A cyberchondriac is someone who scours the Internet looking for details of their illnesses.
After Just One Use, Vaping Can Damage Your Blood Vessels
A lot of bad news about vaping has come out lately, and here’s some more.
A new study published in Radiology claims that vaping one time – even without nicotine – can damage blood vessels, reduce blood flow, and create dangerous toxins.
The researchers found that the heat created by e-cigs meant to turn liquid into vapor also stirs the compounds into toxic particles. They studied MRI scans of 31 healthy non-smokers before and after vaping nicotine-free e-cigs to come to their conclusions.
• • All in all, the Caliburn is a well-designed pod vape with solid flavor and great coil longevity. Shop today in desired color of your choice! #simplivapeAfter the participants took 3-second drags 16 times from e-cigs loaded with tobacco flavoring and sweeteners, researchers found they had significant decreased blood flow in the femoral artery – the main artery that delivers blood to your thigh and leg.
Felix Wehrli, the study’s principal investigator, says their study defeats “the notion that e-cigarette vaping is harmless.”
“Beyond the harmful effects of nicotine, we’ve shown that vaping has a sudden, immediate effect on the body’s vascular function, and could potentially lead to long-term harmful consequences.”
The researchers observed an average 34% reduction in the artery’s dilation, and found vaping led to a 17.5% reduction in peak blood flow and a 20% reduction in oxygen in the veins.
Author Alessandra Caporale expanded on their findings in a statement:
“E-cigarettes are advertised as not harmful, and many e-cigarette users are convinced that they are just inhaling water vapor. But the solvents, flavorings and additives in the liquid base, after vaporization, expose users to multiple insults to the respiratory tract and blood vessels.”
With the recent issues sweeping the nation – 100 teens in 14 states have reported lung damage after vaping (including 14 hospitalizations and a number of deaths) – these findings are especially troubling.
Earlier this spring, another study found that flavored e-juice also had toxic effects, like weaker cell survival and increased inflammation.
The American Lung Association has joined with the CDC and others in warning care when turning to e-cigs.
“Inhaling chemicals into your lungs is dangerous. E-cigarettes are guilty until proven innocent, and we are very much in the guilty stage,” says one spokesperson.
Dr. Robert Jackler, founder of Stanford Research Into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising, has dark warnings, as well.
“Nobody knows what it does to the human lung to breathe in and out aerosolized propylene glycol and glycerin over and over. It’s an experiment, frankly. We will find out, years from now, the results.”
And since those results could be “it kills you, in time” avoiding the products altogether seems the smartest course of action.
To me, anyway.
The post After Just One Use, Vaping Can Damage Your Blood Vessels appeared first on UberFacts.
Facebook Rolled out Education Features to Combat Anti-Vax Propaganda
It’s amazing that in 2019, a lot of parents out there buy into the anti-vaccination rhetoric and expose their kids (and others’) to potential harm.
That’s why it’s encouraging that Facebook has taken steps to fight harmful misinformation and “fake news” that appeals to these anti-vaxxers. On Facebook, informational windows will pop up when a person searches for anything related to vaccines, taps related hashtags on Instagram (which Facebook owns), or visits vaccine-related pages and groups.
@facebook will be debuting an educational pop-up window on its platforms to direct users to trusted and reliable sources to help combat the spread of #vaccine misinformation — @CNN https://t.co/ikyR6B304H
— Vaccine Finder (@VaccineFinder) September 5, 2019
Furthermore, in the U.S., users can use pop-up windows to connect to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to read about accurate, credible information about vaccines. If you live outside the U.S., you can connect to the World Health Organization through the pop-up windows.
A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the organization is fully onboard with the move by Facebook:
“We know that parents often turn to social media to access health information and connect with other parents, and it can be difficult to determine what is accurate and who the credible sources of information are. [Combating] vaccine myths and misinformation is a shared responsibility and we applaud these efforts.”
A new feature is rolling out on Facebook and Instagram to combat the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation.Facebook,…
Posted by Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services on Friday, September 6, 2019
Health experts have said that anti-vaccination information online has played a large role in fewer people getting vaccinated against diseases and that has led to outbreaks in measles and other illnesses—in fact, the US is close to having its status as a measles-free country. So this is very timely and very important.
There’s a lot of information about #vaccines online, but not all of it is accurate. Find credible, expert-approved information at https://t.co/jDq2UIHFmT.
— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) April 30, 2019
Nice work, Facebook. Let’s see more of this in regard to the spread of misinformation, because we all know how harmful that can be to Americans and others around the world.
The post Facebook Rolled out Education Features to Combat Anti-Vax Propaganda appeared first on UberFacts.
