Mental health is one of the most perplexing, fascinating, and concerning issues in modern society. When the human brain malfunctions, it is often a result of complex, interconnected factors involving the whole body. In this fascinating account, we dig deeper and discover some of the most startling, lesser known, and downright weird facts about both well-known and very obscure mental disorders.

10 Schizophrenia Is Connected To The Shape Of Your Mouth

We often put a dividing line between mental health and physical health. Psychiatrists tend to focus on behavior, but a look at physiology might also prove useful in diagnostics. Recent studies suggest that schizophrenia may be correlated with a slightly wider hard palate, which is on the roof of your mouth. What that suggests is that doctors could find ways to look at physical traits to diagnose schizophrenia. Even more importantly, it means that schizophrenia is likely part of a larger developmental disorder than we once thought—one that contains both physical and mental symptoms.

Researchers noticed that these hard palate deformities usually show up in conjunction with mutations and genetic flaws that trigger specific sets of symptoms. Schizophrenia is considered to be an extremely complex illness by the Schizophrenia Association of Canada, which notes the complex, biochemical nature of the illness, and its roots in neurotransmitter and amino acid disruptions. This complexity has led to speculations that schizophrenia might actually be a number of disorders masquerading as a single one.

9 Autism Is Strongly Linked To Seizures

Autism has a history of misunderstandings. In the past, it was considered at different times a type of schizophrenia and the result of neglectful parents. While autism is more clearly understood in the present time, it is still a complex disorder with surprising complications. As a matter of fact, autism might be strongly linked to more serious symptoms than we once thought—while one or two percent of children will statistically experience seizures growing up, up to 38 percent of autistic children are affected by potentially dangerous seizures at some point in their lives.

A prospective study published in the library of the National Institute of Health found that only a third of the children had their first seizure before the age of two. For the rest of them, an epileptic seizure could suddenly occur at any point in life. This work followed the same children for over a decade, and helped to give some credence to the idea that there’s a definite link between autism spectrum disorders and seizures.

8 Shocking Rates Of Mental Illness In Younger Populations

Although it’s not true in all cases, mental illness is often associated with distinctly “unnatural” behavior. However, leading authorities show that being “normal” is less common than we seem to think. According to findings published by the World Health Organization, up to 20 percent of children and adolescents suffer from a mental illness in some form. That’s a surprisingly high number for a population which is usually—and perhaps wrongly—stereotyped as being fit and healthy.

Canadian medical literature notes that young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are most likely to experience mental illness out of any demographic, and mental illness is the second leading cause of premature death or disability in Canada. Commonly reported illnesses include depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. It’s also not uncommon for drug use to trigger a latent mental disorder—or, conversely, for emerging symptoms of a mental disorder to trigger drug use as a form of self-medication.

7 Mental Illnesses Can Destroy Your Body

Mental illness isn’t just a problem with your mind—it can also lead to serious physical diseases. Most concerning are probably the statistics that point to increased rates of heart disease in mental health patients, for example, while anxiety disorders may cause muscle and back problems. Symptoms of anxiety, along with disorders like Tourette’s syndrome, can also cause physical damage from repetitive stress injuries.

A lot of this can be traced back to a neurochemical imbalance. Toxic hormones released by the endocrine system under stress can cause huge amounts of damage to the tissues and organs in your body. According to several studies by psychiatric services, individuals with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or depression were 2.6 times as likely to develop cancer. On top of that, studies quoted by Johns Hopkins University noted that those suffering from a serious mental illness had a 50 percent greater risk of hospital visits due to injury than the general population, with a 450 percent increase in death rates from injury compared to the general population.

6 Korsakoff’s Syndrome

Mental illnesses often arise from unexpected places. From a medical standpoint, one of the more interesting mental illnesses is known as Korsakoff’s syndrome. This disorder affects memory in a manner similar to Alzheimer’s, and results from a serious deficiency in thiamine, or vitamin B1. The disorder is largely seen as a complication of excessive drinking, which may deplete B1 levels and cause severe cases of nutrient malabsorption. The distress this puts on the brain can cause confusion, slowness of speech, and forgetfulness.

The most bizarre aspect of this disorder, which is associated with greater degrees of brain damage as it progresses, involves confabulation episodes. In other words, people with Korsakoff’s have been observed making up lies and stories for no reason. But they’re not actually lying—they actually believe the fake stories they’re telling. Korsakoff’s syndrome is usually considered a long-term disorder, although acute thiamine deficiency can lead to coma or death if not treated promptly. AIDS and serious metabolic disorders may also cause thiamine deficiency, with equally serious effects.

5 Stress Shrinks The Brain

We tend to think of mental illness as a malfunction, so to speak, and brain injury as a separate, physical problem. But you don’t have to take drugs or experience physical trauma to suffer brain damage. Brain damage may result from excessive levels of cortisol and other toxic chemicals produced by our still-primitive animal body. A large number of animal species, including humans, hold reserves of drug-like chemicals that provide many short-term benefits to survival through their involvement in the fight-or-flight response.

However, long-term stress, or the presence of a stress-inducing mental illness in modern life, can cause chronic, long-term release of these chemicals. Cortisol—the “stress hormone”—can kill brain cells directly, impair general brain function, and even make the brain smaller through cellular atrophy. Researchers have also found that a reduced ability in elderly patients to control cortisol levels may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease because of the neurological degeneration those increased cortisol levels cause.

4 Autism And Physical Development

Autism is usually seen as a stand-alone mental disorder that has long been a source of controversy among medical practitioners. However, autism incidence also shows a surprising correlation to physical factors, such as birth size and head development. Some studies published in the July 2003 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association indicated that children with autism tend to be born with slightly smaller heads. However, cranial growth and physical brain development rates then overtake the norm until the head and brain are abnormally large for a time.

They also found that certain brain components in autistic children may be larger than those in control groups. Later, the growth catches up, so that autistic adults have a fairly typical brain-to-body proportion—in other words, autistic children often enter life smaller, but grow faster than other children. Physical factors associated with autism aside, the cause of autism is still a mystery. One study suggests that autism rates are higher in US counties with more rainfall. Despite the connection, they still haven’t discovered why that’s the case. It could be something as simple as the fact that with more rain, children spend more time exposed to household chemicals indoors.

3 Depression Is Surprisingly Environmental

Depression is usually seen as some form of internal imbalance of the mind. However, studies suggest that depression in human beings may be profoundly influenced by our living environment. According to a 2011 study in the Nature journal, city dwellers suffer from a rate of depression that’s 39 percent greater than rates of depression experienced by rural dwellers.

Decreased levels of essential fatty acids through dietary factors, such as low fish intake, have also been correlated with depression. In addition, urbanites are 21 percent more likely to have anxiety, while rates of schizophrenia are nearly doubled in cities. Scientists noted that city dwellers had increased activity in the cingulate part of the brain, which affects the ability of the brain to regulate stress. It appears that continued strain from urban environments stresses out the body, leading to mental health challenges in some people.

2 Pure Obsessions

Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects a significant percentage of the population. However, it is likely misunderstood in many cases, because only the visible signs are well known. In fact, OCD is often present in a more insidious form known as pure obsessions, where violent or disgusting thoughts flood the brain and cause significant distress. A person with this widespread—but underreported—form of OCD may experience repeated thoughts that shock even them, and often have to try to “change the channel” mentally to get rid of the thoughts.

This so-called “Pure O” form of anxiety disorder exists where no obsession-related action occurs. It’s usually characterized by something incredibly violent, like a random thought to pull out a knife and stab their coworker. They don’t want to do that, but the thought runs through their heads anyway. Usually, they’re just as disgusted by their thoughts as anyone else would be. At the same time, people suffering from “Pure O” don’t compulsively repeat actions, which is what you usually picture when you think of someone with OCD.

1 Nerve Damage, Mental Health, And Socialization

As we’ve mentioned several times, mental illnesses could be far more physical than once thought. Researchers have already determined that reduced production of myelin, a nerve-protection fiber, is associated with degenerative neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. In recent studies at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, loss of myelin sheathing on nerve fibers has been found to be linked to the development of mental illnesses.

Myelination is a highly physical, electromechanical component of the nervous system. It’s responsible for insulating nerve fibers and allowing efficient transmission of brain signals. While mental health studies often put a lot of attention on the neurotransmitters themselves, it seems that the condition of the “wiring” is also pretty important. Even stranger is the fact that myelin damage may be caused by environmental and social factors. Studies done on mice indicate that myelin production can become impaired as a result of social isolation. The effects are not limited to young mice, either—in the studies, the development and maintenance of myelin levels in adult mice was impaired as well.

Christopher Stephens is a graduate student of science and busy freelance writer and naturalist on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He is the birding tour leader for Pacific Rainforest Tours and writes for Island Healthworks.

Occasionally, you may see Internet posts that challenge you to binge-watch your favorite TV show or channel. Best of all, you get paid if you’re selected and complete the challenge.

In 2019, Internet Service Partners promoted a competition to award $1,000 to one person to watch 24 Hallmark Christmas movies within 12 days. The winner had to submit a personal critique on each movie and update her social media followers throughout the experience.

Similarly, in honor of the 15-year anniversary of The Office, the TV provider Dish is now inviting people to apply for a chance to watch 15 hours of the beloved series for $1,000. Only one lucky viewer will be selected. (We’ll give you the link to apply in entry one of this list.)

Although these contests are genius marketing tools by the companies, should we condone having people spend even more hours in front of their television screens? As easy as it is to binge-watch your favorite shows, doing so may be ruining your health.

10 Ways Watching TV Is Killing You

10 It Can Dull Your Brain

If you frequently binge on Netflix, the hours you spend in front of the tube may be seriously damaging your brain.

According to Healthline, viewing more than three hours of television every day may eventually lead to cognitive impairment related to your memory and language skills. Although it probably seemed safe as a child to indulge in a few hours of TV time after school, you may have been doing more harm than you realized.^[1]

For one, watching over 3.5 hours of TV each day wastes time that could be better spent on more intellectually stimulating activities like reading or playing board games. If binge-watching is your go-to hobby, you may want to consider reading a book instead.

9 You Isolate Yourself For Hours On End

Most households are equipped with more than one television for viewing pleasure. With so many devices and shared streaming accounts, everyone in the house can watch different programs without disturbing each other. You can easily isolate yourself in a house full of people by being glued to your devices.

According to Psychology Today, a MarketCast survey in the US indicated that 56 percent of participants prefer to binge-watch by themselves, which makes it easier to lose track of time. Watching TV in groups or with a partner can help you from getting too deep into the binge.^[2]

8 You Suffer From A Lack Of Fresh Air And Vitamin D

Congratulations. At this point, you’ve possibly damaged your brain while separating yourself from the rest of the world due to your obsessive relationship with The Office.

But your compulsive binge-watching may also deprive you of natural light. According to an article in Time, staying indoors all day could mess with your circadian clock, a biochemical regulator of your sleep, appetite, and energy.^[3]

Spending more time in nature can improve your mood and mental health. In fact, if you’re feeling anxious and depressed, it’s most likely due to your excessive binge-watching habit. Consider taking a walk outside a few times a day at the very least.

