that the best thing we could do would be to eat foods without gluten and give our systems a break?

Dr. Carly Stewart doesn’t think so. “Gluten-free foods are only healthier for you if you are allergic to gluten. If you aren’t, eating a gluten-free diet restricts the amount of fiber, vitamins, and minerals you are able to consume,” she tells Lifehacker.

“A variety of foods that are high in whole grains (such as foods containing wheat, rye, or barley) also contain gluten, and these foods are an essential part of a healthy diet. Most people have no trouble digesting gluten.”

In other words: Making it harder on yourself to eat a varied, healthy diet isn’t recommended. Why put yourself through that if you don’t have to?

When I was 5 years old, I tried to kiss the cute boy who sat next to me in kindergarten.

He did not appreciate my amorous advances, and I had to sit out of recess as punishment for invading someone’s personal space.

It didn’t matter though. From that moment forward, I was smitten with the idea of kissing. As a preteen, I secretly read my grandmother’s tattered copy of The Thornbirds, tried to sneakily catch my older cousins swapping spit with their boyfriends, and watched breathlessly as Jack and Rose kissed on the bow of the Titanic.

I studied the kissing scenes in movies especially hard in anticipation of my own future lip locks. From Jack and Rose to Allie and Noah, I noticed that all on-screen kisses had one thing in common: Both people always turned their heads to the right when leaning in for the kiss.

What can I say? As a lefty, I tend to notice these things.

I recently learned that most people are actually hardwired to turn to the right when kissing. German psychologist Onur Güntürkü studied the kissing practices of 124 couples (unbeknownst to the subjects) and found that the majority of the couples turned their heads to the right when they locked lips.

The same results were found to be true in Bangladesh when scientists observed married couples kissing in their homes. Of the couples observed, 75 percent turned their heads to the right when kissing.

So why do we instinctively turn our heads to the right when we kiss?

It is estimated that between 70 and 90 percent of the world’s population are right-handed. This preference develops in the womb, as early as the tenth week of pregnancy. It’s possible that this early preference for one hand over the other extends into other right-sided preferences, like turning your head to kiss.

Canadian researchers have another interesting theory: We tend to turn our heads right when kissing romantic partners and to the left when kissing platonic family members and friends.

The jury is still out on why we instinctively turn to the right when kissing. As it turns out though, this right-sided head preference isn’t even the weirdest thing about sharing smooches.

Not tonight, honey. I’m allergic to kissing.

Yes, it’s true. You can have an allergic reaction while kissing your sweetheart. If you’re allergic to a certain food, kissing someone who has eaten that food can trigger an allergic reaction. Even if the person didn’t eat that food recently and has brushed their teeth and rinsed their mouth well, you could still have an allergic reaction up to 24 hours later.

It’s bad enough for a food allergy to be triggered by kissing, but what if you were actually allergic to your partner’s kisses?

That’s what happened to Johanna Watkins, a Minnesota woman who is allergic to her husband Scott’s scent, thanks to mast cell activation syndrome, a rare immune disorder.

In an interview with TODAY, Scott shared, “We haven’t kissed in about a year and a half, maybe two years.”

But that doesn’t stop the Watkins from having date nights like other normal couples. They just have to adapt a little.

“We talk on the phone all the time. We watch shows together—she watches the show on her TV and I watch the show on mine.”

First rule of kissing? Good oral hygiene.

This just makes g
ood sense. No one wants to kiss someone whose mouth is less than minty fresh. Even if you brush your teeth before kissing, you can still get cavities from bacteria that stick to teeth.

In an article for SELF magazine, dentist Emanuel Layliev explains, “Cavities are typically passed through mouth-to-mouth contact when there is an exchange of saliva.”

If you and your significant other have a hot-and-heavy make out session, it’s pretty hard not to swap spit. It’s estimated that more than 80 million bacteria are exchanged between partners in a 10-second kissing session.

Someone who has lots of cavity-causing bacteria in their mouth can transfer that bacteria to their partner, increasing the likelihood that they too will develop a cavity. But the opposite is also true. Swapping spit with someone who has lots of good bacteria can boost your immune system.

There’s no need to be scared of kissing.

