STATES CHRONICLE – A woman from Great Britain went to the hospital after suffering intense abdominal pain and bloating for several days. At first, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Later, doctors discovered the real source of her pain was two pieces of Heinz ketchup packaging which had got stuck in her bowels.

Doctors thought the woman has Crohn’s disease

The 41-year-old woman experienced acute abdominal pain for at least three days, so she decided it was time to go see a doctor. The symptoms she exhibited were similar to those of Crohn’s disease, so the doctors administered her the treatment suitable for the disease. However, the woman didn’t respond well to it.

When they noticed the treatment didn’t work, they decided it was time to perform a surgery. This is how they observed that a swollen mass was piercing the wall of the woman’s intestine, causing the acute pain. After removing the mass, they were surprised to observe it was actually made of two pieces of ketchup packaging with the Heinz logo designed on them.

The inflammation was caused by two pieces of ketchup packaging

As soon as the ketchup packaging was taken away from the woman’s bowels, she immediately started feeling better. The pain disappeared and she no longer exhibited any symptoms similar to those of Crohn’s disease. What was interesting was that the woman didn’t remember consuming ketchup from such packaging.

Doctors thought the phenomenon was interesting, and developed a case study published in the British Medical Journal. Crohn’s disease is caused by an inflammation of the bowels, either in the last part of the small intestine or the first part of the colon. The symptoms include sudden weight loss, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Doctors observed that ingesting foreign bodies could accurately simulate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease.
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STATES CHRONICLE – Many people take calcium and vitamin D supplements to ensure the health of their bones. Also, most of them think these substances help them avoid suffering fractures. Unfortunately for them, a recent study revealed these kinds of supplements don’t actually keep fractures away, especially for the elderly, but there are still plenty of reasons to keep taking them.

Calcium and vitamin D don’t act as treatments

Calcium and vitamin D belong to the dietary supplement category. This means they are not really drugs, and the FDA gave them a different status. In other words, taking these substances doesn’t really fight against diseases or conditions. Also, the FDA didn’t give them approval as treatments, meaning that their purpose is a different one.

If you like, you can compare supplements like calcium and vitamin D with vegetables. In fact, some products actually contain the substances. Instead of treating diseases, they are just healthy compounds which help you preserve your health and well-being. However, if you suffer from a condition, they won’t be enough to treat them.

You can take most of these substances from food

You don’t really have to take calcium and vitamin D supplements if you consume enough foods which contain them. However, if you don’t, then your doctor might advise you to take them. Of course, they can definitely help your bones, but it doesn’t mean you are completely safe from fractures. The bones might not be too feeble, but you still have to pay attention to what you do.

This might not be the good news you have been expected, so you should make sure you take care of your bones. First of all, you should eat many dairy products, as they contain a big part of the calcium and vitamin D you need. However, you don’t always take all that is necessary from foods, so you should talk to your doctor and see what supplements you can take.

The study on the supplements which don’t protect you from fractures has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A woman from Great Britain has an unusual ability which can be of great use to doctors and researchers. After her husband got diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, she learned how to sniff the condition, helping researchers identify 10 molecules which are responsible with it. By being aware of this information, they can perform a first diagnostic test.

The woman could detect a change in her husband’s smell before developing Parkinson’s

Joy Milne, aged 67, had a husband who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and died in 2015. However, six years before he received a diagnosis and before exhibiting any movement difficulty, she discovered a fain difference in his odor. This attracted the attention of researchers, who decided to run a few tests.

By having Mrs. Milne undergo a few assessments, they discovered she could sniff Parkinson’s disease. By smelling the skin of different people, she could tell who had the disease and who was healthy just by the odor they released. She even discovered a person who still didn’t have symptoms, but then ended up developing the disease.

She is able to sniff the molecules associated with the disease

The researchers continued the study, and discovered 10 molecules which were more prevalent in the skin of the people with Parkinson’s. This is of huge importance, as a mere analysis can detect the disease in its early stages, even before the apparition of symptoms. Therefore, researchers are extremely grateful to Mrs. Milne and her incredible ability to sniff the disease.

Parkinson’s is one of the most debilitating diseases, as people who develop it quickly become unable to speak or move. What makes it even worse is the fact that, when symptoms appear, a big part of the nerve cells have already been damaged. Therefore, such a preliminary test is a huge achievement, as it might help researchers ease the symptoms and maybe develop possible treatments.
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STATES CHRONICLE – Spending too much time out on a sunny day without wearing sunscreen can be dangerous. However, many of us think it won’t hurt us if, one time, we forget to apply protective cream and go out for a walk. The best example of what can happen in such cases is given by a man from Texas who shaved his head and then spent 14 hours outside in broad sunlight.

The man’s skin lost its elasticity after the sunburn, thus causing the weird-looking dents

Cade Huckabay has recently posted pictures of the sunburn he suffered six months ago. Since he didn’t apply any sunscreen` and his head was freshly shaven, spending many hours in the sun turned out extremely bad. His head got swollen and, after pressing this area, he could leave a dent on his forehead which stayed there.

