I've been a nurse for almost 10 years now (man I'm getting old) and through the years I have lost count of how many times I've been asked the same questions by friends, relatives, and sometimes patients. Usually they were the type of questions that were not answered in nursing school. Therefore, I would usually respond with the normal old wives' tales, urban legends, or things I had heard from other nurses and doctors. ( or just what ever I thought was the right answer)
Recently I became pretty much obsessed with stuffing my brain full of useless but hilarious information. It my search for new info I came across the book " Why Do Men Have Nipples?" by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, MD. This book offered the answers to most of those questions we all secretly wonder about.
I've decided to pass along the answers to some of my most frequently asked questions and some others that I found too funny to leave out. So here are the top 30.
1. If you are bitten by a snake, should you suck out the poison?
This old urban legend is definitely not true. Not only is it completely ineffective, but it's also gross and may lead to serious infections at the site.
2. Does chocolate cause acne?
There is absolutely no medical proof that eating chocolate leads to an increase in acne. However, it is true that women truly crave chocolate when experiencing PMS. This craving is similar to Pica, a common unusual craving that many pregnant women experience.
3. Why are you served juice and cookies after donating blood?
There is no solid medical reason for serving juice and cookies after donating blood. The idea is that the juice helps to replenish fluid volume and cookies increase the blood sugar. However, a normal person should not experience low blood sugar levels after giving blood and a cup of juice will make no difference in the volume of fluid in the body. The best use of this snack is to allow you to rest and adjust before you go on your way.
4. Is it possible that chewing ice is addictive?
Chewing ice (the frozen water variety) may be habit forming, but is not physically or mentally addictive. However, people who are suffering from iron deficiency anemia frequently experience intense cravings for ice. The medical term for the craving of ice is "pagophagia". Iron deficiency anemia may also lead to a craving for tomatoes, a condition called "Tomatophagia". However it is proven that chewing ice may help relieve nausea.
5. Can eating carrots improve your vision?
Carrots contain beta-carotene which is turned into vitamin A in the human body. Carrots will only help the vision of people who have a vitamin A deficiency, which is not the usual cause of poor eyesight. If your poor vision is caused by any other condition, eating carrots will not help, no matter how many you eat.
6. Does coffee stunt your growth?
As long as you generally eat a healthy nutritious diet, drinking coffee will not effect your growth. In some older people who are unhealthy, caffeine can be linked to osteoporosis, but is not a significant factor.
7. Do spicy foods cause ulcers?
No. However, eating spicy foods can irritate an ulcer that is already present. Drinking alcohol, smoking, and experiencing stress can also make ulcers worse. Most ulcers are caused by an infection or from frequent over-use of anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin or Advil. Common treatment is antibiotics or decreasing the use of the medications that lead to ulcers.
8. Does cracking your knuckles cause arthritis?
No, cracking your knuckles doesn't cause arthritis, however it can cause other types of damage, including stretching of ligaments and a decrease in grip strength. So what makes that "pop" sound? The sound is produced when bubbles burst in the fluid that surrounds the joint.
9. Why do men have nipples?
The reason for this is that all embryos start off in a similar way. During development, the embryo follows a female template until about 6 weeks, when the male chromosome kicks in for the guys. This is why men have nipples and some breast tissue. They can also have breast cancer. Certain medical conditions may cause swelling of a man's breasts.
10. Should you put butter on a burn?
Never. It will trap the heat in the skin and prolong the pain. Use cool water instead. Honey can also be used due to its antibacterial effects. However severe burns should be treated at the local ER.
11. Is it dangerous to pop zits?
I admit this one surprised me a bit. The answer is yes, it can be dangerous and even fatal!!! Squeezing pimples can drive the bacteria deeper into the tissue, causing more redness and swelling. It is also the most common cause of scarring. The deadly complication is called "Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis", a blood clot in the vessels of the sinus cavity. The real danger zone is an area referred to as "the triangle of death", an area stretching from the bridge of the nose to the corner of the mouth to the width of the jaw.
12. Does urinating on a jellyfish sting stop the burning?
No, actually it makes it much worse. Don't believe everything you see on TV. The best course of action is to remove any visible tentacles, using gloves if possible. Then rinse the area with a large amount of household vinegar. If vinegar isn't available, salt water can be used.
13. What are hiccups?
Hiccups are caused by irritation to the diaphragm, a muscle that assists breathing, causing air to be pushed up rapidly in a way that it makes an irregular sound. Some causes of this irritation are: digestion of food or alcohol, air in the stomach, excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and/or certain drugs. It can also be caused by excitement or stress. Most last only a few minutes, but some last for days or weeks. Hiccups lasting longer than this are rare and usually a sign of a more serious condition such as a hernia, severe reflux disease, or a tumor. Hiccups lasting longer than one month are called "intractable hiccups". The longest recorded attack of hiccups lasted six decades. Surgery may be required in extreme cases or sedation using the antipsychotic drug "Thorazine".
