When we’re sick, we take medication. When we’re not looking our best, we might seek out a cosmetic surgical procedure.
And when we sit in the same position for hours, we don’t think twice about the gradual effects being sedentary can have on our bodies.
The seemingly innocuous activities we don’t think twice about being potentially harmful to our health got dissected here when Redditor ILikeIceCreamSoMuch asked:
“What is far deadlier than most people realize?”
Take notes.
Some of these examples could potentially save your life.
The things you usually don’t associate with death may surprise you.
Affording Proper Care
“Being poor. You can’t afford basic health care basic dental basic decent anything and your health pays for it. Not going to the dentist can kill you. Not being able to afford medication can kill you. Not being able to afford a day off to rest when you’re feeling bad.”
“Being broke doesn’t just suck because you can’t do ‘fun stuff’ being broke sucks because you have to choose between your health and your immediate well being. And hard work alone won’t lift you out of that deadly negative cycle.” – TaysteePotayto
Dangerous Fruit When Mixed
“Grapefruit in combination with many — MANY — prescription drugs. Basically, grapefruit can affect the way your medications work.”
“With some meds, adding grapefruit screws up the way your body metabolizes the drug, so you end up with far more than the prescribed dosage. It can also work in the opposite way with other drugs, leaving you with less than the prescribed dosage.”
“This is especially bad if you have high blood pressure or arrhythmia.”
“This article on the FDA site explains it way better.” – A-RovinIGo
Abruptly Quitting
“Quit drinking. Been an EMT for a while and work with a lot of the homeless population. Will gets calls for people who decided today is the day to finally quit drinking and do it cold turkey.”
“As soon as the next morning people can present with delirium tremens, severe withdrawals can induce seizures and can also lead to death. A lot of these people will think because they quit hard drugs like heroin or meth cold turkey alcohol would be the same without knowing the major effects it can have on your health.”
“Guess I should add this is only for people with alcohol dependency and not all your casual or even heavier drinkers.” – DiscountSheriff
Beware The Great Outdoors
“Vacation. Particularly in nature if you’re not used to being in nature. There’s a book called Death in Yellowstone and talks about all the weird ways people have died there.”
“Walking off cliffs, falling trees, falling into boiling water… there’s the obvious wildlife attacks but there’s plenty of less obvious ways. The thing is, people are relaxing for once on vacation and they put themselves in different environments than they’re used to. They have their guards down.” – kitkatpaddywat
A good night’s sleep can be hard to come by, especially when you’re not in the proper place for one.
Stay Alert Behind The Wheel
“Driving while tired. All you need is that one slow part, or that one part that lulls even a little to put you out.” – ChryWolferyn
Sleeping Disorder
“Not sure if it’s been said, but untreated sleep apnea. You literally stop breathing, and get little quality sleep. The stress on your cardiovascular system is immense. Get tested. Period.”
“Then wear the CPAP no matter how unsexy it is. Or maybe surgery to eliminate or reduce the problem.” – mengelhart
Being sedentary while awake, however, can lead to tragic consequences.
The Risk For Pilots
“Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a well documented effect of long haul flights too. Which is why pilots who fly long haul and ultra long haul (flights lasting more than 10 hrs) wear pressure socks.”
“Passengers are advised to walk around the cabin once every few hours. With flights lasting up to 18 hours, this is a necessity. Get the blood moving. If any of these clots somehow dislodge and reach your heart, it is goodbye.” – Deepimpact1234
The Risk For Truckers
“Trucker here. I’ve had two blood clots in my legs from driving long distances and having my leg pressed against the corner of the seat for hours on end. One almost killed me.”
“Apparently it’s very common with truckers. You’re supposed to stop and walk around every hour and a half to keep things circulating (which almost nobody does due to time constraints).”
“The same thing happens in gaming chairs apparently – people forget to move their legs because they’re so focused on the game. You don’t need to worry so much if you’re younger, but if you’re a gamer who’s a little older, please be aware.” – tjfergusen
Beware of these below-the-torso ailments
Mood Killer
“Penile Fracture – if this happens to you do not hesitate to get medical help. 12 weeks ago this happened to me. The tissue that fills with blood and makes the penis erect can fracture when impacted awkwardly.”
“Bend at 45 degs and a huge hematoma and swelling. I went the ED and after the poor student doctor saw it, I was rushed into hospital. I was informed if it wasn’t surgically fixed it could mean necrosis and removal!”
“The surgical procedure involved de-gloving the penis, removing the hematoma, stitching up the fractured tissue under the skin and then stitching the skin back on.”
“Still having nerve pain not mention the effect it’s had on our sex life.” – Benellibro
Consequences Of Getting That Perfect Instagram Shot
“A Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) gives people a figure reminiscent of the Kardashians and is hugely popular for getting that instagram body. But a paper in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal found that 1 in 3,000 BBLs resulted in death, making it the world’s most dangerous cosmetic procedure!” – jamestxt
Don’t Drop The Ball On This One
“Testicular torsion – don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. In ALL honesty, the embarrassment is ALL IN YOUR HEAD. Doctors & nurses REALLY don’t give a f’k, they really don’t care, and aren’t judging you one bit.”
“They have seen EVERYTHING, and then some more. But they WILL judge you if you make the foolish decision not to seek help coz of made-up embarrassment and lose your balls.”
“The pain might not be severe, but you have a few hours tops before your balls die.”
“To put some numbers to this – if you wait longer then 6 hours, permanent damage may occur. After 12 hours, there’s a 75% chance of losing the testicle.” – CircleBox2″
Just because there is potential harm in almost anything around us as we go about our daily lives doesn’t necessarily mean we should constantly live in fear.
Thankfully, the examples above could inspire further research into the things you found particularly alarming.
Which example were you most surprised by and how did it change your initial perspective about it?