Russia Confirmed That the Cold War–Era Ex-Bioweapons Lab That Stores Samples of Smallpox Recently Exploded
Well, that’s not good…
Samples of the highly contagious (but eradicated) disease smallpox only exist in two laboratories in the world. As a relic of the Cold War, one is in the United States, and the other is in Russia – and the one located in Russia recently weathered an explosion.
The smallpox sample, along with cultures of anthrax and ebola (and other deadly pathogens), is housed at the Virology and Biotechnology Center in Novosibirsk. The lab was once in the service of developing bioweapons during the Cold War, and it still remains tightly secured. The walls around it are reinforced concrete, high-tech fences and motion detectors help with patrolling the perimeter, and even though a scientist died 15 years ago after an accident with Ebola, the facility is generally considered to be safe.
That is, it was before part of the facility exploded during regularly scheduled repair work.
The facility leadership put out a statement (translated from Russian):
“There was an explosion of a gas cylinder with a fire on the 5th floor of a six-story reinforced concrete laboratory building in the sanitary inspection room being repaired. No work with biological material on the body was carried out. One person was injured, building structures were not damaged.”
The employee suffered burns on his legs, and doctors confirm that no biohazards were found outside the facility, and that there is no threat to the general population.
If smallpox were to escape this facility or the one in the United States, containment would be a hard row to hoe.
The disease, caused by the variola virus, was a horrific scourge, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone. It was declared eradicated in 1979 following a global vaccination program, with the final death coming from a terrible accident in 1978.
It claimed the life of Janet Parker, a medical photographer who came into contact with a sample of the disease in a Birmingham Medical School laboratory.
The head of the lab, one Henry Bedson, committed suicide due to the guilt of releasing the deadly disease.
was declared #smallpox free, thanks to mass vaccination efforts. Smallpox was an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus. It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. #VaccinesWork #biodefenseOnce free of the disease, world powers made the decision to destroy all cultures except for those at the two secure laboratories for posterity (or bioweapons…again, Cold War). The last samples of the disease still reside there today.
Except for the live virus scientists fear could emerge from the thawing Siberian permafrost.
That, it would see, is a problem for another day.
The post Russia Confirmed That the Cold War–Era Ex-Bioweapons Lab That Stores Samples of Smallpox Recently Exploded appeared first on UberFacts.
A Woman Was Found Pecked to Death by Her Pet Rooster
People are killed and eaten by their pets more often than we’d like to think. That said, I bet you’ve never considered the ways your pet fowl could spell the end of your life.
This 76-year-old Australian woman probably didn’t. She probably also didn’t think about the fact that the varicose veins on her legs ran right at beak-level – ripe for the pecking.
What tips do you have to share about owning a rooster?
Apparently, she was out collecting eggs when her rooster pecked her lower left leg. It caused “significant hemorrhage with collapse and death,” and the autopsy showed two major lacerations – one of which was over a “perforated large varix.”
The official cause of death was exsanguination due to bleeding varicose veins.
Before you go and sell your chickens, know this woman did have a medical history that created a perfect storm that helped the rooster along. She had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and, yes, varicose veins.
Uncontrolled bleeding from varicose veins has caused people to die before, and one being punctured can be considered a medical emergency.
Pressure can build inside the veins, a condition that affects about 25% of adults 50 and older, and has led directly to several other elderly patients’ deaths.
Fatal rooster attacks are, as you probably expect, very rare, but this instance should serve as a reminder that even relatively small and harmless animals can pose a threat when all of the other factors line up just right, say the researchers who wrote up the case study.
“This case demonstrates that even relatively small domestic animals may be able to inflict lethal injuries in individuals if there are specific vascular vulnerabilities present.”
Another option, of course, is to have your veins treated. If you choose not to, though, you’ll want to avoid minor injuries and, if you sustain one, make sure to take it seriously.
“Apply pressure to the bleeding point, lie down, elevate the leg, and get help,” advises one expert.
Good advice, my friends. And now you know.
The post A Woman Was Found Pecked to Death by Her Pet Rooster appeared first on UberFacts.
10 Fascinating Facts to Get Your Juices Flowing
If you’ve been in a rut lately, let’s put an end to that RIGHT THIS INSTANT!
You know why? And you know how? Because of this stellar fact set!
It covers all kinds of topics and it will give you a big BOOST.
Let’s dig into these facts.
1. Get busy, over 50 folks!
Photo Credit: did you know?
2. Beware of the Zone of Death
Photo Credit: did you know?
3. That’s one way to go out
Photo Credit: did you know?
4. Folks, I really hope this is true
Photo Credit: did you know?
5. “He was…an American Gravedigger”
Photo Credit: did you know?
6. Smoke ’em if you got ’em!
Photo Credit: did you know?
7. I’ll do it if you do it
Photo Credit: did you know?