14. Can poppy seeds make you test positive for heroin?
The answer is yes! Eating poppy seeds can cause your drug screen to test positive for opiates and in some tests, positive for heroin. Some reports suggest that eating just 3 poppy seed bagels is significant enough to cause a false positive result. Cultivated poppies are the source of opium, from which morphine and heroin are produced.
15. Does marijuana help glaucoma?
Yes, but to sustain the correct pressure level within the eyes, you would have to smoke 10 to 12 joints a day! Then you would be so high you wouldn't care if you can see or not.
16. Why do your teeth chatter when you are cold?
When your body gets too cold, a center of the brain called the hypothalamus, induces shivering. Shivering is a rapid movement of muscles that generates heat. Teeth chattering is caused by localized shivering.
17. What are Goose Bumps?
Goose bumps are caused by tiny muscles called "arrectores pilorum". These muscles cause the hair follicles to contract and raise above the skin. This happens due to stimulus in the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body's "fight or flight" response. Most common causes are fear and being cold.
18. Is Sperm Nutritious? Is it fattening?
Sperm is not extremely nutritious or fattening. The average amount of ejaculate is about one teaspoon and contains between two and three million sperm. Total calories is about 5. These calories come from protein, including enzymes and sugars secreted into the semen by the prostate gland. Those proteins give the sperm the energy to swim. Also found in semen is: water, vitamin C, citric acid, phosphate, bicarbonates, zinc, and prostaglandins. So, though it is not very nutritious, it's not unhealthy for you either.
19. Is it possible to get pregnant while on your period?
Yes, especially in women who have shorter cycles (around 21 days). These women frequently ovulate during the final days of their period.
20. Is it true that you can break your penis?
I'm sorry to say, but this is true. There is no bone in your "bone", but you can rupture the penis, which is called a "penile fracture". Sudden trauma or bending of the penis while in an erect state can break the thick fibrous coat surrounding the tissues that cause an erection. This happens most frequently during sex. It is a true emergency and usually requires surgery to prevent sexual dysfunction.
21. Does masturbation cause stuttering, blindness, or hairy palms?
This is not true, actually, frequent ejaculation may be good for you. Men who ejaculate at a frequency of at least 21 times per month have a lower risk of prostate cancer.
22. Can a man run out of sperm?
No, the well will never run dry. A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have, but a man's supply of sperm is constantly renewed throughout his life. However, men over the age of 35 have more abnormalities in sperm movement and more sperm with damaged DNA.
23. Is it possible to ignite a fart?
The answer is yes! The flammable character of farts is due to hydrogen and methane. The average fart is composed of 59% nitrogen, 21% hydrogen, 9% carbon dioxide, 7% methane, and 4% oxygen. Less than 1% of the fart causes the bad smell.
24. Will you die if you eat your own feces?
There is a psychiatric condition called "coprophagia", the eating of one's own feces. It is said that Adolf Hitler had this condition and also enjoyed having his lovers defecate on him as well. You can get very sick from eating feces, but it shouldn't be fatal. Some complications from snacking on shit include hepatitis, oral infections, abscesses, and a variety of other diseases. Not to mention the morning breath!!
25. Do truth serums really exist?
This seems pure fiction, but they do exist. Barbiturates such as "sodium amytal" and "sodium pentothal" have been used as truth serums since the early 20th century. They are not 100% accurate however.
26. Can you get scared to death?
Not only can you be scared to death (frequently caused by a sudden stress induced heart attack), but you can also scare the pants off someone, be scared stiff, scare someone shitless, and be scared out of your wits.
27. Do people ever really have webbed hands or feet?
Yes! People can have webbed hands and feet. It's actually more common than you may think. It occurs in about one in one thousand births. Actually, as an embryo we all start off with webbed fingers and toes. Usually at about the 8th week they separate, but occasionally this fails to happen.
28. Does hot or cold weather cause a cold?
I think every nurse in history has had this argument with his/her mom or grandmother. No matter how hard it is to convince people, the answer is no. The common cold is caused by a virus and cannot be healed with antibiotics.
29. It is dangerous to hold in a sneeze?
Though your head won't explode and your eyeballs probably won't pop out, it can be very dangerous. Holding in a sneeze can lead to fractures in nasal cartilage, nosebleeds, burst eardrums, hearing loss, vertigo (severe dizziness), detached retinas, and facial swelling. The air expelled by sneezes travels at up to 100 miles per hour and sends two to five thousand bacteria-filled droplets into the air. So please turn your head and cover your mouth and nose!!
30. Is it possible to swallow your tongue?
We've all seen movies where someone has a seizure and swallows there tongue. This is commonly believed to be true, but it is NOT possible to swallow your tongue. It can block the airway, but is impossible to swallow.
Well, I hope you enjoyed and that I didn't bore you to death.
Thanks!!
Susan