On average, both women and men will kiss an average of 15 to 16 people before finding the one person they want to kiss forever. In total, the average person spends up to two full weeks of their entire lives kissing.

For people like Erica Valentine, who suffer from philemaphobia, though, kissing is less like a two-week dream vacation and more like a total nightmare.

Philemaphobia is, you guessed it, the fear of kissing. It’s common among young or inexperienced kissers and usually goes away with a little practice. For a small percentage of people who suffer from philemaphobia, though, the fear never goes away.

This fear of kissing is often coupled with other phobias. For example, some people might be afraid of kissing because they’re also afraid of germs, intimacy, or physical contact.

Valentine hasn’t been kissed in over two years, because she’s terrified of the bacteria and germs swapped during kissing. She used to wear braces to discourage her partners from kissing her. 

Since her braces have come off, Valentine says, ‘I still wear a retainer but if people get close to me I just use that as a way of putting people off kissing me.”

Skip the spa and schedule a make-out session instead.

I’m always looking for a good excuse to skip the gym, and now I have one. Kissing is not only more fun than clocking time on the treadmill, it’s good for you too.

Kissing stimulates the production of oxytocin, the hormone that promotes calmness. That same hormone is released when we participate in calming activities like massage and yoga.

Kissing also reduces cortisol, a hormone that can cause stress, suggesting that kissing is a great way to relieve tension at the end of a long day.

In addition, lower cortisol levels can also help lower blood pressure. In an interview with Glamour magazine, Dr. Ryan Neinstein explains, “The more you kiss, the more your heart races, and the more your blood flows, ultimately reducing high blood pressure.”

That’s not all kissing can do. Locking lips can burn up to two calories per minute, about the same amount of calories as taking a brisk walk. In addition, you can use up to 30 facial muscles during a really passionate kiss. These muscles can help tone the cheeks and keep wrinkles at bay.

With health benefits like these, you’ll never need a spa day again. Just pretend like it’s high school all over again, grab your sweetheart, and start smooching.

I used to worry what my hairstylist thought of me each time I paid him a visit. Honestly, I was terrible at keeping up with my hair and would show up with split ends and a brassy red color I had randomly selected from the drugstore. 

I would sit in the chair and wonder if he was judging me and my damaged hair or if he simply didn’t care what I did with my locks as long as paid him.

As it turns out, your stylist probably isn’t concerned with judging your past hair choices but they do care a lot about helping you take better care of your hair. There are a lot of other things you hairstylist wishes you knew, but they can’t quite get themselves to spit out the words and risk offending or losing a client.

So we did the digging around for you. We cleared up a few myths and got to the bottom of some those nagging questions we know you’ve been dying to ask.

1. The Truth About Your Cell Phone

Think twice before you pick up your phone. Although most stylists won’t care all that much if you respond to a text, a phone call is different story, according to one colorist from San Diego, who urged clients not to pick up their phone during their session. Another stylist said she didn’t have a hard and fast rule about cell phones, but she did care if it kept her from her work.

“As long as they aren’t in my way or delaying my work, then I don’t care,” Amanda Gratto, master stylist and owner of Salon Gratto in Kansas City told me. “But the truth is, most of the time they do delay my work. Usually a client walks in on their phone and it delays my consultation. So in reality, they are late for their appointment.”

Leave your phone in your bag if possible, and if you have to check your phone or return a call, let it wait until your color is processing so you aren’t using up your stylist’s time.

2. All color jobs are not created equal.

When you call to set up your appointment, you really need to be up front about what you are expecting. This is especially true if you plan to have your hair colored, since more complicated jobs can take hours to complete.

“Don’t schedule a new-growth touch up and then ask for an ombre,” Gratto said. “We don’t have time scheduled for that!”

3. The Difference Between Friends and Friendly

If you get the sense that your stylist likes you, they probably do! Still, that doesn’t mean they don’t have boundaries set up to balance their work and life. So don’t be offended if they don’t respond to your midnight hair questions or if they don’t have time in their schedule to listen to you chat after your appointment is through.

One stylist told me she secretly wishes her clients knew that as much as she loves her job, it is still a job. No one wants to be on call 24/7, and maintaining boundaries in her relationships with clients is just one way she keeps a healthy work/life balance.