7 Binge-Watching Also Means Binge Eating

Are you gaining weight and unsure if the junk food stash next to your bed is the culprit?

It probably is. Remember how deprivation from the outside world may make you feel depressed? In turn, this can cause you to binge eat. According to WebMd, binge eating can be triggered by anger, anxiety, boredom, sadness, and other negative emotions.^[4]

Even though the comedy of The Office will make you smile the whole way through, bingeing on the show can still evoke certain emotions that will make you reach for the cookies. Keep this in mind the next time you bypass the fruits and vegetables in the grocery store and go down the junk food aisle.

6 A Regular Exercise Routine Is Thrown Out The Window

According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, sitting for long periods of time may raise your risk of heart disease and death. If your only form of exercise these days is walking to get the remote you left on the other side of the room, you are doing your body a serious disservice.

Any amount of activity is better than sitting, even if you are only stepping away for 30 minutes at a time. Doing chores or any light activity may reduce your risk of death by 17 percent. As a side benefit, you can eliminate that dirty laundry pile that’s been taking over your bathroom.^[5]

Top 10 Murders Caused By TV Shows

5 You Find It Difficult To Focus On Work Or Other Tasks

Sometimes, when you’re in the middle of a good show, you may find yourself thinking about what will happen next. Even when you’re just gabbing with your friends, you may end up talking about the new show you are watching. It can be super distracting even when you don’t have the TV turned on.

Stepping away from binge-watching can do more than increase your time for outdoor activities. It can also help clear your mind—allowing you to focus on more important tasks than whatever show you’re obsessed with that week.^[6]

4 You Get Very Lazy

Typically, when you get really engrossed in a show, all your attention is focused on the screen. In that moment, you are not doing laundry or scrubbing the tub out of fear that you might miss something. This leads to an epic train of laziness that’s hard to overcome.^[7]

When you go on a relaxing vacation or stay at home because you’re sick for an extended period, it’s always harder at the end to resume your daily routine. Same goes for insane binge-watching. You get trapped. It’s like the lyrics from that old Eagles’ song Hotel California:

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door,
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before,
‘Relax,’ said the night man,
‘We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!’

3 You Have Difficulty Sleeping

Some people turn to the TV to help them fall asleep at night. While it may work for some individuals, SleepEducation.org reports that 88 percent of adults have sacrificed sleep to binge-watch television.^[8]

This can negatively impact your health by reducing your quality of sleep, increasing insomnia, and making you more alert before you go to bed.

2 Your Body Gets Stiff From Lack Of Movement

Unless you are someone who frequently watches TV while walking on a treadmill, the same risks arise from binge-watching television as from sitting at your desk at work all day. Experts at the Mayo Clinic found that sitting for over eight hours each day without engaging in other physical activity carries a death risk like that of smoking and obesity.^[9]

The Mayo doctors recommend that you take an activity break every half hour to avoid long-term sitting. That’s one good thing about commercial breaks: They give you the opportunity to step away from the TV without missing your show.

1 You Put Yourself In A Binge-Watching Cycle That Doesn’t End

It’s a vicious cycle. You start watching one episode. Before you know it, five hours have gone by and you are halfway through a series. You didn’t expect to get this far into the Netflix vortex, but here you are.

Just starting that first episode can be dangerous, especially if it’s a captivating show that keeps you from going to sleep. Or maybe you’re getting paid $1,000 to binge-watch The Office.^[10]

Usually, you should set a time limit as to how much TV you will watch before turning in. Or stick to viewing a movie at night that is guaranteed to end within a couple of hours. That way, you won’t get sucked into a binge.

The announcement of several new streaming services is tempting us to never leave our homes again. So you may not drop your unhealthy binge-watching habit cold turkey. However, these health risks are scary enough to make us want to step away from the screen for at least short periods of time.

Although it’s easier said than done, we’re optimistic that we can pull ourselves away from the TV screen if we do it together. Until then, tell us in the comments about your binge-watching experiences.

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About The Author: Courtney is a writer, fitness enthusiast, Advent yogi, and your go-to girl for all the latest celebrity news. She also has an embarrassing obsession with awards shows.

We often assume that those who lived before us were inferior in intelligence and accomplishments, especially when we think of ancient medicine. But modern archaeologists are discovering surprising things about antiquated health care. In some cases, it’s as bad as we imagined. In others, the philosophies and methods of health care are strikingly sophisticated for earlier times.

10Egyptians Had The First Governmental Health Care System

At least in terms of health care, ancient Egypt was quite similar to modern developed countries. In Deir el-Medina, an ancient village in the mountains above the Valley of the Kings, written records and physical remains reveal evidence of the first documented governmental health care system.

Under harsh conditions, artisans with unusual literacy and advanced engineering knowledge built the pharaohs’ royal tombs from 1292–1077 B.C. This was about the time of Ramses II and his heirs. The workers left thousands of documents, including everything from letters to lawsuits.

The site was first excavated in the early to mid-1900s, but the bodies in the tombs were left largely untouched because osteology, the study of skeletons, was stuck in its early stages. In 2012, archaeologists returned to study the human remains in greater detail. Their findings confirmed the written records. The workers at Deir el-Medina were entitled to take paid sick days or get free checkups at the Egyptian equivalent of a clinic. However, like so many modern employees, these ancient workers with comprehensive care plans often felt pressured to continue working even while sick. In one mummy, the man had obviously worked while battling osteomyelitis, a blood-borne infection that inflames bone.

The skeletons show the stress of climbing from the Valley of the Kings to the mountain village. But they also reveal that residents with severe disabilities received excellent care. For example, one young man of about 20 years old had a bad right leg from a neurological disease such as polio. But he showed no physical signs associated with climbing to work in the tombs, which suggests that he received a less strenuous role in this society.

Families and friends were also expected to care for the old and the sick. If not, the errant individuals would be shamed publicly through divorce or disinheritance. “A woman named Naunakhte had eight children,” said lead researcher Anne Austin. “In her will, she chastised and disinherited four of them for neglecting her in her old age.”

9Ancient Peru Had The First Limb Surgery

Ancient medical practitioners used a technique called trepanation, which opens a hole in the skull of a living person by drilling, surgical scraping, or sawing. It treated cases of head trauma as well as some other ailments.

In 2004, anthropologists from the University of Central Florida found that shamans in the Chachapoya region of ancient Peru also used trepanation techniques on patients’ lower legs at the fortress of Kuelap. This is the first documented evidence of trepanation used on another part of the body.

The Chachapoya area was inhabited from approximately 800–1535. Their shamans were quite advanced, successfully performing complex surgeries like amputations that clearly healed. As for trepanation on legs, the remains of two otherwise healthy men in this region showed holes drilled in their lower leg bones, probably to relieve fluid buildup from infected injuries. Although unlikely, it’s also possible that bone was removed from these men while they were alive to create amulets or pendants.

The first man was an adult around 30–34 years old. A medical practitioner had drilled a series of holes in his tibia or shinbone, the larger of two human leg bones that connect the knee to the ankle. The holes extend to the center of the tibia, but there’s no evidence of healing. That means the man probably died when the surgery took place. The second male, a teenager, showed two holes drilled into the middle of his shinbone. He appears to have met the same fate as the first man.

Although it looks like both men died during the surgery, it’s also possible that these procedures were done after the men died. A novice may have been practicing his technique on corpses.

8Ancient Doctors Also Treated PTSD

We now have evidence of ancient soldiers in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as early as 1300 B.C. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University found medical texts about doctors trying to diagnose and treat warriors from the Assyrian Dynasty who experienced sleep disturbances, flashbacks, and depression, accounts eerily similar to those from modern combat veterans.

“[The ancient warriors] described hearing and seeing ghosts talking to them, who would be the ghosts of people they’d killed in battle—and that’s exactly the experience of modern-day soldiers who’ve been involved in close hand-to-hand combat,” said researcher Jamie Hacker Hughes, director of Anglia Ruskin’s Veterans and Families Institute. He noted that the Mesopotamian warriors fought their battles in the same geographic areas as the most recent Gulf and Iraq Wars.

During the Assyrian Dynasty, men were required to fight every three years as part of their mandatory national service. They faced injury and death from different weapons back then, such as swords, slingstones, and arrows. However, the same stressors—watching their comrades die, fearing death, and more—caused the symptoms of PTSD for them. They also faced a greater possibility of death from injuries because modern surgical techniques were not available to help them.

In ancient times, it was believed that the ghosts or demons of slain enemies caused PTSD symptoms, attacking some of the soldiers left behind and causing a “wandering mind” as punishment from their gods for these soldiers’ sins. Treatments could take the form of medications as well as religious offerings or recitations to chase off the ghosts.

7Ancient Medicine Chest Holds 2,000-Year-Old Eye Pills

Usually, our knowledge of ancient medicine comes from texts recovered at archaeological sites. But these writings may lack the details and accuracy needed for us to fully understand how ancient medicine worked. That’s why archaeologists became so excited by the discovery of the contents of a medicine chest from a Roman shipwreck near Tuscany around 120 B.C.

Archaeologists believe the vessel, named Relitto del Pozzino, sank during a bad storm near the ancient Etruscan city of Populonia, a key shipping port on the Mediterranean Sea at that time. In recent years, excavators have recovered lamps, glass cups, and other artifacts. But the most interesting discovery was the medical equipment of a Roman doctor who may have been aboard the ship.

Although his medicine chest appeared to be destroyed, a mortar, surgery hook, and bleeding cup survived. Archaeologists also found 136 wooden drug vials and several pyxides, sealed tin containers with 2,000-year-old medicinal tablets in them. Amazingly, the circular, green tablets were completely dry, and modern technology has now identified their ingredients.

“In archaeology, the discovery of ancient medicines is very rare, as is knowledge of their chemical composition,” said researchers in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The data revealed extraordinary information on the composition of the tablets and on their possible therapeutic use.”

The pills contained beeswax, starch, iron oxide, several zinc compounds, pine resin, and other animal and plant-derived materials. Based on the ingredients and shape of the pills, researchers believe they were used as an eyewash or a type of eye medicine in ancient times.

6Ancient Rich People Had A Disease Of Modern Poor People

Considered the “first family” in Italy during the Renaissance, the Medicis were the affluent rulers of Tuscany. But money didn’t save their young children from developing rickets, a disease most often linked to poverty in the modern world, especially in polluted, urban areas where residents don’t get much exposure to sunlight. Ironically, the Medicis’ wealth was probably a major factor in their children developing this serious illness.

Rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency that softens the bones in children, resulting in bowed legs from trying to walk on weakened bones. Arm bones can also become curved, especially if the child tries to crawl. In the 16th century, six of the nine Medici children who were studied definitely suffered from rickets. Five-year-old Filippo even had a skull deformity from the disease.

With their wealth, it would seem likely that the Medicis could afford the foods, such as cheese and eggs, that would provide vitamin D for their children. So researchers were initially baffled by these findings.

However, an analysis of the children’s bone collagen showed that they weren’t weaned until two years old. Breast milk doesn’t have much vitamin D in it. Back then, the only supplements to breast milk were cereals made of soft bread, which have little vitamin D, and apples, which have none at all. Two of the family’s newborns also had rickets, signifying that their mothers probably had vitamin D deficiencies, too. The researchers believe that the mothers may have developed deficiencies from frequent childbearing or wearing heavy makeup that blocked the Sun.

