Eyesight (1) May 22, 2007
I have frighteningly poor eyesight.  I'm nearsighted, meaning I can't see things that are far away.  I have no trouble reading or staring at a computer screen all day, I just can't see words on street signs and the faces of people down the hall.  I often wonder if I continually make enemies with people I work with because I can't recognize their faces.  When I look down the mile-long hallway at work (seriously, my building is phenomenally long and straight), I sometimes see people in the middle or at the other end.  Or at least I think they're people.  They're basically just people-shaped blobs with no colors or distinguishing features.  When I see people that far away, I usually look down or look away so I won't feel obligated to attempt to identify them.  To a person halfway down the hall, that could definitely look like a "hey I know you but I don't want to acknowledge your existence" kind of look.  If I get beat up one day on the playground after work, I'll know why. 

I used to cheat on eyesight tests in high school.  I knew I had horrible vision, but I wasn't willing to acknowledge the fact that I needed glasses.  I functioned perfectly fine without them (minus the road signs and distant facial recognition thing) in most areas of life, so there was really no need to carry around a fragile, expensive object that would either make me look smart or gain me nicknames (I'd lean towards the latter).  So whenever I got my vision checked, I would wait until the test administrator (usually the nurse) turned to look at the chart, and I would remove the eye cover and look at the chart with both eyes (my left eye is pretty much useless).  This got me through at least 2 or 3 years of regular physicals. 

Sometime in college, I finally admitted that glasses might help.  I couldn't see road signs when I was driving at night, so I would get hopelessly lost and be late to things.  I couldn't see the chalkboard in class, but thankfully this didn't affect me since no learning takes place in a college classroom.  I got my eyes checked and got glasses, and now I can see.  The only problem is that I leave them in the car so I can use them while driving at night, so all other times when glasses might be useful happen without eyesight.  This is especially bad when two good eyes are a requirement, such as 3D or IMAX movies. #health
World fatness (7) May 15, 2007
This little pictograph shows the top 27 fattest countries in the world, based on the percentage of each country's population above the age of 15 with a body mass index greater than 30.  The information used to develop the chart was obtained from this Wikipedia image.  Some interesting notes: 
  1. The U.S. is in first place.  USA!  USA!
  2. Hungary is in the top 10.  Heh.
  3. Japan and Korea, despite being major world powers and population centers, are quite low.
  4. China is conspicuously missing from the chart, which either means there was no data from China or Chinese people are in fact all skinny.
(via Neatorama) #health
Deodorant immunity Apr 17, 2007
When I was in high school, I came to the depressing realization that my body was immune to deodorant.  I would put it on in the morning after I took a shower, but by the middle of the day, I stunk like dog.  I figured it was my lot in life, so I'd better just accept it and walk around with my arms pressed tightly to my sides. 

But then in college, I received one of those Freshman Survival Kits which had deodorant among other stupidly nonessential essentials.  I quickly noticed that this deodorant actually worked, so it became part of my daily routine.  Oddly enough, this is around the time people started talking to me and becoming my friends.  I'm not sure if there's any correlation between armpit stink and friends. 

After a few months, the effect of the new deodorant wore off.  To test a theory, I went to the store and bought a completely new kind that I had never tried before.  And it worked great.  That's how I reached my conclusion:  The human body (or at least my human body) develops an immunity to a specific deodorant after a certain period of regular use.  And once this immunity is developed, it can't be overcome.  In high school, I used regular old Speed Stick (the green kind).  It smelled good before it touched my skin, but as soon as it was on me, it smelled weird.  And then after about 3 or 4 hours, it went from weird to bad.  And this is still true.  I've tried this "flavor" again recently and had the same results.  I also tried the kind from the Freshman Survival Kit again, and it had the same non-effect. 

