Skinny Jeans Health Hazards

It is known to all that skinny jeans are not only meant for women. Many of the males in the society today, the teenagers in particular, are becoming obsessed in wearing tight jeans since it is in the current fashion trend. But little did they know that such type of apparel bring some health hazards.

Just this morning, while browsing online, I found this worth-sharing article featured in Yahoo.com regarding skinny jeans. It was stated that according to medical experts, there is an increase in injuries being caused by wearing of skinny or tight jeans.

For men, it is said that this particular type of denim pants is causing testicular torsion – a condition wherein the spermatic cord to a testicle is being twisted. Once the testicle is twisted, it cuts off the blood supply resulting to pain, swelling, and worse; gangrenes of testicle. Aside from affecting the testicle, men who are fond of wearing skinny jeans could also experience a weak bladder, urinary tract infections, and low sperm count.

image source: youngjunction.com

Meanwhile, for women, wearing of skinny jeans could increase their chances to have a vaginal yeast infection.

Apart from the aforementioned side effects of tight or fitted jeans, this particular style of pants is also found to reduce blood circulation in legs and thighs, which then results to augmentation of cellulite. It could also cause lateral femoral cutaneous nerve entrapment that causes tingly sensation in the thighs. This condition happens when the wearer habitually put cellphone in the front pocket. Digestion problem is another side effect of high waisted skinny jeans and pressure on the urethra for low rise skinny jeans.

Knowing all those negative effects of constantly wearing skinny or fitted jeans, would you still put style before your health?

Today is World AIDS Day

red ribbon is used for world aids day

December 1, 2011 is World AIDS Day and here are a few facts:

• Worlds AIDS Day is first observed in 1988 and this year marks the 23rd anniversary.
• This year's theme for the said celebration is "Getting to Zero" Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination, and Zero AIDS Related Deaths.
• The purpose of designating this special day is to increase  public awareness and education about AIDS/HIV disease.
• HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus - a virus that attacks the body's immune system

Worldwide Statistics of HIV/AIDS (updated November 2011)

• More than 34 million people now live with HIV/AIDS.
• 3.4 million of them are under the age of 15.
• In 2010, an estimated 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV.
• 390,000 were under the age of 15.
• Every day more than 7,000 people contract HIV—nearly 300 every hour.
• In 2010, 1.8 million people died from AIDS.
• 250,000 of them were under the age of 15.
• Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 60 million people have contracted HIV and nearly 30 million have died of HIV-related causes.

image source: google image search engine

Understanding the Disease that Ended Steve Jobs Life

It is already SOP in the blogger world to tackle issues that are in current trend so, I decided to write about what to expect when diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - the disease that ultimately claimed the life of Apple CEO and founder, Steve Jobs.

By the way, let me give you first some insights about pancreas and its importance to our digestive system. The pancreas is the pear-shaped organ measuring about 6 inches long that lies behind the stomach and in front of the spine. It has two important roles played - to produce enzymes that are essential for metabolism and to produce hormones like insulin and glucagon, which ensures a balanced blood sugar level.

image source:medicineworld.org/news/pancreasnews.html

The pancreas is just one of the organs in the digestive system that is susceptible for an abnormal growth of cells or tumors. These tumors may come in various forms or characteristics. Some tumors are benign while others are malignant. There are also tumors that are common while others are rare. And in the case of Steve Jobs, medical practitioners who often come in a white lab coat and a littmann stethoscope hanging on their neck found a rare form of pancreatic tumor in the endocrine gland - the part of the pancreas that is responsible for producing insulin. What makes neuroendocrine pancreatic tumor rare is that is only 1 out of 100,000 people had this type of disease. Aside from that, the abnormal cell grows slowly and less aggressive, which is deemed as among that reasons why Steve Jobs was able to live 6 years longer the moment he was diagnosed.

What causes pancreatic cancer?

According to healthcare professionals who basic medical instrument is a littmann stethoscope, people who are at risk to develop pancreatic cancer are those with:

1. Damaged DNA mutation. This can be bother inherited from the parents or acquired as the person age 
2. Pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas. Although the reason is not yet clear, but chronic pancreatitis can lead to abnormal growth of cells in the pancreas.
3. Diabetes. It appears to be a symptom for pancreatic cancer.
4. Poor lifestyle. Eating fatty or carcinogenic foods, smoking cigarettes are just some unhealthy lifestyle habits that increases the risk for pancreatic cancer
5. Chemical exposure. People who are exposed to hazardous chemicals like gasoline have bigger chances of developing pancreatic cancer.

What to expect when diagnosed with pancreatic cancer?

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer can only be seen/felt by the patient when the tumor has grown and spread out of the pancreas. The common signs and symptoms include:

1. Yellowing of the skin, gums, and white of the eyes
2. Constant lower back pain
3. Sudden weight loss
4. Loss of appetite
5. Generalized body malaise or the feeling of weakness and discomfort
6. Feeling of sickness in the stomach characterized by an urge to vomit

Today is National Family Meal Day

Most of the families nowadays rarely have dinner together. Busy work schedules seem to be the primary reasons. That's why the National Center on Addiction and Substance abuse designated September 26, 2011 as the National Family Meal Day with its theme A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children. The said organization believed that by having meals with the family together, parents-children relationship will be strengthened. And this   saves them from addiction or substance abuse.

So go home early and spend your dinner with your family today!