As for the children, their high social standing probably had the most to do with getting rickets. In those days, poor children ran around outside a lot, so upper-class parents didn’t want their kids to get tans or they might look like the lower class. Instead, upper-class children tended to stay in their grand houses, swathed in many layers of clothes and protected from the sunlight that could have prevented this disease.

5The Ancients Knew About Donkey Milk Before We Did

In recent years, donkey milk has been touted as a healthy alternative for children allergic to specific proteins in cow’s milk. For many children, allergies are also a problem with traditional alternatives such as soy, goat’s, sheep’s, and even formulated milk. Donkey milk is more like human milk.

Although clinical studies need to be done, some sufferers of psoriasis, eczema, and asthma have also experienced surprisingly good results from drinking donkey milk or using soap derived from it. Even Pope Francis has revealed that he received donkey milk as a baby.

But the benefits of donkey milk are simply a rediscovery of what our ancestors already knew. Hippocrates, “the father of medicine,” prescribed donkey milk for many conditions from nosebleeds to snake bites. Supposedly, Cleopatra bathed in it for cosmetic purposes. The ancient Greeks fed it to their kids, while the ancient Romans used it to soften their skin.

However, at least one problem needs to be overcome. Donkey milk is much harder to produce than cow’s milk. While a cow has four teats that can produce about 10 liters (2.5 gal) of milk per day, a donkey only has two teats that produce about 1 liter (0.25 gal) per day. In addition, a donkey only gives milk for approximately six months after having a foal and only if the foal is nearby.

4Ancient Medical Texts Written On Bamboo Strips

On a construction site in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in China, workers discovered 920 bamboo strips that served as medical texts for the treatment of people and horses approximately 2,000 years ago. These ancient texts belong to the school of Bian Que, a medical pioneer who focused on diagnosing disease by taking a patient’s pulse and doing a physical examination. At that time, bamboo strips were often used for written texts.

In China, Bian Que is a legendary physician who is credited with using anesthesia and performing the world’s first organ transplant. The 920 bamboo strips include 184 strips of veterinary medicine for horses and 736 strips divided into nine different medical books for humans. In addition to pulse-taking, some of the books discuss surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, traumatology, and gynecology. Some of the treatments include taking bull’s urine for jaundice and chilies for headaches.

A figurine approximately 14 centimeters (5.5 in) in length was also recovered from the site. This figurine has major acupuncture points marked on it and may give us some clues to how acupuncture evolved as a treatment option.

3The Baghdad Battery May Have Been An Analgesic

About 75 years ago, German archaeologist Wilhelm Konig, director of the Baghdad Museum, announced the discovery of the 2,000-year-old Baghdad battery. These batteries were small terra-cotta jars with copper cylinders and iron rods inside. Konig believed these batteries may have been used to electroplate gold onto silver items. When linked together, they could produce as much as 4 volts of electricity. These batteries were conservatively dated from 250 B.C. to A.D. 640.

However, as we’ve discussed before, these artifacts were out of place. It simply didn’t make sense that they would exist at the historical time and place in which they were discovered. For many people, Konig’s explanation was unsatisfactory, so the battery’s purpose remained a mystery.

Enter Paul T. Keyser, a researcher from the University of Alberta who proposed a medical theory in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies in 1993. He believed that the Baghdad battery may have been a medical device used to alleviate pain, much like the ancient Greeks numbed an inflamed foot by standing on an electric eel until the pain went away. Keyser thought it possible that these devices were used in places like Mesopotamia where there were no electric fish. Bronze and iron needles may have been used to conduct electricity from the batteries in a type of electro-acupuncture, similar to a Chinese treatment used at that time.

2Blackbeard Made Health Care A Priority

In 1717, the notorious pirate Blackbeard easily captured his flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, from the original French crew because they were mostly sick or dead from illness. However, Blackbeard controlled the ship for less than a year. In early 1718, the vessel got stuck on a sandbar in North Carolina. Taking some of his best men and almost all of his stolen goods, Blackbeard abandoned the ship and most of his crew. But he was later killed by the Royal Navy in November 1718.

Blackbeard was healthy enough to fight hard, as he tried to board an enemy ship during that final skirmish. “He stood his ground and fought with great fury, till he received five and 20 wounds, and five of them by shot,” wrote Captain Charles Johnson about Blackbeard in 1724. “At length, as he was cocking another pistol, having fired several before, he fell down dead.”

The Queen Anne’s Revenge was found in 1996, and archaeologists have been excavating the wrecked ship ever since. Recently, they made some surprising discoveries public. According to historical records and newly discovered artifacts, it seems that Blackbeard made a great effort to keep his crew healthy. Many things could happen at sea, such as wounds, diseases, burns, toothaches, and amputations. To Blackbeard, health care was such a priority that he forced three surgeons from the former French crew of the Queen Anne’s Revenge to stay onboard the captured ship. The excavation has shown that Blackbeard probably confiscated medical equipment from the captured ship as well.

The archaeologists found a urethral syringe used to treat syphilis with mercury. However, if the syphilis didn’t kill the sailors, mercury poisoning would. Scientists also found two enemas that would have pumped fluid into the rectum, although they weren’t sure why these mechanisms were used or what they contained so long ago. Equipment for bloodletting, medicine preparation, and surgery was also discovered, along with galley pots for storage of potions, salves, and balms.

1Siberia Was A Sophisticated Surgery Center

Archaeologists were astounded to discover that the ancient nomads of Siberia created a major skull surgery center about 2,300–2,500 years ago. Examining three skulls (two men, one woman) from the Altai Mountains, a team of modern neurosurgeons, archaeologists, and anthropologists found that the ancient Siberian surgeons expertly wielded one primitive tool to scrape the skull with sophisticated techniques. They also appeared to adhere to the Hippocratic Corpus, a set of medical texts devised in Greece between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C.

One of the male patients had a blood clot from head trauma that probably caused nausea, headaches, and other symptoms. It’s believed that trepanation was used to remove the clot. However, the biggest surprise is that the skull shows bone growth after the surgery, meaning the man lived for many years afterward.

The second male didn’t show evidence of head trauma, so it’s believed that the surgeon was trying to fix a congenital skull deformity. With both of these men, the surgeons made a small hole where they could get to the brain with minimal damage to the membrane and joints.

The woman showed trauma from a fall, but didn’t appear to survive her surgery. Her doctor made several mistakes. So even in ancient times, the choice of surgeon was critical.

The actual scraping tool wasn’t found at the site, but archaeologists suspect it was a bronze knife. It’s possible that early Siberians were incredibly skilled with skull surgeries because they did a lot of work with cutting animal bones.

“Honestly, I am amazed,” said Novosibirsk neurosurgeon Aleksei Krivoshapkin, who examined the skulls. “We suspect now that in the time of Hippocrates, Altai people could do a very fine diagnosis and carry out skillful trepanations and fantastic brain surgery.”

Hollywood loves mental disorders, which provide plenty of material for intriguing or outlandish character traits. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn’t love depicting mental disorders accurately, since that seldom makes for an interesting or uplifting movie. Instead, Hollywood disorders usually draw from a loose collection of stereotypes, creating an inaccurate popular perception of many harrowing mental problems.

10The Difference Between OCD And OCPD

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has firmly cemented its place in popular culture thanks to the hit TV show Monk. The lead character, Adrian Monk, is a brilliant detective whose OCD spirals out of control following the tragic loss of his wife. As a result, Monk goes to extreme lengths to make everything in his life perfect. Not a single button out of place or hair where it shouldn’t be escapes his attention, usually resulting in some sort of humorous escapade. It’s exactly the sort of behavior that people associate with the disorder, leading to the usual casual jokes about how “OCD” people are because they keep their house tidy or don’t like the peas and carrots to touch on their plate.

But in reality, people are usually confusing two very distinct disorders. Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is characterized by an extreme need for neatness, along with an anal attitude about almost everything. People with OCPD are often extremely neurotic, which fits Monk to a tee. However, just because you don’t like your vegetables touching doesn’t mean you have OCPD. You are only diagnosed with the disorder if it severely affects the functioning of your daily life.

Obsessive compulsive disorder, on the other hand, is usually characterized by obsessive thought patterns, usually in the form of unpleasant thoughts that repeatedly enter the mind for no apparent reason. Another symptom is repeated strange behaviors or ticks, sometimes performed to block out the unwanted thoughts. Interestingly, people with OCD are usually aware that their thoughts are bizarre and unreasonable, while people with OCPD often refuse to acknowledge that they have a disorder at all.

9How To Treat A Seizure

When someone has a seizure in popular culture, the response usually involves holding the person down and putting something in their mouth so that they don’t bite or swallow their tongue. This common trope is more than just a silly myth—it’s bad advice that could actually get someone injured or killed. First of all, it is completely impossible to “swallow your tongue.” Biting your tongue is a real worry, but it’s very unlikely to do irreparable damage. Meanwhile, trying to force something into the mouth of a seizure sufferer can result in choking or damaged teeth. In fact, it’s not impossible that forcing a hard object into a seizing person’s mouth will result in them chipping or dislodging a tooth and then choking on that tooth when it falls into their throat. Finally, messing around with a seizing person’s mouth is a great way to get your fingers bitten.

Additionally, trying to hold a seizing person down to “keep them from hurting themselves” is more likely to end up hurting them or you. The correct response is actually to remove any sharp or hard objects and see if there’s anything you can use as cushioning to prevent them from injuring their head. If possible, you should also try and get them on their side. What you shouldn’t do is shove an object into their mouth and then hold them down as hard as you can—that’s just Hollywood artistic license to increase the intensity of emotional scenes.

8Bipolar People Are Powder Kegs About To Go Off

This myth has become so widespread that it permeates almost all popular culture and frequently bleeds into real life, ensuring that many people simply have no understanding of what bipolar disorder actually is. The term is often used to describe someone who seems to fly into a rage at the drop of a hat, but this is completely inaccurate. That person may not be getting enough sleep, they may be stressed, have drunk too much or too little coffee, or maybe they genuinely have some sort of behavioral disorder, but having a short fuse has nothing to do with being bipolar.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is characterized by extreme highs and lows. But even with the rarer version of the disorder that causes you to move quickly between the two extremes, it’s unheard of for them to change back and forth in the same day. In fact, the current definition of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder suggests the patient might experience four or more episodes of depression or mania over an entire year. Furthermore, neither of those states are likely to put someone into a towering rage. Instead, the depressive state is basically depression (and is often confused as such, making diagnosis difficult), while the manic state consists of periods of elevated mood, increased risk-taking behavior, and increased energy. Someone suffering from bipolar disorder can actually sometimes be going through both at the same time, which is known as a “mixed episode.” So if your boss tends to shout at you for no reason, they might be a jerk, but they probably aren’t bipolar.

7Violating Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

Hollywood loves to play fast and loose with the rules around doctor-patient confidentiality. In order to provide a hint of drama, a movie therapist will often refuse to share client information, at least initially, even if it’s the crucial clue required for the cops/band of plucky kids/wisecracking cat detective to save the day from their out-of-control patient.