8. I did not know that!
Photo Credit: did you know?
9. Do you see the world differently?
Photo Credit: did you know?
10. I think women were happy about that
Photo Credit: did you know?
Now that’s better, wouldn’t you agree!
Work your brain out folks, it’s good for you!
The post 10 Fascinating Facts to Get Your Juices Flowing appeared first on UberFacts.
A New Planned Parenthood App Will Let Users Order Birth Control in Every State in the U.S.
This is important news, so pay attention.
Planned Parenthood (and women’s reproductive rights in general) has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny and argument over the past several years from some politicians and people, but I, for one, think that this is a great development. Why you wouldn’t want affordable birth control to be available to all women in every corner of the United States is beyond me, but that’s just where we are right now.
Luckily, a lot of people and women are still fighting the good fight. It was recently announced that the Planned Parenthood Direct app is now available in 27 states across the U.S., and it will be available in all 50 states in 2020.
In 2019, pretty much everything is on-demand. Why not #birthcontrol, too? Check out Planned Parenthood Direct, the…
Posted by Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson Action on Monday, May 13, 2019
The app allows users to order birth control, make appointments at Planned Parenthood clinics, and get prescriptions for antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections.
Alexis McGill Johnson, the acting President and CEO of the organization, said, “As politicians across the country try to restrict or block access to critical reproductive and sexual health care, the Planned Parenthood Direct app is just one part of the work we do to ensure that more people can get the care they need, no matter where they are.”
Planned Parenthood pulled out of the U.S. government’s Title X funding program in August because the Trump administration passed new rules wherein the organization would no longer be allowed to refer patients to abortion services. Planned Parenthood would have received $60 million in federal funding if they had stayed in the Title X program, but its leaders decided to withdraw.
We're committed to helping all patients get the care they deserve. Through the Planned Parenthood Direct app, you can…
Posted by Planned Parenthood of Southern New England on Saturday, September 7, 2019
The Planned Parenthood Direct app doesn’t take insurance, but birth control can cost as little as $20 for a three-month supply, and users can get birth control just by answering standard questions.
You can check to see if the app is available in your state HERE. This is definitely a small step in the right direction, despite all the negative news surrounding reproductive rights in America right now.
The post A New Planned Parenthood App Will Let Users Order Birth Control in Every State in the U.S. appeared first on UberFacts.
The common fitness target of 10,000…
The common fitness target of 10,000 steps/day came from a Japanese pedometer company who gave their product a name that means “the 10,000-step meter” because the Japanese character for “10,000” resembles a person walking: 万. There is no known science behind a goal of 10,000 steps.
10 of the Most Bizarre Declassified Government Documents
Some people are really into conspiracy theories – or more prone to believing that the government is hiding certain truths from us, maybe – and still others have just watched too many episodes of The X-Files to trust that we’re being told every last detail.
But if these 10, slightly terrifying declassified documents are any indication, people are definitely right to ask questions, because the truth is often buried behind miles of red tape.
10. Okay so this needs to be a movie, if it isn’t.
In East Germany a committed freedom fighter and her husband had dealt with having her home raided while she was away, being arrested on the way to protests and all sorts of state sponsored harassment. After the wall fell she was able to read the documents the Stasi had kept on her and found out her own husband was an undercover agent and had written many reports on her activities with a bloodless banality.
9. Everything about the Challenger explosion is horrible.
When the space shuttle Challenger was destroyed, it was reported that all 7 astronauts were killed instantly. It was revealed decades later that some, if not all of the astronauts survived the initial explosion, as the cockpit cabin had enough protection to not be breached. For 2 minutes and 45 seconds, they were awake and aware, as they plummeted toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Understandably, NASA knew that the news of their terrifying death would have crippled the space program even more than it already was.
8. Evil people sometimes have security clearance.
Canadian here… The Somalia Affair Not sure if it was ever classified but definitely a horrific scandal. A now disbanded division of the Canadian military torturing a kid to death in the 90s, and taking hero pics with him while doing it… I think it’s important to remember when your country does something shitty – it’s not always the “bad guys” who can be fucking evil.
7. This seems awfully small and petty when, you know, actual life should scare people enough.
The plan after 9/11 to make figurines that look like Osama Bin Laden and give them to kids in South Asia. After it’s left in the sun for a certain amount of time, it’s face would peel off to reveal a “demon-like visage with red skin, green eyes, and black markings,” basically a demon. The objective was to scare kids and their parents so Bin Laden and Al Qaeda would lose support.
