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Cruel and unusual: history’s most disturbing medical treatments Let's be grateful for how far healthcare has come.
You probably don’t enjoy going to the doctor (who does?), but seeking medical treatment today is worlds better than it was in the past. Can you imagine setting up an appointment about a persistent headache and the doctor prescribing an ice pick to your eye socket? Of course, as ridiculous as some of these treatments sound, practitioners honestly believed that they were giving patients the best possible care. But that hardly changes the fact that many of these treatments did more harm than good. After reading about history’s most infamous and unusual medical treatments, you’ll be grateful for how far healthcare has come. Mercury Ancient Chinese and Indian people were…
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The stomach-turning online world of ‘popping’ We examine an online subculture forming around the world's worst boils, zits, recluse spider bites, and exotic skin conditions. Disgusting images ahead!
Human beings are gross. We’re barely-functional assemblages of fluids and bones, held together by a barrier of skin that constantly struggles with an atmosphere full of pollutants. And when that delicate membrane gets irritated, things get even grosser. So gross, in fact, that the resulting video looks like something out of horror sci-fi. Welcome to the world of r/Popping, the Reddit destination for “pictures, videos, and stories about cysts and pimples.” Over 86,000 people subscribe to this Subreddit to see and share the nastiest boils, zits, recluse spider bites, and assorted skin conditions in grisly detail. Here’s a warning, right off: we’re about to share some insanely disgusting images, videos,…
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10 scientific reasons to stop procrastinating and get outdoors Just because you don't need to go outside doesn't mean you shouldn't.
It’s easy to avoid the outdoors when all of your beloved technology is inside and you can use a mobile app to order anything you could possibly want. But just because you don’t need to go outside doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. There are a lot of scientifically proven health benefits to going outside. Let’s take a lot at 10 reasons why you should go outside more often. Vitamin D It’s not a secret that the sun provides your daily dose of Vitamin D. Although you can find the vitamin in some foods, humans get 90 percent of their necessary Vitamin D from the sun. It helps us absorb calcium, it…
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10 worst things about being an adult "Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists"—Kurt Vonnegut
Most youngsters look forward to becoming an adult and building their own independent life. And when they do, they invariably discover that the ability to buy infinite candy and deciding your own bed time isn’t quite the nirvana it seemed to be. In fact, understanding that nothing is ever what it’s cracked up to be is just one of the many bitter pills you’ll have to swallow as you age through life at an exponentially rapid pace. You’re no longer invincible It’s a scientific fact that no matter what kind of horrible mangley accident you get into as a kid, you bounce right back up and suffer nothing worse than…
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Why pediatric medicine is turning to telemedicine and what that means for your education Coronavirus only hastened the existing trend.
When a parent needs their child to be seen by a pediatric medicine expert as part a preventative health plan, a rigid set of steps are generally followed. After filling out questionnaires, presenting insurance information, and submitting a financial affidavit, a parent can finally get to the point of selecting a date and time for their child to be seen. In normal circumstances, this is often the most challenging part of the entire process. Parents have to consider how far they must travel, make arrangements to get off of work, and many times, have their child miss school. And depending on the popularity of that medical expert, there might only…
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YouTube’s 15 most insane science projects The age of the lone inventor tinkering away in his own backyard is far from over—but this stuff is barely legal.
Most innovation these days is conducted by large teams of scientists and engineers in well-funded labs, but it pays to remember that many of the inventions that make modern life possible started out in much humbler circumstances – from the Wright brothers’ bicycle workshop to the kitchen stovetop where Charles Goodyear first made vulcanized rubber. But don’t think the age of the lone inventor working away in his own backyard is over completely. To find proof of this, you need look no further than YouTube. There are all sorts of creations on there that are imaginative, ingenious, and complex. And very, very dangerous. While you might stare open mouthed in…
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8 steps to a career as a travel nurse Travel nurses get to see the world and gain valuable career experience while making a real difference. Here's the straight scoop.
Travel nurses are registered nurses who typically work temporary jobs called travel nursing assignments. Most assignments last for around thirteen weeks, but they can be longer or shorter. Working as a travel nurse is a great way to travel around the country, or even worldwide, while gaining valuable career experience and making a real difference. Before deciding to become a travel nurse and whether or not the job is right for you, it’s important to understand exactly what you need in order to work successfully as a travel nurse, and the advantages and disadvantages of the job. If you want to see more of the world while being able to…
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The wacky gay world of extreme bodybuilding Would you eat monkey brains?
Let’s take a deep dive into the fascinating world of bodybuilding, which is a lot gorier, and gayer, than we originally suspected. Acne in weird places When you’re pumping your body with steroids (here’s a useful reference) to gain unnaturally large muscles, you’re also sacrificing your physiology to the whims of chemical reactions. One common reaction resulting from the use of steroids is acne. Some bodybuilders even get cyst-like swellings on their feet and crotch from steroid use. Another common place for steroid induced acne is on your back, known as “bacne.” Steroid acne has almost the same symptoms as typical acne. But with steroid acne, systemic steroid use is…
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The most notorious insane asylums in history Gothic palaces of abuse and neglect that will send a chill down your spine.
Before 1844, the mentally ill were stashed away in prisons and the basements of public buildings. But in the middle of the 19th century, reformers like Dorothea Dix pushed to improve the standing of those with serious mental illness, an effort that led to the construction of sprawling psychiatric hospitals with names like the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers and the Athens Lunatic Asylum. Many of these new facilities were built under the Kirkbride Plan, an architectural guideline which ensured the maximum amount of privacy and comfort for the patients. However the concept of “building as treatment” soon fell out of favor, and most American mental asylums became overcrowded Gothic…
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10 heartbreaking stories about dementia that make you appreciate our old people Fairy tales, confusion, and living hell.
Joe Biden is prominent in the news lately, and for good reason. The 78-year-old politician has made history as being the first US presidential candidate from the dementia community. But what do people really know about dementia? What could we expect from our first person of dementia at the desk in the Oval Office? You could of course look up the wikipedia article and find out it’s “a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is severe enough to affect daily functioning.” You may already have the correct notion that Alzheimer’s disease is one of the…