In reality, the rules around doctor-patient confidentiality are clear and not particularly complex. Like any medical records, mental health information is extremely sensitive and therapists are not at liberty to share it, even with well-meaning friends or relations. The exception is if the mental health practitioner believes their patient might cause serious harm to themselves or others. In that case, they have a legal right and obligation to relay the information to someone who has the ability to do something about it. In some cases, this might involve a therapist telling a parent their child’s suicidal tendencies. In others, it might mean providing information to the law about a patient likely to harm others.

Where TV and movies gets it wrong is in depicting therapists as reluctant to disclose such crucial information, forcing the cops to lean on them to get access to their files. In fact, breaching confidentiality in a situation where there’s the slightest chance someone may be harmed is the farthest thing from a risky career move. Instead, current laws provide thorough protection for mental health professionals who wish to invoke that exception. As such, it is unlikely that the trope of the brave psychiatrist risking their career to share information is anything like reality. In truth, doctors know that the law will always back them up if they do have a moral need to violate confidentiality.

6The Character Who Ends Up Cured

In fiction, this myth stems from an understandable desire on the part of the writer and the director to provide some positive resolution and leave audiences satisfied. This leads to movies constantly going for the easy way out, where the character has some final revelation that makes them realize how they can live a normal life. Then they have some romantic reconciliation and everyone lives happily ever after.

Sadly, this is pretty much the opposite of how things work in real life. Most serious mental disorders can’t be fully cured, and even those that can require a lot of time and patience to deal with. Someone may indeed have a helpful revelation, but the movies don’t show the years of hard work after that in order to cope with the disorder: the trips to multiple different doctors, the trial and error of different medications, and the painful struggle to repair relationships and rebuild a normal life. Of course, a movie doesn’t have to end on a depressing note to be realistic. Showing that someone is on the way to recovery and has a strong support structure would be a grounded and positive way to bring a story to a conclusion.

5Autistic People Are Either Savants Or Totally Helpless

Movies like Rain Man and Mercury Rising have popularized the idea of an autistic person with advanced math skills or other abilities beyond normal human functioning. Hollywood also frequently features autistic people who are completely incapable of caring for themselves, but very little in between. Apart from Asperger’s syndrome, which is becoming better known, autism has many widely different forms stretching across a scale known as the autism spectrum. As a result, researchers who have studied common stereotypes of autism have found they usually don’t fit well with the reality of the issue.

In fact, savant-like skills are extremely rare among autistic people and their portrayal in Hollywood movies can create unrealistic expectations. One father of an autistic child observed that he often found himself having to tell people that his son was “just” autistic, causing people to respond as if his kid “is doubly challenged.” Yet, as far as Hollywood is concerned, people with autism can either have “diminished capacity or superhuman capacity, but nothing in between.”

4The Cool And Collected Therapist

Many of Hollywood’s stereotypically mentally ill characters have a counterpart in a calm, efficient therapist who listens to them and puts their weird actions in perspective. The therapist may ask the character about their dreams, encourage them to follow their goals, or dispense advice leading to a life-changing epiphany. These characters are almost never shown as anything but the perfect, patient professional. However, it would likely be more accurate if they showed the therapist as a neurotic, anxious, depressed individual who struggles with mental health issues of their own.

While it may disturb some people who get therapy (which is still extremely useful and important), a large number of therapists entered the field because their own mental health problems made them interested in it. Additionally, there is generally no screening for serious psychological issues in the people who are dispensing counseling. The issue is made worse because many therapists end up physically attacked by their patients or discover that a patient has committed suicide. This means that even those therapists who entered the field with relatively good mental health still find themselves dealing with a level of emotional stress much higher than the average medical professional. Therapists also often struggle to get proper help from other therapists, even though they should know better than anyone what help they really need. Even Sigmund Freud, who could arguably have used some counseling himself, believed that therapists should have themselves evaluated every few years for the sake of their patients and themselves.

3People Know What Mental Illnesses They Have

In the movie Fight Club [Warning: 15-year-old spoilers ahead], the main character eventually figures out that he is Tyler Durden and that he has been forgetting his double-life as the Tyler persona. In other words, he has a second personality that’s a total psycho, making him two different parts of one extremely insane person. The problem is that the big reveal also happens to be extremely unrealistic: our anti-hero just kind of suddenly figures out what’s going on. In real life, people with mental disorders don’t simply trip a switch and work out what their disorder is and how to deal with it. Instead, it’s a long, painful process requiring lots of trial, error, and often multiple different attempts at medication.

In fact, many people go without treatment for years because they don’t realize their problems are actually a mental illness. Even if someone does believe they have a problem and is actively searching for the solution, it can still take years to find the right diagnosis or medication. Many people initially go to their primary care doctor, who often doesn’t have the time or knowledge to address the symptoms correctly. And once someone starts treatment, they may not take their medication as often they should. Even if they do, there’s no guarantee the medication will work for their particular issue. This, along with misdiagnosis, makes treating mental health problems a lengthy process.

2Treating An Overdose With A Needle To The Heart

In Pulp Fiction, John Travolta has to help Uma Thurman’s character after she accidentally overdoses on heroin. He drives like a lunatic to his dealer’s house, who immediately produces a massive adrenaline needle, which Travolta stabs into Uma Thurman’s heart, instantly reviving her. Surprisingly, there is a grain of truth to this, since an actual procedure called intracardiac injection has been used to treat cardiac arrest in the past. Unsurprisingly, the procedure depicted in the movie bears no relation to the real one and Travolta’s actions would simply have ensured that Thurman’s character definitely died.

For starters, intracardiac injections are almost never used anymore, since there are obvious complications from stabbing someone in the heart in an attempt to save them. Assuming Travolta didn’t hit a lung or the pulmonary artery, which he almost certainly would have, the procedure still wouldn’t have gotten the drugs to Thurman’s heart any faster than injecting them normally. Even if an injection to the heart was somehow necessary, there’s never any reason to ram a needle through someone’s chest, since the heart can be easily reached from the side through the ribcage. And finally, heroin overdoses actually cause respiratory problems, not the cardiac arrest an intracardiac injection of adrenaline could theoretically be used to treat.

1Depressed People Look Depressed

While depression may be one of the most widespread mental disorders, it’s also among the least likely to be realistically depicted. In movies, a depressed person will probably wear dark clothes, constantly appear sad or somber, and act withdrawn from their friends and family. Hollywood depression apparently involves indifference or contempt for everything outside a small bubble of overly indulgent self-pity. However, these depictions are often the farthest thing from the truth.

In reality, many depressed people put on a public face that fools even their closest friends and family. In fact, depressed people are the most likely to act out in public and draw attention to themselves, putting on a show to hide their problems from others and even themselves. The outgoing popular kid in the movies is always either a one-dimensional caricature or an extremely put-together and well-adjusted person. In real life, the class clown who makes the most noise and keeps everybody laughing could very well be severely depressed on the inside. As a result, many people with depression suffer in silence, putting on a happy face to ensure no one knows what they are really dealing with.

It’s a question that has haunted the thoughts of countless hospital patients: Can I trust the professional who currently holds my life in his hands? In most cases, the answer is “yes.” But there are cases of wanton negligence and predatory opportunism by health care providers that could give even the most trusting patient a case of the health care heebie-jeebies.

10 A Doctor Encourages A Patient To Commit Suicide

Dr. Arun Singhal was a general physician at a hospital in Liverpool, England. In May 2011, he consulted on a case of a distraught woman who was on antidepressants. The woman, referred to as “Patient A,” was a witness for the prosecution in a rape case. After discovering that she lived close to the rape suspect’s brother, Patient A called Singhal for a sick note to absolve her from taking the stand. Terrified, she also admitted to being on the verge of suicide and said that her antidepressants weren’t working.

Singhal’s response to Patient A was more becoming of a sadistic Internet troll than a licensed lifesaver. He chided her as a “disgrace” of a patient and told the woman to “jolly well kill herself.” He even suggested that she consult the Internet for useful suicide tips. But as Singhal dispensed his decidedly unprofessional advice, he had no clue that Patient A was recording their conversation. Understandably upset, she filed a complaint.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service looked into the matter and concluded that Singhal had likely taken Patient A’s claims too lightly and had behaved inexcusably. The doctor was subsequently suspended for three months. Considering the tragedy which might have happened if Patient A had followed the doctor’s orders, Singhal is lucky that he wasn’t fired.

9 A Vengeful Ex–Hospital Employee Sends Patients Fake Lobotomy Letters

From 2005 to 2010, Michelle Morrison of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, served as the senior account representative for Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital before being laid off. Feeling embittered and vengeful, she lashed out by stealing hospital stationery and the private information of more than 30 patients as part of a heartless plot to embarrass her former bosses.

From February 2011 to June 2012, Morrison sent six fraudulent letters to three Alexian Brothers patients claiming that their psychological treatments had failed and they would need to undergo frontal lobotomies. The letters also contained crude, debasing remarks and threats to reveal the patients’ medical information to their friends, family, and coworkers.

A two-month investigation uncovered Morrison as the culprit. Caught with patient files and other hospital materials in her home, she had little recourse but to plead guilty. Outwardly repentant, Morrison apologized in court for what was her first criminal offense on record. As punishment, she was placed on 30 months’ probation.

8 Nursing Home Employees Play Cruel Jokes On Dementia Patients

In 2010, at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility in Ukiah, California, six employees decided that it would be hilarious to cover seven defenseless dementia patients from head to toe with ointment to create a slippery challenge for the next shift of employees. But rather than having a hearty belly laugh, these cruel employees, aged 23 to 51 years old, were arrested.

Unfortunately, the Ukiah sextet are not the only perpetrators of cruel nursing home misconduct. In May 2012, an employee was dismissed from the UK-based Kirknowe Care Home after feeding a dog treat to a dementia patient as a joke. Nursing home employee Tracie Nellis also displayed sadistic behavior. In 2013, she deposited hot sauce into the mouths of two sleeping dementia patients, a misdeed for which she voluntarily relinquished her nursing license.

The list of similar and far graver offenses seems endless. All of them tell the too-common story of health care workers who take advantage of vulnerable patients.

7 A Doctor Slaps The Butts Of Sedated Patients

For at least a year, Dr. Michael T. Clarke, a physician at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York, delighted in hearing the sharp thwack of his palm against the butt cheeks of his unconscious patients in the operating room. He would later try to pass off this behavior as a way to gauge the effectiveness of spinal anesthetics. But coworkers present in the operating room painted a different picture.

According to them, the slaphappy doctor spewed sexually explicit insults while striking his patients, sometimes using enough force to leave lasting red handprints. Allegedly, he also hurled raunchy comments at hospital staff. After months of remaining tight-lipped about Dr. Clarke’s shocking bedside manner, members of the OR staff finally alerted hospital administrators in December 2013.

A state health department investigation corroborated complaints against Clarke. He was suspended in February 2014 and required to take undisclosed steps to qualify for reinstatement. After eight months, he was back in the operating room at St. Joseph’s.

6 A Surgeon Sends Sexts Mid-Operation

A medical practitioner for 20 years, anesthesiologist Arthur K. Zilberstein was based at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, when he committed his infractions. Across a variety of procedures—everything from caesarian sections to pediatric appendectomies—the doctor took the time to send nearly 250 sexually suggestive text messages and explicit photos to his girlfriend and sometimes his own patients.