These photos, which were posted on Twitter quickly went viral, as they gathered over 100,000 retweets. When asked about the situation, Huckabay said that this was the first time when his head and forehead had ‘seen the sun’. Usually, he kept them covered with hats or hair, so it was natural that he would suffer a severe sunburn.

Sunburns increase the risk of developing skin cancer

However, he didn’t suffer any adverse symptoms apart from this extreme swelling. He didn’t feel ill, and said he was just like before, only that his head was slightly bigger. Also, his skin lost its elasticity due to the extreme sunburn, so he could leave a dent on his head. After pressing it in, it remained visible for about half an hour.

Getting one bad sunburn once doesn’t automatically means you’ll develop skin cancer. However, prolonged exposure to UV rays might favorize the development of the disease, as the skin degrades with every sunburn you get. This is why you should always apply sunscreen, wear protective clothes, and avoid going out when the sunrays are the most powerful, namely between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

One time I shaved my head, got severely sunburned, & swelled up just a little bit 🙂 pic.twitter.com/9FWw3jcdYf

— Cade Huckabay (@CadeHuckabay) December 5, 2017

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STATES CHRONICLE – The older types of oral birth control contained plenty of estrogen, thus increasing the women’s risk of developing breast cancer. Now, the newer types of oral contraceptives have lower hormone doses, so they are safer. Even so, researchers have noticed there’s still a small risk associated with them, especially if they are taken for a longer period.

Oral birth control does increase the breast cancer risk, but not too much

Taking oral birth control is risky, as the quantity of hormones it contains might influence the development of breast cancer. After analyzing all the risk factors, researchers discovered they were similar to the ones put by intrauterine devices. However, when it came to other contraceptive methods which use hormones, they couldn’t establish how likely they were to cause cancer.

However, there’s no need to worry. There is a small increase in the cancer risk, but it doesn’t get a lot higher. For instance, among 7,700 women who take oral birth control, there was only one more cancer case per year. Whenever you want to opt for a contraceptive method, don’t forget to take into account the benefits of taking the pill, such as reducing the risk of other cancers.

Any kind of hormonal contraceptives are risky

As the hormone dose in newer oral birth control got smaller, people hoped the breast cancer risk might decrease as well. Unfortunately, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine came at everyone’s disappointment. A decrease is present, but it’s not too big.

For the study, researchers looked at the medical records of 1.8 million women from Denmark, with ages between 15 and 49. They analyzed their contraceptive use, cancer history, and several other medical information. There was an overall increase of 20 percent related to hormonal birth control, but it increased with prolonged use. All these treatments come with some risks, as they involve hormones, but it doesn’t mean that all of them are dangerous.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A recent analysis on a series of studies on the correlation between diet and heart disease brings great news for cheese lovers. Consuming a portion of cheesy goodness every day can cut the risk of developing heart disease and suffering a cardiac event by 14 percent.

Cheese consumption cuts the heart disease risk

If you love cheese, then you have all the chances to maintain your heart healthy. A recent report revealed that only 40 grams are enough to reduce the heart disease risk if consumed every day. Also, the same amount can cut the stroke risk by 10 percent. Several studies analyzed the correlation between regular dairy consumption and cardiovascular events, and discovered a clear connection between them.

These findings might seem a bit controversial, since they are opposed to most public health recommendations. Cheese is high in kilojoules, which can be harmful if consumed in big quantities. Therefore, nutritionists recommended people to consume more of those foods which share nutrients with dairy products.

This correlation stays true despite the high fat present in dairy products

However, these latest findings have been put up by collecting the results of 15 studies on cheese consumption and heart disease. Each individual study wasn’t strong enough to lead to a clear conclusion, but analyzing and comparing more of them revealed a pattern.

Despite the high kilojoule quantity, eating cheese on a daily basis is good for the heart. If you consume around 40 g every day, you have all the chances to reduce your risk of developing heart disease or of suffering a heart attack or a stroke.

However, the researchers couldn’t tell what impact long-term cheese consumption can have on health. Even so, the product is not as bad as it was presented by nutritionists. Despite all the saturated fats they contain, dairy products can have some real health benefits.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A recent study discovered a toxic sexual behavior which is quite widespread among men, and which they unconsciously adopt. It turns out that it’s hard for them to tell the difference between sexual interest and consent. Also, once they receive the approval once, they think they will have it any time they try to have sexual relations with the woman in question.

Sexual misconduct is the most widespread criminal behavior among students

Consent and sexual harassment is one of the most popular subjects debated right now, as many people launched a series of accusations after being sexually abused. Therefore, a team of researchers decided to investigate the behavior of male college students, since the most widespread of misconduct among them remains the sexual one.

The aim of the researchers was to identify those factors which determined young men to perform sexual misconduct. They selected 145 male students studying at a big university in the southeast of the US, which hasn’t been named. All the participants were heterosexual, and had to explain how they would act in a series of scenarios involving sexual behavior.

Male students often mistake sexual interest for consent

This is how they discovered the young men could barely tell sexual interest apart from consent. Also, their idea of consent was strongly related to how the woman expressed her intentions. This means that, for them, passive refusal didn’t always count as lack of consent.