However, there's a way around this:  Always rotate between 2 or 3 different kinds of deodorant.  For whatever reason, this seems to trick the body into not developing an immunity. #health
Sunburn Mar 12, 2007
I'm pale-skinned, and I like the sun.  Sunburn is a part of my life.  The worst sunburn I ever got was sometime around the age of 10 or 12 when I played outside all day and got sunburn on my arms so bad it turned to blisters.  The worst area of the body to get sunburn is any place that bends or regularly touches other things, such as the tops of feet, behind the knees, and the entire back.  Getting sunburn on the head is unusually painful because it feels like the sun actually touched your brain.  I'd have to say the worst part about sunburn is that you don't know you have it until it's too late.  And there's really no indication that it's happening.  Some people think they can see my skin getting red, but that's not how it works.  Sunburn shows up several hours later.  I can be in the hot sun for hours and feel like my skin is melting off, but if I'm wearing sunscreen, I get no color at all.  Thank God for sunscreen.  My life would be quite different without it.  Either I'd be a recluse or I'd constantly be in extreme pain. #health
Extra organs Feb 7, 2007
I'm amazed that the human body can easily live without major functional organs.  Things like the gall bladder, the tonsils, and the appendix are all completely expendable.  If they cause you problems, just get rid of them; your body will function completely normally without them.  Amazing.  And what's also amazing is that the most recommended treatment for these problematic organs is not medication or surgery, but removal. #health
X-ray (3) Jan 24, 2007
The X-ray business is a funny one.  Whether you're getting some pictures of your teeth or a CAT scan of some internal organs, the thought of safety is sometimes laughable.  I understand that the amount and strength of the radiation entering your body isn't enough to kill you or cause any major damage.  But if that's true, why are there so many safety precautions? 

For instance, I find it at least slightly odd that the person administering the X-ray leaves the room during the test.  They say it's for safety because they don't want any spare X-rays bouncing off the walls, shooting into their brains, and melting their souls.  What about the person on the receiving end of the focused beam of radiation?  Isn't anyone concerned about that person?  Shouldn't they be wearing some sort of tinfoil hat or something? 

The other funny thing is when the dentist lays a heavy sheet of metal across your chest right before you get an X-ray.  For guys, the dentist positions the vest so it covers the "vitals" ... eh em.  This is a noble idea and I applaud it greatly, but my main concern during an X-ray is the fact that the gun-shaped instrument is pointed right at my skull.  I agree that having a healthy reproductive system is essential for having healthy babies, but what about a properly functioning brain?  Sure my equipment still works, but now I'm too stupid to use it. #health
One-A-Day puke (4) Jan 3, 2007
For as long as I've been taking vitamins, I've taken Centrum.  But one time when I was in college and on a fixed (or nonexistent) income, I went for One-A-Day because they were cheaper.  No more than 20 minutes after taking one, I would vomit.  The back of the package said to take it with a meal, so I tried that but didn't have any better luck.  I stopped taking them for a while, and my puking stopped.  I started taking them again, and my puking resumed.  When I told my dad about it, he suggested it might have been a bad batch.  He said I should write the company and sue their pants off, but I already threw the bottle out. 

A while later, a friend at school said he had the same experience with One-A-Day.  He stopped taking them and swore off them completely.  This led me to the conclusion that it wasn't just a bad batch.  Several years down the road, I still hear about people who have the same experience.  They try One-A-Day vitamins for whatever reason and end up puking their guts out for apparently no reason.  After talking to a friend or seeing a doctor, they figure out their puke is a result of their vitamins.  Whodathunkit?  Searching the internet only turns up a few comments from a product review, which say the vitamins are fat-soluble, so an empty stomach will cause the body to reject them. 

Has anyone out there had a similar experience? #health
Giving blood (3) Dec 10, 2006
I enjoy giving blood.  It's an easy way to help people out without putting forth too much effort.  You just sit there and let somebody stick a needle in your arm.  It's understandable when people don't give blood because they're afraid of needles.  The dumbest excuse for not giving blood (sorry if that person is reading this) was something along the lines of the level of uncleanliness and disease-spreading capabilities in the blood-giving process.  I can sort of understand that logic, but if you've ever actually gone through the process, you'd know it's extremely clean and sterile, and I've never heard of anybody getting sick from donating at a blood drive. 