In one instance, he sent a patient a selfie that showed him in hospital attire with his genitals dangling in plain view. During a stomach surgery, he sent 45 lusty texts in under 90 minutes.

Dr. Zilberstein has also been implicated in reviewing patients’ medical records for his own carnal pleasure, engaging in hospital romps, and doling out unauthorized prescriptions. Whether his indulgences ever injured anyone is unclear, but state officials felt that Zilberstein’s indiscretions warranted the suspension of his medical license. At that time, Swedish Medical Center also suspended the doctor’s privileges.

5 An Anesthetist Punches His Patient After Heart Surgery

Dr. Andrei Votyakov, an anesthetist at Russia’s Federal Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in Perm, had slogged through a 36-hour shift and reached the edge of his patience. According to Votyakov, it was in this compromised state that he encountered a recent heart surgery patient, who was wearing an oxygen mask and had both of his arms and legs strapped to the bed.

The 61-year-old patient allegedly insulted Votyakov and displayed zero appreciation for his work. At that point, the doctor jettisoned what little composure he had left and punched the man in the face before pounding on his fragile chest above the heart. The patient later died a week later.

Video footage of the interaction dated February 21, 2013, shows what looks like an argument between Votyakov and the patient before the doctor resorts to violence. The interaction was later posted online, which incensed the public and led to an official investigation. Votyakov apologized for his appalling display of malice but denied causing the patient’s death. The results of a criminal investigation into his behavior apparently supported his claim because the physician was reportedly fined 100,000 rubles and only sentenced to five months of community service.

4 A Nurse Steals From Sleeping Cancer Patients

In January 2015, officials at Morriston Hospital in Wales set out to catch a crook. Someone had been robbing patients since at least the previous November, and the staff believed one of their own was responsible. With the help of local law enforcement, they devised a trap: A marked £20 note was positioned under a plant pot as bait. Much to everyone’s relief, it worked. Much to their chagrin, the culprit was indeed a hospital employee, one who had exploited some of Morriston’s sickest patients.

That employee was 49-year-old nurse Jacqueline Perry, and she worked in Morriston’s cancer ward. Apparently, she waited for cancer patients to fall asleep before rifling through their things for valuables she could sell to fund her husband’s cider habit. The quality and quantity of her heists varied greatly. Perry stole painkillers, cash, and jewelry. In one instance, she lifted £14 from a cancer patient. Another patient, 89-year-old Nancy Thomas, was stripped of treasured family heirlooms—three rings valued at a combined £1,800—before she died. Perry sold those rings for about 10 percent of their value.

In total, Perry bagged £2,739 worth of personal belongings before she was nabbed in the hospital’s sting operation. According to the nurse, her capture was a relief from the guilt that had racked her conscience. For her crimes, Perry received a 16-month jail sentence. Unfortunately, some of her victims didn’t live long enough to see justice done.

3 A Doctor Secretly Records Patients’ Pelvic Exams

Gynecologist and obstetrician Dr. Nikita A. Levy worked at Baltimore’s renowned Johns Hopkins Community Medicine for 25 years. For at least eight of those years, he secretly wore a camera pen to clandestinely film the gynecological exams of his unsuspecting patients. Johns Hopkins learned of his behavior when a female colleague reported her suspicions about his pen in 2013.

The hospital brought in law enforcement, which found over 1,200 videos and pictures dating back to at least 2005. But during the 25 years that Levy had worked at the community clinic, he had seen a staggering 12,692 women who were deemed potential victims. The hospital had no choice but to inform all of them of the deep privacy violation.

Authorities found no tangible evidence that Levy recorded the women’s exams for anything more than private use, but that was traumatic enough for his victims. Some reported refusing to see doctors or take their children to doctors upon being informed of Levy’s abuses. A class action lawsuit was filed, and Johns Hopkins agreed to pay $190 million to over 7,000 of Levy’s former patients in compensation. Levy’s fate was far darker. Ten days after being outed for his crimes, he penned a letter of apology to his wife and killed himself with helium and a plastic bag.

2 A Drunken Anesthetist Accidentally Kills A New Mother

On September 26, 2014, Belgian-born Helga Wauters reported for duty at a private French clinic where she had been employed for two weeks. Although new to the facility, she’d been an anesthetist since 1994. No one would have been blamed for thinking that 28-year-old Xynthia Hawke was in good hands when she went into labor, and Wauters was tasked with supplying pain medication. Instead, Wauters tragically killed Hawke in a bout of drunken incompetence.

After Wauters gave Hawke an epidural, the anesthetist stepped out for a drink with friends. But labor difficulties made a caesarean necessary. The anesthetist now had to guide a tube into Hawke’s trachea in order to administer additional medication. But when Wauters returned to the clinic, she reeked of alcohol and, according to her colleagues, seemed off-kilter. Nonetheless, she was allowed to work. Wauters mistakenly placed the ventilation tube in Hawke’s esophagus, causing a heart attack. Hawke died four days later. Fortunately, her child survived.

As it turned out, Wauters had a serious drinking problem, a point punctuated by 17 empty vodka bottles that authorities found lying around her home. She admitted to drinking “a glass of rose” after giving Hawke the epidural as well as imbibing water-vodka mix the night of the procedure. The anesthetist also unconvincingly tried to excuse her drinking by claiming that alcohol diminished her faculties by 30 percent but helped to steady her hands. Tests by law enforcement showed that Wauters had almost five times the legal limit of alcohol in her system on the day after her fatal drunken bungle.

When Wauters was arrested, she was initially denied bail. But the court eventually relented, ordering Wauters to pay 50,000 euros in bail and forbidding her to leave France or practice medicine. She also had to enter a rehabilitation program.

1 Doctors Who Ditch Patients Mid-Surgery

At Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, California, cardiac surgeon Dr. Pervaiz Chaudhry performed almost 350 bypass surgeries between 2009 and 2010, placing him among the top five heart surgeons in California based on total number of surgeries. But his heavy workload seemingly came at a huge cost: Chaudhry had a below-average patient survival rate for his state. Of course, that depressing statistic might also be the result of Chaudhry’s alleged inclination to abandon patients during operations.

A number of lawsuits accuse Chaudry of ducking out of the operating room without completing heart surgeries. In one incident, his hospital was fined $75,000 after he left a physician’s assistant to close up a patient’s chest while he attended a luncheon. The patient, 72-year-old Silvino Perez, suffered a myocardial infarction, and the resulting physical trauma left him in a persistent vegetative state. Chaudhry has denied these and other charges levied against him, but an investigation by California’s State Department of Health found that the heart doctor had recklessly endangered Perez. The outcomes of other claims are currently unknown.

Chaudhry’s not the only professional to sacrifice a patient at the altar of good eats. In 2012, an anesthesiologist and a nurse anesthetist at a Swedish hospital inadvertently killed a man with a lunch break. They were supposed to be removing a tumor from a 72-year-old man, but as soon as lunchtime hit, the doctor shoved off for chow. Fifteen minutes later, the head nurse anesthetist also succumbed to hunger and left.

A nurse from the orthopedic ward was asked to sub for the doctor-nurse duo. Unfortunately, she lacked the vital expertise to realize that the patient’s respirator was turned off and to respond when he suddenly started hemorrhaging. By the time the lunching doctor and nurse returned, their patient had been starved of oxygen for eight minutes. He later died of brain damage.

Human health is a subject that directly concerns us all. From discoveries that promise upcoming cures to thrilling new surgery techniques that give hope to the disabled, the media abounds with stories revolving around our health and bodies.

10 Scientists Identify A New Body Part

Way back in 1879, a French surgeon named Paul Segond wrote a paper that described a “pearly, resistant fibrous band” along the ligaments within the human knee. The paper was promptly forgotten until 2013, when scientists discovered the anterolateral ligament, a knee ligament that plays a part in common knee problems and injuries. The discovery, shockingly overdue considering how often the human knee is scanned and treated for injuries, was written up in the Journal of Anatomy, published online in August 2013.

The paper’s authors examined 41 unpaired cadaver knees and found the new ligament in all but one of them, concluding that the new body part was a clearly distinguishable tissue with its own well-defined structure.

Earlier that year, researchers also published in the journal Ophthalmology the discovery of another new human body part in the eye, a microscopic layer of the cornea dubbed “Dua’s Layer.”

9 A Brain-Computer Interface

Scientists working at Korea University and Germany’s Technological University have developed a new interface that will allow users to control an exoskeleton of the lower limbs. It works by decoding specific brain signals. The results were published in August 2015 in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Users wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap and operate the exoskeleton by staring at one of five LEDs mounted to the interface. This causes the exoskeleton to move forward, turn left or right, and sit or stand.

So far, the system has only been tested on healthy volunteers, but the hope is that it can eventually be used to help the disabled. Paper coauthor Klaus Muller explained, “People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or high spinal cord injuries face difficulties communicating or using their limbs. Decoding what they intend from their brain signals could offer means to communicate and walk again.”

8 A Device That Moves Paralyzed Limbs With Mind Power

In 2010, Ian Burkhart became paralyzed when he hit a sandbar during a swimming accident and broke his neck. In 2013, thanks to the efforts of a partnership between Ohio State University and Battelle, Burkhart became the world’s first man to bypass the spinal cord and move a limb using only his thoughts.

The breakthrough came about thanks to a new kind of electronic neural bypass, a device that implants a pea-sized chip into the motor cortex of a patient’s brain. The chip interprets brain signals and sends them to a computer. The computer reinterprets the signals and sends them to a sleeve that the patient wears, which stimulates the relevant muscles into action. The whole process takes a fraction of a second.

It took some work to get to that point, however. The team behind the technology had to figure out the precise sequence of electrodes that would allow Burkhart to move his hand. Burkhart himself had to undergo months of therapy to rebuild atrophied muscles. The end result is that he can now rotate his hand, make a fist, and pinch his fingers together in order to grasp objects.

7 Bacteria That Eats Nicotine And Helps Smokers Quit

Quitting smoking is an enormously difficult task, as anyone who has tried it knows. Nearly 80 percent of those who try using drugstore cessation products fail. In 2015, researchers at the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at the Scripps Research Institute found new hope in the form of a bacterial enzyme that consumes nicotine before it ever reaches the brain. The enzyme is found in the bacteria Pseudomonas putida. While the enzyme is not a new discovery, it has only recently been produced in the laboratory.

The researchers hope to use this enzyme for new smoking cessation therapies. By blocking nicotine before it reaches the brain and causes dopamine production (the chemical “reward” of the brain), they hope to be able to prevent the desire to smoke. To be viable, any therapy developed must be stable enough to work without causing additional problems. So far, the laboratory-produced enzyme has remained stable for more than three weeks in a buffer solution (and three days in a serum) and tests with lab mice produced no observable side effects.

The researchers published their test results in the August online version of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

6 A Universal Vaccine For Influenza

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that exist on the structures of cells. They act as the basic building block of proteins. Researchers working in 2012 at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford, and Retroscreen Virology Ltd. have identified a new set of peptides found on influenza viruses that may give rise to a universal vaccine against all strains of the virus. The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.