4. About That Free Therapy Session

Do you ever find yourself trying to keep the conversation going with your stylist during your appointment? Even though your stylist is happy to chat, don’t feel like you have to keep up the conversation to entertain them or avoid awkwardness.

“Most stylists are social, but we don’t need to talk,” a colorist based in San Diego told me. “It is not awkward. Quiet clients can be a special treat and you might get a better result.”

5. Platinum blonde isn’t in your future.

A good stylist won’t sacrifice the health of your hair to give you your dream color, according to Gratto. She told me that she wishes her clients knew how to set realistic expectations based on their hair and its unique characteristics.

It’s important to understand that doing too much to your hair too quickly can cause significant damage. This knowledge will also keep you from being disappointed if your stylist isn’t willing to take your hair to platinum blonde in one sitting. She isn’t trying to be a buzzkill, she’s trying to saving your hair from irreversible damage.

6. Empty chairs equal empty bank accounts.

“I don’t think most people understand how we actually make money,” Gratto told me. “I think most people assume we get paid by a boss or something, but if we don’t have a client in our chair we are actually not making any money.”

Why is this so important for you to know? Because last-minute cancellations are a huge stressor for hairstylists. When you don’t show up for your appointment or if you call the day of to cancel, your stylist probably won’t have time to rebook your appointment.

This means they won’t be making any money during the hour or two they set aside for you.

“We understand when a circumstance comes up, and unplanned emergencies happen,” Kansas City stylist Joanna Freisner told me. “If you don’t show up to your appointment we don’t get paid! And it also took that appointment away from someone else who would have liked to come in.”

7. Here’s a tip on tipping your stylist.

“We have a preset tipping amount that our clients can choose from,” explained Gratto. “It is entirely based on what they want to do, but usually we tell them that tipping is for exceptional service.”

That said, tipping is definitely appreciated by your stylist. How much is expected? You can tip whatever you like, but the average falls somewhere between 15 and 25 percent of the cost of your service.

There also seems to be a misconception that salon owners shouldn’t be tipped for a color or cut, according to Gratto, who said some clients seem to believe that tipping an owner is either against a rule or simply unneeded. That couldn’t be further from the truth; salon owners always appreciate a good tip.

Here’s the real secret about tipping: It pays to take care of your stylist.

“People who tip you and people who tip you well, who take care of you financially, are going to get a lot more perks,” one stylist told me. “If they need to move their appointment at the last minute or need me to help them out with something, of course I am going to go above and beyond for them. It’s that way the world works.”

8. You get what you pay for.

Of course, the cost of getting your hair done can vary greatly depending on your expectations, but you really do get what you pay for when it comes to the quality of your hairstyle.

“I can’t speak for all hairstylists, but there is a reason things cost as much as they do,” Gratto explained. “Because of our education and our time. Especially specialty services or corrective color. It takes a lot of time, and my time is what costs the most money.”

9. They know how you feel about your shampoo.

Most people love getting their hair shampooed by their stylist, so you probably don’t need to make a point to express how amazing it feels. In fact, people who are super into it make stylists a little uncomfortable. Close your eyes and enjoy your scalp massage in silence, keep the sighs and moans to yourself, please!

“We make fun of the clients who make upside-down eye
contact with us at the shampoo bowl and the moaners!”

10. The Dirty Secret About Washing Your Hair

So, what about those hair products your stylist is always trying to sell you after she colors your hair? She’s probably just trying to make extra money, right?

Wrong. Hairstylists make very little from their product sales, so you can believe that they really do love the products they recommend. Even more importantly, they want to see you take good care of your new cut and color.

“It is hard for me to understand why so many women will spend so much on coloring their hair but they won’t take my product recommendations,” said Gratto. “I’m really suggesting what I think is best for your hair. I want your color to last and your hair to stay healthy, I’m not making enough off the products I sell for it to be about the money!”

When in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask your hairstylist exactly what they think about something you’re unsure about. Remember, they’re on your side and their ultimate goal is that you leave their salon with healthy hair that makes you feel confident and comfortable.

Nobody likes seeing a new wrinkle.