6. This idea was actually floated, so what’s not possible?
Operation Northwoods; A plan for a false flag operation that came from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Department of Defense in 1962 and given to JFK who turned it down. The plan called for the CIA to commit terrorist actions against US Civilians across the United States and frame Cuba, allowing us the right to invade and depose Castro and the communist government there. It was declassified and can be found online at the JFK Library. Terrifying that no one knows or seems to care that this was suggested by our government to the President.
5. We have to prepare for all contingencies.
The Nixon Administration had a speech prepared for if the moon landing had failed, and it’s chilling.
4. The Manhattan Project was terrifying from the ground up.
My hometown was littered woth radioactive waste by the federal government as part of the Manhattan project. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/01/nyregion/big-atom-waste-site-reported-found-near-buffalo.html
then we wonder why cancer and thyroid conditions thereare the norm.
3. It really seems likely that we’re going to wipe ourselves out on accident.
There are over 50 mishaps with nuclear weapons by the US Airforce in the 1950s alone.
2. So as you can see, we’ve never been a society that puts children first.
They tested Iodine on “retarded children” as well. In that time, oftentimes orphans and children who were behind in school ended up at these institutions.
The US government also inserted radioactive material into a man after a motorcycle crash and didn’t tell him.
1. Drug testing on clueless citizens. That’s not scary.
Operation Midnight Climax
The government hired sex workers to dose “johns” with LSD for research purposes so to speak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Midnight_Climax
Some of these going to haunt my thoughts for weeks, and you know…the truth is out there, y’all.
Are you into conspiracy theories? Do these documents tickle your sixth sense? Let us know!
The post 10 of the Most Bizarre Declassified Government Documents appeared first on UberFacts.
A Starbucks Worker Passed Away Because He Couldn’t Afford Kidney Dialysis
To the people out there who continue to argue with their heart and soul that the United States has the best health care on Earth, maybe you should read this story.
Oh, and, you’re wrong.
Most of us know the American health care system is pretty bad for a large segment of the population, but it’s stories like this that really drive the point home.
James Farmer was an employee at Starbucks who tragically passed away on August 11 due to kidney failure. Farmer was only 22 years old, and his story has gone viral because it highlights the failure of the American health care system to protect its citizens in many cases. James Farmer was unable to take off work to have his dialysis treatments because he couldn’t afford to miss out on any paychecks because, like many Americans, he lived paycheck-to-paycheck.
Posted by James Farmer on Thursday, August 23, 2018
A writer named Allison Robicelli was friends with Farmer, and she shared his sad story on Twitter to shed light on a situation that untold numberas of hourly and low-wage workers across the country have to deal with. Robicelli included the #ChickenSandwich hashtag in her tweet to reference the hoopla surrounding the Popeye’s chicken sandwich and how people should refocus their thoughts and priorities on things that literally amount to life and death.
Right now I’m at a friend’s funeral. He was 22 and died of kidney disease. He was skipping dialysis because he was an hourly food service worker and couldn’t afford to lose any pay. I’m sitting here in the lobby, thinking about the people getting rich off the #ChickenSandwich.
— Allison Robicelli (@robicellis) August 24, 2019
Robicelli wrote, “The people who serve you coffee and sandwiches, the people who barely get by because a living wage ‘isn’t in the best interest of shareholders,’ the people who so many believe don’t deserve to be paid fairly: they are people.”
The enormity of these things really doesn’t hit you until you see a brilliant, funny, caring and very much loved 22 year old man lying in a his casket.
— Allison Robicelli (@robicellis) August 24, 2019
This was James. The people who serve you coffee and sandwiches, the people who barely get by because a living wage “isn’t in the best interest of shareholders”, the people who so many believe don’t deserve to be paid fairly: they are people. They are loved. They deserve better. pic.twitter.com/nxrzd4J7mg
— Allison Robicelli (@robicellis) August 24, 2019
One thing I need to clarify — as there seems to be some confusion in my mentions — is that James DID have healthcare. Starbucks is one of the few fast casual concepts who tries to care for their workers. The problem is the security of hourly food service work.
— Allison Robicelli (@robicellis) August 25, 2019
James was worried about money. He was worried that if he took time off he’d be replaced, because that’s a legitimate fear all hourly workers live with. He thought if he took a day off for dialysis, he’d continue to have less hours on every weekly schedule.
— Allison Robicelli (@robicellis) August 25, 2019
For the record, Starbucks says that it offers its baristas healthcare coverage if they work an average of at least 20 hours per week. All Starbucks employees also get one hour of paid time off for sick days for every 30 hours worked.
A sad story and one that will hopefully inspire those in high places in business and government to make a change.
A GoFundMe page to pay for Farmer’s funeral expenses already exceeded its goal, but you can still donate to honor James Farmer’s memory.
The post A Starbucks Worker Passed Away Because He Couldn’t Afford Kidney Dialysis appeared first on UberFacts.