In the case of influenza, peptides on the external surface of the virus mutate rapidly, making them difficult for drugs or vaccines to target. The recently identified peptides exist on the internal structure of cells and mutate more slowly. What’s more, these internal structures are found in every strain of influenza, from seasonal variations to swine and avian flu. Current vaccines against influenza take about six months to develop and do not provide long-lasting immunity, but it’s conceivable that by targeting the internal peptides, a universal vaccine could be developed that provides long-lasting immunity.

Influenza is an upper respiratory viral illness that attacks the nose, throat, and lungs. It can be deadly, especially for the young, old, or already sick. Influenza strains have been responsible for several pandemics throughout history, especially the 1918 pandemic. Nobody knows for sure how many people died from the waves of illness, but some estimates put it at 30–50 million people worldwide.

5 A Possible Cure For Parkinson’s Disease

In 2014, scientists took artificial—but fully functioning—human neurons and successfully grafted them to the brains of mice. The neurons have the potential to treat or even cure diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.

The neurons are created by a research group from the Max Planck Institute, the University Hospital Munster, and the University of Bielefeld. The group created stable nerve tissue from neurons reprogrammed from skin cells. In other words, they induced neuronal stem cells, a method which improves the compatibility of the new neurons. After a full six months, the treated mice harbored no adverse side effects as the implanted neurons integrated with their brains. They demonstrated normal brain activity and the formation of new synapses.

The new technique has the potential to give neuroscientists the ability to replace diseased, damaged neurons with healthy cells, which may one day allow them to treat and cure diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that causes the neurons in the brain that supply dopamine to die off. It currently has no cure, but symptoms can be treated. It typically appears in people between the ages of 50 and 60 and causes rigid muscles, changes in speech and gait, and tremors.

4 The World’s First Approved Bionic Eye

Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common of a group of inherited progressive retinal disorders that leads to loss of vision and often complete blindness. Early symptoms include a loss of night vision and increased difficulty seeing in peripheral vision.

In 2013, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System was introduced, the world’s first bionic eye approved by the Food and Drug Administration, specifically designed to treat late-stage retinitis pigmentosa. The Argus II system comprises a pair of external glasses outfitted with a camera. Video images are converted into electrical pulses that are sent to an array of electrodes implanted on the patient’s retinas. These images are then perceived as patterns of light in the brain. The patient is taught to interpret these patterns, thus regaining some measure of visual perception.

According to their website, the Argus II is currently available in the United States and Canada, and there are plans to introduce it worldwide.

3 A Painkiller That Only Uses Light

Severe pain has traditionally been treated with opioid drugs. The drawback is that such drugs can be addictive and have a strong potential for abuse, which comes with intense withdrawal symptoms. So what if scientists could stop pain using nothing but the power of light?

In April 2015, neuroscientists at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis announced that they had done just that. By melding a light-sensitive protein to opioid receptors in a test tube, they were able to activate opioid receptors in the same way that opiate drugs do but using light. Their findings were published online in the journal Neuron.

The hope is that researchers will be able to develop ways to utilize light for pain relief with drugs that have fewer side effects. According to study author Edward R. Siuda, it is even conceivable that after more research, light could replace drugs altogether.

To test the new receptor, an LED light about the size of a human hair was implanted into the reward center of the brains of mice that were then injected with the receptor. The mice were placed in a lit chamber that stimulated the release of dopamine by way of the receptors. If the mice left a certain area, the light turned off and the stimulation stopped. The mice quickly returned to the original area.

2 An Artificial Ribosome

A ribosome is a molecular machine composed of two subunits that use amino acids inside cells to build proteins in a process known as translation. Each of the ribosome’s subunits is synthesized within a cell’s nucleus and then exported to the cytoplasm.

In 2015, researchers Alexander Mankin (director of the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy’s Center for Biomolecular Sciences) and Northwestern University’s Michael Jewett (assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering) succeeded in building the world’s first artificial ribosome that promises to reveal new insights into how these molecular machines work. It may also provide the basis for future drugs and biological materials. Their findings appeared in the July online edition of the prestigious journal Science.

According to that paper, the artificial ribosome—called “Ribo-T”—remained functional when introduced into E. coli cells, even in the absence of “wild” ribosomes, keeping the bacteria alive and even demonstrating the ability to evolve.

Unlike ordinary ribosomes, the subunits of Ribo-T will not separate—standard behavior in ribosomes that until now were assumed to be a necessary part of protein synthesis. Ribo-T is already teaching us new things about how ribosomes work. “Our new protein-making factory holds promise to expand the genetic code in a unique and transformative way, providing exciting opportunities for synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering,” said Michael Jewett of the research.

1 A Bilateral Hand Transplant

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia along with doctors at Penn Medicine made history in 2015 when they successfully transplanted two donor hands and forearms onto eight-year-old recipient Zion Harvey. Harvey had faced a kidney transplant and double amputation after he suffered a severe infection at the age of two.

Initially referred to the Shriners Hospital for Children, Harvey was evaluated through a joint effort between the two institutions as a candidate. The donor limbs were procured through the Gift of Life Donor Program, a nonprofit organization that operates in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

The surgical team attached the bones, blood vessels, nerves, and tendons of the hands in a complex, 10-hour procedure in July, making Harvey the world’s first child recipient of a bilateral hand transplant. He currently needs a series of daily immunosuppressant medications and undergoes physical therapy in order to regain as much functionality as possible. As with other transplant recipients, Harvey will remain on this regimen of drugs and therapy for the rest of his life in order to minimize the chance of his body rejecting the donor tissue.

Lance LeClaire is a freelance artist and writer. He writes on subjects ranging from science and skepticism, atheism, religious history and issues, unexplained mysteries, and historical oddities—among other subjects. You can look him up on Facebook.

They can lift buildings clean off the ground, take on the force of a dying star, and perfect time travel to bring back half the world’s population. However, their troubles don’t end with the defeat of a purple villain or a spectacular fight against Steppenwolf.

All the awesomeness in the world can’t prevent some superheroes from struggling with more “human” issues such as depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Here are 10 of your favorite heroes who battle “evil” as well as their even darker inner demons.

Warning: Possible spoilers ahead!

10 Of The Creepiest Things Superheroes Have Done

10 Iron Man

Iron Man 3 opens with Tony Stark narrating: “A famous man once said, ‘We create our own demons.’ ” In Stark’s previous outing in The Avengers, which is set six months before Iron Man 3, he comes uncomfortably close to death. This sets up this opening line perfectly, especially considering the issues Stark grapples with during the third Iron Man movie.

We see him changing the subject when Pepper Potts tries to warn him against the dangers he will continue to face as a superhero. He also tries to minimize his night terrors by avoiding sleep as much as possible (which, naturally, does nothing to help the situation). When asked to sign children’s pictures about the battle of New York, Stark has to leave the building to get his emotions under control.

These are sure signs of anxiety. Stark further tries to deal with them while developing new Iron Man technology to avoid certain life-or-death situations in his future. Several online blogs and forums have also discussed evidence that Stark had developed PTSD after the fight against Loki and his minions in The Avengers—hence the anxiety attacks that often overcome Stark.^[1]

Some fans have praised the way the struggle with anxiety and PTSD have been portrayed by the hugely popular Robert Downey Jr. They say that it has helped to minimize the stigma around mental health issues.

9 Thor

Thor wasn’t exactly himself when he appeared on-screen again in Avengers: Endgame five years after he finally chopped off Thanos’s head. When Hulk and Rocket go looking for him in New Asgard, they are shocked to find that Thor has gained weight and apparently forgotten to wash his grown-out hair. He is also sporting a beard that could rival that of ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.^[2]

However, many fans were disappointed by how the film set up Thor’s scenes “for laughs” instead of recognizing that the superhero was suffering from PTSD, depression, and alcoholism. Thor’s mental health decline had been coming for a while, even before Thanos appeared.

Thor had lost his mother, his father, his beloved hammer, and his girlfriend. After the arrival of Thanos, Thor also lost his brother, Loki, and his friend Heimdall in traumatic fashion. Not to mention that Thor felt survivor’s guilt after he failed to stop Thanos the first time around.

Some felt that Thor’s mental health struggle could have been treated with more respect. This also could have led to a lessening of stigma in the same way that the abovementioned Iron Man scenes have done.

8 Spider-Man

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is probably the most relatable Peter Parker we’ve had in years. He openly displays emotion when fading away after The Snap. In heartwarming fashion, he is also happy to see Tony Stark again when the superheroes return for the epic battle at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Peter’s grief-stricken face when Tony dies had many fans reaching for the tissues. In short, Spider-Man is one of the most “human” superheroes in modern Marvel films.

However, Peter Parker’s humanity also makes him incredibly susceptible to mental illness. Spider-Man: Far From Home sees Spider-Man going up against supervillain Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Mysterio revels in crushing his opponents psychologically. He convinces Spider-Man that he is schizophrenic and suffers from multiple personality disorder. This leads to Spider-Man seeking help from a psychiatrist and almost losing his mental stability.^[3]

Although this might have been part of Mysterio’s plan to carry out his evil schemes, many fans believe that Peter Parker really does struggle with a form of mental illness. Some believe it to be borderline personality disorder as Parker struggles to accept his responsibilities as both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. He only really “finds himself” when decked out as the superhero. Not to mention possible depression after the deaths of his parents and his uncle Ben.

7 Captain America

Captain America is the quintessential good guy superhero. He always has a ready smile, is willing to help, and doesn’t stop fighting until evil is defeated. Not to mention that he possesses, in Ant-Man’s epic words, America’s ass. However, tragic events in Steve Rogers’s past have led him to become depressed, which is evident in some of the scenes focused on him.

One deleted scene from The Avengers shows Rogers leafing through documents that confirm all his old friends have died. The scene depicts his emotional state by leaving him in darkness and dimming the color surrounding him.

In a scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rogers declines to go out on a Saturday night because he is still grieving the loss of his friends. Later, he states that he doesn’t know what would make him happy and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he had to stop being Captain America.^[4]

In addition, Rogers suffers from sleep impairment, guilt over Bucky’s apparent death, and a lack of willpower to save his own life when in mortal danger. This all shows the deep depression that Captain America continuously struggles with throughout several of his films.

6 The Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff (aka The Scarlet Witch) and her brother, Pietro (aka Quicksilver), have a hazy background. Their origin story has been retconned many times and created several conflicting stories about their childhood. What is known, however, is that Wanda and Pietro were often left isolated and starved when they were children. This led to Pietro being cold in character and Wanda being dependent on men who couldn’t fulfill her emotional needs.

Wanda eventually ended up with Vision, an android, who seemed to provide everything she needed. However, their happiness didn’t last. In the comics, Vision and Wanda had two children who were reassimilated by Mephisto. The couple were divorced at this point, and Wanda turned to Agatha Harkness for comfort.

It seemed that all these unfortunate events, coupled with Wanda’s unstable childhood, led to her becoming unhinged and suffering a psychotic break during which she wiped out several mutants. Although the comics would define this as “craziness” or “madness,” the break was a long time in the making. It caused Wanda to break ranks and “go rogue” several times.^[5]

10 Lesser-Known Facts About Superheroes

5 Hulk

“I’m always angry.”