Unfortunately, wrinkles are a part of aging—up to a point. Your habits can make your skin age prematurely, and the right approach can dramatically reduce the appearance of new wrinkles.

Here are a few things many of us are doing every day that can cause our skin to age more rapidly.

1. Not Using Sunscreen

If you only use sunscreen when you’re sitting in direct sunlight at the pool, you’re setting yourself up for some serious skin damage. Even just a few minutes of sun exposure leads to the breakdown of collagen within your skin. Collagen is the protein that gives your skin its strength and elasticity, so when that is damaged, wrinkles start to appear.

“We now have the scientific evidence to back the long-held assumption about the cosmetic value of sunscreen,” said Dr. Adele Green, lead author of a recent study that examined the effects of sunscreen on aging. “Regular sunscreen use by young and mid-aged adults under 55 brings cosmetic benefits and also decreases the risk of skin cancer.”

It’s a good idea to use sunscreen regularly, even on cloudy days, as UV rays simply aren’t great for your skin’s collagen. If you wear makeup, you can even look for brands with built-in SPF protection.

2. Picking at Your Skin

When you start to pick at a zit or ingrown hair, you’re going to do some damage. That’s especially true when you use your fingernails, which often introduce bacteria into the opening in your skin.

“When performed properly, extractions can clear certain types of pimples. However, bad techniques combined with attempts to pick non-pickable pimples can be a recipe for disaster,” said Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, to Allure.

If you need to pick at something, try only using thin tweezers or safety pins, sanitized carefully before and after each use. Better yet, use a product with salicylic acid to treat pimples properly—and if you have a recurring skin issue, see a dermatologist.

3. A High-Sugar Diet

Eating a high sugar diet is terrible for your overall health and especially bad for your skin. The saying “you are what you eat” is actually somewhat true on a molecular level.

When you consume a lot of sugar, a process called glycation occurs; sugar molecules attach themselves to proteins in your skin, causing them to become rigid and disfigured. Collagen is one such protein.

A high-sugar diet can also cause inflammation, which is another cause of collagen breakdown. All of these factors can have a serious impact on the appearance of your skin.

4. Sleeping in Makeup

“During the day you accumulate a lot of oxidative stress,” New York dermatologist Dr. Erin Gilbert told HuffPost. “When you sleep in your makeup you are not giving your skin a chance to recover from those insults, which can lead to premature aging.”

Thicker products are often more problematic, but there’s no “safe” makeup to wear to bed. Don’t be lazy—if you’re headed for the bedroom, wash off your makeup before your head hits the pillow.

Caly Bevier was just 15 years old when she developed a strange set of symptoms. She felt bloated and nauseated. At first, she just dismissed the illness. Then the discomfort came to a head at the end of a family vacation in Orlando, Florida. Caly could tell that something just wasn’t right.

The Bowling Green, Ohio, girl went to her doctor, who arrived at the obvious conclusion: Caly was pregnant. That couldn’t be, Caly insisted.
“[The doctor] said the only other thing it could be is a tumor on your ovaries,” Caly told People. “And I said, ‘That’s what it has to be, then.'”
Sadly, Caly was right. Her doctor found a 5-pound tumor in her gut. Caly had ovarian cancer. By the time she sought treatment, she was already in stage 3.

What followed will be familiar to anyone who’s faced cancer themselves or has seen a loved one through it: three months of chemotherapy, for a total of 21 exhausting treatments. She also had an ovary and a fallopian tube removed.

In the end, the treatments were worth any amount of discomfort. Caly was in remission.

During her months-long battle with ovarian cancer, Caly lost her hair, but not her fighting spirit. She met another young patient battling cancer in the hospital, and the aspiring entertainer sang a benefit concert for him.

Her dad filmed her singing “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten and the video went viral.
Next thing she knew, Caly was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and America’s Got Talent, in which she proceeded all the way to the semi-final round. In a roundabout way, Caly’s cancer introduced her to her dream.

“It made me realize I wanted to pursue a career in music,” Caly told People when she was 17.
She’s got a pretty good start. A few years after her cancer went into remission, Caly moved to L.A. to pursue her career. By January 2017, she had a manager and songwriters—some of whom have previously worked with big names like Jason Derulo and Katy Perry.

