Honey has been used since ancient times as a delicious natural sweetener, but did you know that the substance was also known for thousands of years for its medicinal properties? Healers would wrap wounds with dressings made of sugar and honey, but with the development of antibiotics over half a century ago, the treatment faded into the recesses of history. Today, some doctors are reviving the old remedy at times when modern medicine has failed in treating a patient.
The average man will shave thousands of times during his lifetime. When young, perhaps while watching a brother, father, or grandfather shave, boys often look forward to the day when they too could shave like an adult. Initially, when coming of age, much like having a driver’s license, it’s fun. But you’re an adult now, and the fun quickly wears away. Like being sent on a milk run to the supermarket, or being stuck in traffic, shaving inevitably becomes a chore that adds another routine to an already hectic morning.
Mosquitoes bring about painful bites and itchy skin reactions, and cause an annoying buzzing sound. These insects also spread serious diseases to the human population. In fact, the American Mosquito Control Association says mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism. Each year, more than a million people in the world die from mosquito-borne illnesses. In humans, mosquitoes cause malaria, chikungunya, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile virus, and various forms of encephalitis.
In recognition of Mens Health Awareness Month and the start of summer, the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) has released findings from a new survey, which found that more than 90% of American men know something about skin cancer, but only six in 10 (61%) know how to detect signs on their skin, and even fewer actually visit a doctor for annual skin cancer screenings (18%). These shortcomings were more apparent in younger men (18-34), who were also significantly less likely to believe that they are at risk for skin cancer than men over 35 (31% vs. 42%), and are more likely to protect their skin for cosmetic reasons than they are for health reasons (32% vs. 20%).
YouTube is for more than watching World Cup highlights, Brian Williams refreshing old-school rap classics, and videos of skateboarders landing in unfortunate positions on railings. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the Dermatology Online Journal shows that YouTube also allows researchers, journals, and health advocates to connect directly with the public on topics of skin cancer and prevention.
In May 2012, Patricia Krentcil, commonly known as the Tanning Mom, became a media spectacle after being charged with child endangerment for allegedly putting her 5-year-old daughter in a tanning booth. The 45-year-old denied the charges, claiming her daughter got sunburned the old-fashioned way, by playing outside. There was a flurry of press reports and outrage expressed at the time, and Krentcil got more than her share of 15 minutes of fame. This accusation came a few weeks after the Mayo Clinic announced that one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer, melanoma, had increased steadily for young women, and that this was attributed to the increased use of indoor tanning beds. Statistics indicate that consumers using indoor tanning beds have a 74% higher likelihood of developing melanoma.
Jackson Whites is a pejorative term for a group of people who have been living for centuries in the beautiful and remote Ramapo Valley, a breathtaking section of the Ramapo Mountains that crosses the New York/New Jersey border at Suffern, NY. Many believe this name is short for Jacks and whites, with Jacks purportedly having been slang for runaway slaves; however, this is just one of many currently unprovable myths regarding this population. The group has mainly a Native American, African American, and Caucasian heritage. They prefer to use the Dutch spelling to describe themselves as the Ramapough Mountain Indians; they also go by the name of Lenape Nation. There is little documentation of their over 300-year history in the area, largely because the Lenape people had no written language.
Targeting teens is nothing new for the tobacco industry. They know the statistics for hooking lifelong smokers. Twelve to 17 year olds are at the highest risk of starting smoking. Marketing to America’s youth has been prevalent since the 1920s. Just because Joe Camel has gone away doesn’t mean these clever marketers have.
The US Food and Drug Administration is fighting back. The FDA has made a commitment through their latest anti-smoking advertising campaign to make an impact on teenage smoking. The new ads are meant to be graphic and powerful to drive the message home. One ad has a young man pulling out his own tooth to pay for cigarettes. Another has a young lady leaving behind a piece of her flesh.
Until his death in 2013, Paul Karason garnered attention from the media as the notorious blue man. However, Karason did not become famous on purpose. His trademark blue skin was the result of an alternative medical treatment he used to reduce the symptoms of dermatitis 15 years before he died. Although this treatment is known to be harmful, it did not cause his death, according to Fox News.
In the years before his death, several theories swirled around Michael Jacksons skin. Jacksons skin had been medium-brown in color since he was a child, but the pop superstars skin became noticeably lighter during the 1980s.
In his 1991 book Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness, biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli accused Jackson of bleaching his skin to appear whiter. Taraborrelli does write that a doctor had diagnosed Jackson with vitiligo in the 1980s, but insists that the condition was the result of skin-bleaching chemicals rather than heredity.