This iconic phrase, together with “Hulk, smash,” is just about the most memorable dialogue when it comes to Bruce Banner and Hulk. The first phrase, however, reveals the most about the angry green hero. Bruce Banner is a notably shy nuclear physics genius. When angered, he turns into Hulk, who smashes everything in his path.

This transformation has led to fans believing that Banner suffers from dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder. They also believe that he had been suffering from the disorder long before he transformed into Hulk. There are several Hulk personas that add weight to the theory, including Professor Hulk and the Green Scar.^[6]

In the comics, Hulk realizes that anger and violence are taking a toll on his mental health. He seeks help from psychiatrist Doctor Leonard Samson and starts on a journey to improve his mental health after a face-off with the Maestro (an alternate evil version of Hulk).

4 Wolverine

In the movie Logan, Wolverine (James/Logan Howlett) suffers from alcoholism, doesn’t care about his own well-being (or anyone’s else’s), and doesn’t want to engage in conversations about mutants.

It soon becomes clear that Logan is grappling with other problems, too. While taking care of an aging Professor X, Logan struggles with PTSD and night terrors. Even before these events, Wolverine had displayed symptoms of bipolar disorder with severe mood swings and depression after witnessing his father’s murder. His rage at the murder led to the accidental death of his mother.^[7]

Sadly, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Logan. He dies at the end of the film with his restless demons still inside him.

3 The Unstoppable Wasp

In the Unstoppable Wasp #5, Nadia van Dyne is forced to face her own mental health when she realizes that she is bipolar. It seems that she inherited the disorder from her father, Hank Pym, along with the ability to change her size. Nadia’s mentor, Janet van Dyne, lets her friends know that Hank had bipolar disorder and that Nadia’s messed-up chalkboard “looks a lot like a manic episode.”

In #4, Nadia also displayed symptoms when she couldn’t remember whether she was assembling or taking apart a walkie-talkie. She is depicted as being unable to sleep or eat until her work has been done to her satisfaction. She also lashed out at several close friends.

In the #5 issue, she quickly moves into a depressive state after she retreats to her laboratory and faces episodes of bipolar rage.^[8]

Marvel hoped that introducing bipolar disorder into the comic would help to educate readers about the mental illness.

2 Batman

Like many other superheroes, Bruce Wayne suffered a traumatic childhood incident—in this case, seeing his parents murdered in Crime Alley. It turned him toward the fight against crime in Gotham City and made him into an unlikely superhero. Converting his grief into something constructive, Wayne trained himself to be a fighter and uses his skills to rid the streets of criminals while dressed as a bat.

It soon became apparent that Wayne is a high-functioning depressive with persistent depressive disorder. Although he lives a fulfilling life, he is still given to bouts of despair. He uses his depression as motivation to move forward while cutting everything out of his life that doesn’t contribute to his goals.

Fortunately, Batman has a group of people around him who help him to see the light. Notably, this includes Alfred Pennyworth, who acts as Batman’s confidant and occasional amateur therapist.^[9]

1 Daredevil

Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) also suffers from ongoing depression. His girlfriend Elektra was murdered, and Karen Page, another love, also died. Eventually, his wife, Milla, had a mental breakdown.

Murdock has a Catholic background, and his depression is depicted as a demon that he cannot escape. In the 1986 “Born Again” story by Frank Miller, Daredevil is destroyed by Kingpin. Murdock also loses his job, his house, and the security of a sound mind. His depression threatens to overpower him.

Previously, his mother suffered from postpartum depression. It was so bad that she tried to kill Murdock when he was an infant. This confirmed that Murdock’s depression was inherited.^[10]

His struggle has proven valuable to comic book and superhero lovers worldwide as those who suffer from depression have found a kinship with Daredevil. Matt Murdock is also inspirational in the way he accomplishes various feats despite the crippling disorder.

Top 10 Totally Ridiculous Foreign Superheroes

We live in a wonderful time of mass media. The news is at our fingertips, and entertainment is ever present. Unfortunately, advertisers slip in suggestions for us and we usually follow along without even a second thought.

For some of us, our parents taught us certain things because they learned from someone else down the line. No matter, we all do things in the name of our health.

But do we really know whether the healthy things we do for ourselves are beneficial? The following list may challenge your health practice beliefs, leaving you to question everything you do to stay healthy.

10 Hand Sanitizer

Teachers at schools all around the nation are seen squirting dollops of hand sanitizer on their students as they line up for lunch. This is after they have held the yearly school supply drive for parents to scramble to get a list full of items that includes hand sanitizer. Maybe those teachers would think twice if they knew the dangers of using this product.

At its least obtrusive, hand sanitizer creates wrinkles on the hands of users because it dries out the skin. It also contains chemicals (aside from the usual alcohol) which can be very harmful if used frequently.^[1]

Most importantly, the use of these products is creating more resistant bacteria and viruses (superbugs). Soon, it won’t be worth using hand sanitizer other than to relieve our anxieties.

9 Taking Antibiotics

Much like hand sanitizer, the frequent use of antibiotics is helping to create resistant bacteria. Soon, these drugs will be of no use to people with bacterial infections. For the common cold, we just have to wait it out with rest and plenty of fluids anyway.

Another adverse effect of antibiotics like rifampin is the risk of pregnancy.^[2] Many women know that their birth control pills are rendered useless while taking certain antibiotics. However, there are a few who do not know this fact and risk pregnancy just by taking these drugs.

8 Drinking Filtered And Bottled Water

Fifty years ago, people would have been amazed at the concept of making money from bottled water. They probably would have flat-out refused to drink water from amusement parks, which charge outrageous prices.

But now, we have become numb to the use and prices of this product. However, bottled water companies do not want you to know that they filter out minerals that we need to be healthy when they purify their water.

Most importantly, fluoride is added to city drinking water. When it is removed, the health of our teeth is in jeopardy. So next time you get a cavity, you might want to consider changing your drinking water preference.^[3]

7 Taking Painkillers

Lots of people take medicine to make themselves feel better. In fact, pharmaceutical companies are the leading industry in the United States. It is no surprise that doctors prefer to prescribe medicine instead of having their patients choose a more homeopathic method to solve their issues. For doctors, it’s easier and may be more lucrative if they receive compensation from a drug company.

Unknown to many, large numbers of elderly patients are addicted to the painkillers prescribed by their doctors. Further, prolonged use of narcotics, such as codeine, can change the brain chemistry of users. In some cases, these changes may be irreversible and possibly cause the onset of dementia.^[4]

6 Taking Benadryl

Benadryl is an over-the-counter medicine that seems to have no adverse effects if taken appropriately. However, recent findings have produced worrisome news about this frequently used medication.^[5]

Although Benadryl helps with allergic reactions, prolonged use can lead to a significantly higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease in later life. Living with cats or Alzheimer’s, which is it going to be?

5 Going To The Doctor For The Common Cold

By no means should you avoid going to the doctor if you believe that there is something seriously wrong with you. But consider the consequences first. The main place that viruses and colds end up are in health-care facilities.

Why? Because that is where everyone goes to get better.^[6]

Even if health-care workers remain diligent about disinfecting, the likelihood of picking up a bug by going to the doctor’s office is extremely high. Next time you want to see your physician because of a cough, you may think twice.

4 Eating Fish

The health food craze has taken hold, and many people eat things just because they are told that certain foods are healthy. The switch from red meats to alternative sources of protein has been a common practice for many years.

Chicken and fish are recommended as the best ways to acquire protein from meat. However, eating some types of fish frequently can be very bad for your health. It can even fill you with poison unknowingly.

Some types of fish contain mercury, which can cause serious issues if ingested.^[7] Next time you see someone eating a package of tuna, you might want to say something.

3 Eating Margarine

Butter is our weight loss enemy. Or so they want us to believe. At the beginning of the health food craze, margarine was invented. Meant to be a healthy, fat-free alternative to butter, margarine was soon found on every grocery store shelf.

Many have been eating this product for years. Despite recent findings about the harm it does, it is still found in thousands of refrigerators around the world. However, butter does not contain trans fats like margarine does.^[8] Mmmm, butter from now on.

2 Going Gluten-Free

The most recent food craze seems to be gluten-free. It is understandable that people with real allergies to gluten should shop for foods that don’t contain it. But should others buy into this fad?

Many believe that gluten-free means healthy when many of these foods are anything but. Just because a cookie contains no gluten does not mean that it is good for you. It still contains sugar and butter, making it just empty calories. We might want to think twice when we see gluten-free advertising the next time we go to the store.^[9]

1 Swimming In A Pool

Yes, exercise is extremely beneficial for our health. Many doctors will recommend swimming as a very good alternative for individuals with joint pain. However, heavy exercise in pools is not a recommended workout.

It can cause strain on the heart, and body temperature is not maintained well.^[10] Even Michael Phelps trained in a pool for only a portion of his workout each day to get ready for the Olympics. Bet you never thought your doctor would say that working out was bad.

I am an author of two books so far, I have a master’s degree, and I love to write. Maybe my sense of humor can be shared with others!

These days, many new alleged disorders, health scares, and other psychological ailments seem to have been largely aided and abetted in their spread around the world by the Internet’s current viral culture. People will tell you that what you eat is killing you, what you breathe is killing you, and even Wi-Fi and drinking water will damage you forever.

Looking to take advantage of people’s fears, hucksters have used these scares to dramatize made-up disorders. Sometimes, they even create health scams themselves to sell products and make money off the gullible general public.

10 Some People Falsely Believe That Wi-Fi Is Dangerous Or That They Have A Specific Intolerance

A growing number of people claim to have electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). These individuals believe that the radiation and other radio waves from Wi-Fi and mobile phones are causing them to be sick on a regular basis. Some have even petitioned governments to give them disability for it.

In France and Sweden, a few people have managed to get benefits for this fictitious disorder. The problem is that many of these people are being falsely legitimized because a couple of countries are confused by reports from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO verified that EHS was real. But they also said that the electromagnetic part should be removed^[1] because there isn’t a shred of evidence that Wi-Fi or other similar signals are actually causing any kind of specific disorder or symptoms. In fact, the people who constantly claim to have this disorder always have symptoms that are very common—such as headaches, nausea, or a feeling of being unwell—and can be attributed to almost anything.

On top of that, studies have shown that EHS is likely to be an example of the “nocebo effect.” This occurs when someone comes to believe that something is dangerous for him. Before long, he will convince himself that it is making him sick. Then his body reacts in the opposite way it would to a placebo and sickens him for real.

While the jury is still out on whether there are any long-term repercussions from constantly talking on a mobile phone, most researchers believe that any effects are slight and that your Wi-Fi itself is not something to seriously worry about.

9 Gluten Sensitivity Is Probably The Most Overhyped ‘Disease’ Ever

It has become incredibly trendy these days to take gluten out of your diet entirely, citing claims that it somehow makes you feel sick, tired, or weak without any actual evidence to back it up. Many of these individuals don’t bother to go to a doctor to see if they actually have celiac disease or a wheat allergy. Still, some claim to have a sensitivity even though there is no way to actually test for such a thing.