I get reminders in the mail every now and then that tell me what's going on the world of blood-giving and things like that.  They're always trying to get me to give blood.  And that's fine; I'm totally willing to give blood on a regular basis.  The problem is, blood drives are poorly organized and poorly managed.  They're usually at an obscure location and/or at an inconvenient time.  And there are often too many people giving at one time, so there are unnecessarily long lines and wait times.  I'd be more than willing to give blood on a regular basis if it was a little more convenient.  If it was as easy as going to an ATM or stopping somewhere to get coffee, I'd do it as much as possible.  I'm a quick bleeder and I'm comfortable with blood and needles, so I'm usually in and out quicker than most people.  And I don't really need time to sit around and eat cookies afterwards (though I usually do anyway because I like cookies).  So maybe somebody could create a blood drive center with slow, medium, and fast service.  Have a walk-in area where you provide identification and answer a few quick questions ("Since the last time you gave blood, have you had sex with a gay man while living in African and shared needles with AIDS patients?"  Still no.).  Then do a quick sit down, pump out blood, get up and go.  Simple as that.  I'd be a regular giver. 

The other way they could attract more people to give blood is to hand each person a $5 bill after they give.  Or give them an actual meal.  Since there's money exchanged for donated blood (blood money, if you will), the donor should see some of that money.  And while we appreciate the cookies and juice boxes, I'd be a heck of a lot happier with a sandwich or some cash.  Make it part of a deal:  Turkey BLT, 1 pint; Turkey BLT w/ drink and chips, 2 pints. #health
Zicam Dec 4, 2006
I keep seeing commercials for Zicam, the newest miracle cure for the common cold.  But every time I see the commercial, I get a little scared. 
What's that thing on the box?  What's it do?  Where does it go?  If it was meant to be taken orally, it would be in pill or syrup form.  If it was meant to be taken nasally, it would be in spray form.  Help me out here, I'm running out of orifices.  How else can stuff get in the human body?  Sure, there's ... ya know ... but why the heck would a company make a product meant to be taken that way, much less expect people to buy it?  That's crazy talk!  No cold is bad enough to take medicine that way.  I would go so far as to say there are few deadly diseases that are worth being treated in that entrance. 
Doctor:  It looks like we'll have to administer the treatment in ... well, ya know ... the other end. 
Me:  It looks like I'll be opting for death. 
Doctor:  Good choice.  I'd do the same.
Fear not!  The product instructions clear things up.  On the 7th step (good God, why did it take that long?):  "Apply medication just inside of each nostril."  And there ya have it, folks.  That Q-tip-thing is made to be shoved up your nose.  I never would have thought that being told to put a foreign object in my nose would come as such a relief. #health
Vimo Oct 30, 2006
Vimo is a site that specializes in "comparison shopping for health".  While I'm not interested in shopping for health insurance, I am interested in the site's other function:  Rating doctors and dentists.  I have an opinion about most things, and my horrible experiences at doctors' and dentists' offices are certainly no exception.  I reviewed one of my doctors here and one of my dentists here.  By far, my biggest complaint of these people (except my current dentist) is their amount of disrespect for my time.  Here I am, a healthy person taking time out of my day for a voluntary physical checkup, paying these people so that I can sit around in the waiting room.  And then after I sit around in the waiting room, I sit around in the smaller waiting room in only my underwear.  Jerry Seinfeld was right:  "There's no chance of not waiting.  That's the name of the room."  But anyway, Vimo is a pretty easy-to-use site and it's good to be able to see what people think about a doctor or dentist before scheduling an appointment.  The only bad part about the site is that you have to register in order to submit reviews.  But they only ask for your name and email address, so it's not too bad.  On the plus side, reviews can be submitted as "Anonymous" in case you don't want the health care mafia knocking at your door. 

This is a sponsored post. #health