Moreover, they tended to pay less attention to such matters if they already had a sexual history with someone. In these cases, even an explicit refusal was hard to understand. This means they would assume a woman would accept sexual relations anytime after they had already happened once.

Researchers also explored what might make students be less careful with consent. These factors included a higher consumption of alcohol, as well as less restrictive parents. The study has been published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A new report developed by Canadian researchers revealed that motorcycle accidents are a lot more dangerous that car crashes. Crashing while on your motorcycle might leave you with more serious injuries, higher medical costs, and might even cost your life, while a car crash is easier to sustain financially and less likely to kill you.

Motorcycle accidents are far more dangerous than car crashes

It’s not new that the injuries resulted after motorcycle accidents are more severe than those in car crashes. However, this is the first study to document the financial expenses which such incidents expose you to. To reach their conclusion, researchers looked at data from 281,826 victims of car accidents, and 26,831 of motorcycle crashes.

Even if the number of people involved in car crashes was higher than in motorcycle crashes, the wound rate was three times higher in the latter. Also, people were 10 times more likely to suffer a serious wound if they rode a motorcycle. Then, you also have to pay to have the vehicle mended.

The mortality rates remained high even though motorcycle safety improved

Unfortunately, fixing your motorbike might cost you around $5,825 Canadian dollars on average. As a comparison, the costs of a car accident reach an average of $2,995 Canadian dollars. The situation is unlikely to change too soon, so riding a motorcycle remains a lot more dangerous and costly.

The findings are significant, given the fact that motorbike safety has greatly improved over the past two decades. Even so, the mortality rates of motorcycle accidents remained constant, and a lot higher than those of car accidents. This might mean that the safety guidelines haven’t improved enough.

From now on, motorcycle drivers should pay a lot more attention while riding. This way, they can avoid crippling medical costs, make sure they aren’t permanently injured, and do not risk their own lives and that of other drivers on the road.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A recent study reveals a worrying trend among teenage girls, and this should issue a warning among both parents and health experts. Since 2009, the rate of young girls inflicting non-fatal self harm has almost tripled. Experts attribute this rise to the increase of stressful factors among teens, such as financial issues, but the spike in smartphone use might be to blame as well.

The cases of self harm among teens have spiked over the past few years

For the study, researchers looked at 43,000 cases of self harm treated in the emergency rooms between the years 2001 and 2015. They looked at both boys and girls, aged between 10 and 24. From all the cases, around 29,000 occurred among girls, and only 14,000 among boys.

From 2001 to 2008, self harm cases remained somehow constant. However, starting with 2009, they noticed a sudden increase of these practices, with most cases occurring among girls with ages between 10 and 14. Every year, the rate went up by 18.8 percent until 2015. Before 2009, this category of teenage girls rarely inflicted such wounds upon themselves.

This is a serious problem, as self harm is the first step towards suicide. Therefore, experts advise parents and teachers to keep an eye on their kids, always listen to them, and take the necessary measures whenever they are struggling with difficult issues.

Smartphones might actually be to blame for this surge

Now, researchers are trying to find a cause to this sudden increase in self harm cases. They cannot establish a clear cause. However, mental health experts suggested financial pressure and substance abuse were the main causes. Others tend to disagree, saying the years with the highest surge were also prosperous from an economic point of view.

On the other hand, the rise of technology and smartphone use might be the real culprit. This also increased cyberbullying rates, which make it easier for teenagers to develop anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies. Therefore, parents should make sure their kids don’t spend too much time on their devices. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A recent study discovered a sure way to protect newborns against developing allergies as they grow up. Mothers are advised to eat foods which usually lead to people becoming allergic, such as peanuts, eggs, or milk, and then breastfeed their babies. This way, the babies can get accustomed to the allergens from an early age, and develop resistance to them.

It’s good to expose babies to allergens through breast milk

This hypothesis has been initially tested on mice, by feeding females eggs and then allowing them to breastfeed their newborns, as well as several other baby mice that they didn’t birth. Afterwards, researchers tested them for egg allergy, and discovered that all those exposed to the protein had developed resistance to the allergen.

However, it turns out this allergen could only be transmitted via breast milk. Those newborns whose mothers ate eggs during pregnancy received few to no protection against allergies. The condition was that the mothers should have consumed the product both before, during, and after the pregnancy.

So far, it hasn’t been clear if breast milk helped protect babies from allergies. Previous studies found a slightly protective effect, while others argued that exposing the children to allergens through breast milk made them develop allergies. However, this new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, proves the contrary.

Don’t avoid any foods while breastfeeding

Women were usually advised to avoid those foods which put the babies at high risk of allergies. However, it turns out that exposing the child early to these substances decreases their chances of becoming allergic. Therefore, if women don’t already have an allergy to a certain food, they should eat whatever they like.

Opting for a healthy and diversified diet is the perfect choice both for the mother, as well as for her infant. Breastfeeding is beneficial from many points of view, but it can also offer a protective effect against allergies. It’s highly unlikely that a child should become allergic because of their mother’s diet during pregnancy and the breastfeeding period.
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