Caly is using her new platform as an entertainer to spread the word about the dangers of ovarian cancer.

Hers was a rare form of the illness, but she wants everyone to know that the disease can strike anywhere. If it can happen to a 15-year-old competitive cheerleader from the Midwest, it can happen to anyone.
“I had a lump growing in my stomach for a year and I just ignored it,” she said. “I didn’t really think anything of it because it wasn’t a problem.”

Caly isn’t alone in missing the signs of her disease. Dagmar Stein, Director of Pediatric Hematology Oncology at ProMedica Toledo Children’s Hospital, was in charge of Caly’s treatment. Stein told People why it’s so hard to spot the symptoms early.
“Caly’s is a very rare form of ovarian cancer. There are some symptoms—pain in the back and abdomen, burning urination, and some constipation…but the symptoms are very nonspecific and that’s why ovarian cancer is very difficult to pick up. You won’t feel anything until the cancer is large and that’s why it can be so deadly for women.”
Caly has been cancer free for two years, but she’ll never forget the battle for her life. She’s devoted to raising awareness about ovarian cancer, particularly in young women.

To that end, she recently performed at a fundraising event called Catwalk for a Cause.

NASCAR driver Martin Truex sponsored the event through his charitable organization, the Martin Truex Junior Foundation. Truex organized the first Catwalk for a Cause in 2009 with the goal of raising funds to combat pediatric cancer.

The yearly event took on even more special significance three years ago, when Truex’s girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Since then, the Catwalk for a Cause has raised money for both pediatric cancer and ovarian cancer—and Caly had both.
“She’s unbelievable and it’s cool for me [to have her perform] because she’s an ovarian cancer survivor,” Pollex told People. “We were both Stage 3. But now we’re both survivors and even our hair is about the same length. She’s just amazing.”

Caly was just as pleased to play the fundraiser.
“I want to make people aware of cancer through my music,” Caly said. “I tell my story to inspire other people to want to keep fighting and live their life to fullest.”

If you have a family history of ovarian cancer, ask your doctor if there’s anything you can do to decrease the risk.

Your doctor might prescribe birth control pills, which can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 50 percent after five years of treatment. As with any health care decision, start by talking to your doctor about the risks.

Be on the lookout for symptoms. They’re subtle, but if you have abdominal discomfort, changes in appetite or bowel movements, bloating, unexplained weight loss, or nausea, it’s a good idea to tell your doctor.
To support the Martin Truex Junior Foundation in their mission to fund research on childhood and ovarian cancer, as well as family support programs, visit their website here.

My brother once spent a month in the intensive care unit (ICU) after a car accident. During that time, his doctors would breeze in the room, look at his chart, and spend a few moments discussing his care before popping back out.

His nurses, however, were there 24 hours a day. They changed his bandages, washed his hair when he started to smell, and didn’t flinch when he made some very inappropriate comments after a bad interaction with some of his medication.

The women and men who care for others as nurses are professionals. Never “just a nurse.” Nurses are equal parts healthcare providers, patient advocates, therapists, and superheroes. Most of us though, don’t realize just how vital nurses are in day-to-day hospital operations.

We asked nurses to weigh in on what they wish patients knew about their job. What they shared with us just might surprise you.

1. “One of the things that annoy nurses the most is when people say, ‘I think I have this diagnosis because I looked it up on Google.'”

Thanks to Dr. Google, people can look up aches and pains online. In moderation, googling symptoms isn’t so bad, but it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of cyberchondria. It starts by looking up that niggling pain in your stomach.

Before you know it, you’ve diagnosed yourself with one of the rarest incurable diseases in the world.

Among people who used online symptom checkers, 67 percent later sought unnecessary medical treatment. Excessive visits to the emergency room or doctor’s office place a greater strain on nurses who already have a full patient load.

Because people seek unnecessary treatment as a result of online research, nurses have less time to spend caring for patients who are in need of medical treatment.

What’s more, nurses and doctors say, is that cyberchondria often leads patients to try to treat their symptoms on their own, which can land you in the emergency room even if you were perfectly fine before.

Instead, nurses and doctors recommend that if you feel sick or are in pain, it’s always best to simply call your healthcare provider to see if you need to come in to be seen.

2. “In the ICU, it’s frustrating when patients say we’re neglecting or ignoring them…when in reality if I’m not sitting outside my patient’s room then I’m in another room helping with a patient who is crashing or coding.”

In critical care units, nurses are trained to deal with life-threatening medical conditions.

Although ICU nurses often have a much smaller patient load—typically one to two patients at a time, emergency patient situations often arise that demand a nurse’s full attention until a patient is stabilized.

According to one ICU nurse, “It took me a few years to not hate my job, and that was when I realized you’re not going to have a quick fix with all of your patients.”

3. “We need lunch breaks and bathroom breaks too!”

Although restroom and lunch breaks are figured into the salaries of many nursing professionals, most rarely get to take a break during shifts that can be as long as 12 to 24 hours.

That’s because most nurses are supposed to take breaks using a buddy system, in which a nurse covers the patients of a nurse who’s on break.

However, according to research done by NPR, one “nurse says she rarely stops. Not for 12 hours. She’s an emergency room nurse in a busy urban hospital. The ideal, she says, would be one nurse for every three patients in her ER. But she typically cares for five patients or more—often eight, if she’s covering for a colleague taking a lunch break. She says there are times when she can’t leave patients’ bedsides.”

The inability to take a break is one of the biggest reasons for nurse burnout on the job. In fact, the majority of nurses feel “stressed, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized.”

Ultimately, this affects a nurse’s ability to provide the best patient care. In some states, nurses have taken action, winning legal battles to take appropriate breaks. When they get those breaks, nurses are happier, and patients receive better care.

4. “Could you please stop talking while I am trying to listen to your heart/lungs?”

While you’re busy explaining your symptoms in great detail, your nurse is busy trying to assess your vital signs. A patient’s blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and respiratory rate determine the next steps in their care, which is why it’s extremely important to stay silent during this examination.

Vital signs ought to be the most reliable pieces of information in a patient’s file, but when a nurse is distracted at the time of examination, the results are often incorrect. This can have serious consequences for a patient’s health.

For example, a patient might receive an inaccurate diagnosis based on the vital signs that were recorded.

So don’t take it personally if a nurse cuts your conversation short. Although chatting with your nurse might make you feel more at ease, your nurse is simply trying to stay focused on providing the best medical care.

5. “I understand you are sick, and I am here to care for you. But I am not your maid, and this is not a hotel, it is a hospital.”

Hospitals have started offering more amenities to patients, in part because insurance reimbursements are now directly tied to patient satisfaction. In one survey, patients were asked to rate how quickly they received help after pressing the nurse call button without indicating if the help requested was medical in nature.

“Patients have complained on the survey…about everything from ‘My roommate was dying all night and his breathing was very noisy’ to ‘The hospital doesn’t have Splenda.’ A nurse at the New Jersey hospital lacking Splenda said, ‘This somehow became the fault of the nurse and ended up being placed in her personnel file. …Many patients have unrealistic expectations for their care and their outcomes,’ the nurse said.”

Both hospitals and hotels often have cable television, but that’s really where the similarities end.

A nurse’s main focus is on overall patient care. If an immobile patient asks for more water, a nurse is more than happy to accommodate that request. However, if you’re perfectly capable of fluffing your own pillow or changing your television station, think twice before pressing the call button.

6. “You know that you are having surgery, that we are operating on you, and that you are going to be naked on an operating table. Please, for the love of all things, wash yourself and clean your belly button!”

Nurses, like most people, appreciate general good hygiene in others.

Bathing immobile patients is part of the job, but most nurses draw the line at patients who show up for scheduled surgery smelling less than fresh.

It’s not just because nurses have delicate noses. Bathing before scheduled surgery is recommended in most medical offices to help prevent post-op infections.

Please note that although nurses want you to be clean for surgery, they do advise skipping perfumes, deodorants, and lotions that could contaminate the surgical site.

Nurses have touched millions of lives and looked after countless numbers of people in need. Let’s do our best to show them the same care they’ve shown all of us.