Lately, some news sites have declared that research has proved the existence of gluten intolerance, but it did no such thing. Research has shown that some people who don’t test positive for a wheat allergy or celiac disease still claim to have some symptoms when eating gluten. But there are a lot of factors going on.

To begin with, our old friend the nocebo effect returns. Many people have been persuaded that gluten is bad for everyone, despite this being entirely untrue. So they psychologically convince their bodies that gluten is bad and make themselves sick.

Doctors have also suspected that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may have a lot to do with this. Researchers performed a double-blind study with IBS sufferers who were supposedly gluten intolerant and found that gluten was not a reliable trigger any more than a placebo.

The researchers believe that wheat and a lot of different foods can be tough on the tummies of people with IBS. These patients are just sensitive to almost everything, but gluten itself is a protein and not the culprit here.

If you think you have issues with gluten, doctors recommend that you go for an official diagnosis first. There could be many non-gluten things causing your symptoms, and you could delay a proper diagnosis by thinking you have solved the issue on your own.^[2]

The truth is that a lot of people who claim that they have a sensitivity to gluten probably just have sensitive stomachs in general.

8 Your Body Does Not Need Its ‘Energies’ To Be Balanced

These days, many people talk about their energies and the energies of those around them. They suggest that others have “negative energy” and that they have “positive energy.” They believe that this is not just people reacting to the emotions of others but some kind of actual intangible energy field that humans have around them—an aura, if you will.

This belief has led to an industry of fraudsters who claim that they practice something called Reiki. A Reiki practitioner believes that he can bring out the energy of his own body and use it to influence the energy field of someone else to help that person for the better.

Some have even claimed that they can perform this allegedly amazing feat from a distance. These practitioners implement their energy-based healing from many miles away without ever meeting their “patients.”

Here’s the truth: While it is often put forth in scientific-sounding language, Reiki is utter gibberish that is meant to confuse those who don’t understand the words being used. Your body has no special energy field, and it doesn’t emit any magnetic force.^[3]

You have energy to perform tasks, but that does not create a specific energy field. It is just a measure of how much your body is able to accomplish in a given time. Whenever someone starts talking about the electromagnetism or heat emanating from your body and how they can use that to balance your energies, you know that you are talking to a fraudster or, at the very least, someone who is extremely delusional.

7 Halitosis Is A Made-Up Disease Imagined By Listerine To Sell More Product

Some of you may have heard of the condition known as halitosis (aka bad breath). Most people take this for granted as a serious problem these days and will often have various levels of social anxiety about having potential bad breath.

In fact, some individuals have worried enough to go to doctors about the issue. Many keep their Listerine handy and even some breath mints to avoid such an embarrassing problem. However, not long ago, people didn’t worry about bad breath. As it doesn’t cause pain or any life-threatening symptoms, they figured it couldn’t be considered a real disease. And they were right. It isn’t.

During its early days, the company that made Listerine, which has been around since the late 1800s, was selling a decent amount of product to sterilize wounds, especially in the mouth. But they felt that they were not selling enough. So they made up the term “halitosis”^[4] and started a marketing blitz to play on people’s insecurities.

It worked beautifully. People were so convinced by Listerine’s ploy that almost no one will be caught with bad breath anymore. Unfortunately for Listerine’s profits, a lot of people these days just carry some breath mints and brush their teeth regularly.

6 ‘Detoxing’ Your Body Is Not A Real Thing—It Is Pushed By People Trying To Sell Useless Products

In health aisles and on health blogs, you will often see detox supplements or detox diets meant to quickly flush all the toxins out of your body so that you are clean and ready to go.

These products and the people who push them sound very alarming about the buildup of bad things in your body and suggest that what you are drinking or eating to detox is nothing more than the precious elixir of life itself. And you can have as much as you need—for a price.

As you may have guessed, their statements are not true. Perhaps one day, laws will become stricter and these fraudsters will get what they deserve.

There are a few major problems with their claims. First, they don’t understand what “detox” means. A detox^[5] is used by medical professionals to get an addict to a point where he is safely off a drug. Addicts are often tapered off drugs so that the effects of quitting cold turkey don’t kill them, which can happen with some drugs.

It has absolutely nothing to do with cleaning out your insides. When discussing detox diets or supplements, the toxins to which people refer are totally nonspecific and don’t even exist. The truth is that your body constantly flushes anything poisonous out of you on its own. A good example of this is when your body slowly works the alcohol out of your system by using your liver.

More importantly, if you really think your body is not getting the toxins out and you are becoming severely ill, then you may have something serious like organ failure and you should see a doctor immediately. A detox drink will not save you.

5 Vaginal Douching Is Completely Unnecessary

Vaginal douching is fairly common among women but actually has a rather short history. It only started to see widespread use in the last couple of centuries. At first, it was meant almost entirely as a method of birth control. Often, this meant vinegar or even chemicals would be used, which could be quite dangerous.

Over time, the purpose moved away from birth control and became more about dealing with cleaning or odors. Lysol also heavily advertised in the early 1900s, suggesting that women should be using it to clean themselves. Although people eventually realized that it was a bad idea to apply Lysol to human skin, many women had become convinced that using products to clean their vaginas was something that should be done on a regular basis.

However, the truth is that vaginas are self-cleaning and do not need any special products. On top of that, douching could upset the careful chemical balance and lead to an increased risk of infections and other complications.

Doctors simply do not recommend doing this at all.^[6] But it is an uphill battle to convince people otherwise because so many women have been douching for generations and passing the habit on to their offspring.

4 Hucksters Are Playing Up The Dangers Of Fluoride And Trying To Sell People Special Water Filters

Fluoride is one of the most controversial substances on the planet. It was made famous in popular culture with movies like Dr. Strangelove. The main character wanted to launch a nuclear attack because he felt the communists were poisoning our precious bodily fluids with fluoride and he had to stop them.

Many people today feel similarly and think that fluoride is an incredibly dangerous substance that should never have been put anywhere near our drinking water. They cite bogus studies or reviews which claim that fluoride damages children’s growing brains, causes cancer, and more.

However, these alleged tests never hold up to scrutiny. The oft-cited research that claims neurological damage results from fluoride was simply a review of tests in China. We know that China has many different factors impacting the quality of their drinking water, not just fluoride.

Despite heavy testing all over the world, there is no evidence that fluoride is harmful.^[7] The worst it can do is create small, purely cosmetic white spots on your teeth if you have too much over time.

However, there are people who try to make a buck on fluoride fears and they will defend the claims of harm until the end. Some sites even charge exorbitant sums to sell people special water filters that supposedly remove all of that evil fluoride.

3 Depression Is A Very Real Disease, But The Majority Of Those Diagnosed Do Not Actually Fit The Bill

Depression and major depressive disorder are absolutely real. There is more than enough scientific evidence to prove it—we are not arguing that. The issue is that many of the individuals diagnosed with depression do not fit the criteria properly.

In a study at Johns Hopkins, they took a look at nearly 6,000 people who had previously been diagnosed with depression and found that less than 60 percent of them truly qualified as having major depressive disorder.^[8] Even worse, antidepressant use in the United States rose by 400 percent in about 20 years, with over 10 percent of the teenage-and-up population taking antidepressants of some kind.

Although depression does exist, many people are given drugs that could make them worse while not helping with their real issues. When someone who doesn’t qualify as having depression feels sad, it is likely because life is difficult. These people may need to talk with a counselor. But taking unneeded drugs could harm the chemical balance of their brains over time.

The reason for this is serotonin syndrome and the main way that depression is treated. Most antidepressants help you produce more serotonin, which is a feel-good chemical in your brain. Those with depression have trouble producing this.

However, if you have too much serotonin in your system over time or at once, it can actually damage your ability to properly produce it. Excessive serotonin can also cause seizures in extreme cases.

Although extreme reactions are only likely to happen if you overdose, taking antidepressants over time when you don’t need them cannot be good for your chemical balance. You are basically tipping the scales in the wrong direction.

2 Trypophobia Is Not An Official Disorder And Is Very Played Up By Peer Pressure

Recently, a ridiculous new condition known as trypophobia has arisen on the web. While no one seems to have found a way to profit from it yet, you can bet someone will try as soon as they figure out a way. If nothing else, some web administrators have received decent traffic from making a huge deal about this supposed condition.

Trypophobia is the alleged fear of clustered holes. Some people claim that these holes freak them out and make them feel a horrible sense of revulsion. Supposedly, their skin gets itchy or they feel panicky or nauseous when looking at clustered holes. However, there is little reason to believe that this is a real condition.

No professional psychologist or doctor of any kind recognizes this phobia or condition. The handful of studies that have been performed were on a small scale and hardly conclusive of anything solid.

Carol Mathews, a psychiatrist at the University of California, talked to NPR about the phenomenon. She believes that it isn’t a true fear but simply a combination of priming, disgust, and people’s good old “me too” social attitudes (aka peer pressure).^[9]

Trypophobia pictures are nearly always shown with images that most people would find disgusting whether the pictures had clustered holes or not. This primes the brain—along with being told that trypophobia is a thing—to feel disgust or revulsion when you look at other such images.

Mathews also pointed out that many of these pictures, such as those of sliced cantaloupes, might gross out any of us if we look at them too long. But that doesn’t mean we actually have a condition or an instinctual revulsion. Disgust is not the same thing as fear.

1 Showering On A Daily Basis Can Be Bad For Your Health—It Is More About Smell And Expectations

Showering daily, sometimes more than once a day, or at least once a week is a habit ingrained so deeply in so many individuals in modern societies that the idea of not doing it is utterly foreign. Many people just cannot imagine a life without regular showers or baths.

They spend a lot of money on shampoos and conditioners over the years. However, there is some reason to believe that the shampoo and conditioner companies are really selling you a big, fat load of social insecurity while happily taking your money to the bank.

There appears to be no scientific basis for believing that showering is good for your health in the slightest. In fact, all evidence, while not as strong as some would like, points to the contrary.

The research suggests that showers are actually bad for you because they constantly kill off healthy skin bacteria and mess with the delicate microbial balance that keeps you safe from diseases and other problems.^[10] Frequent bathing was not widespread until the more modern world emerged. Even then, the kinds of shampoos that we use now became common only recently.

In most people’s eyes, there was never any real need to shower so often until clever marketers convinced people that their natural odor was socially unacceptable. These marketers wanted to sell shampoos and other products like deodorant, so they created an industry that is now worth billions of dollars a year.

We aren’t saying that you should simply skip showers in today’s world. But showering with mostly water unless you really feel the need to remove a smell could at least cut down on how much you are harming your body’s balance of skin bacteria.

Like urban legends, health myths have a peculiar knack for sticking around. Whether it’s an old wives’ tale or misinterpreted advice, these myths often persist despite contrary evidence. In this article, we’ll embark on a myth-busting journey, debunking ten of the most persistent health myths. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and dive into the world of health misconceptions.

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10 The Myth: “You Can’t ‘Sweat Out’ Toxins During Exercise”

The age-old belief is that a good workout can magically release toxins like a sweaty sponge. I hate to burst your detox bubble, but you can’t sweat out all those weekend indulgences. While sweating does help cool your body and shed a few pounds of water weight, it’s not a detox superhero.

Here’s the science: Sweat mainly consists of water, salt, and other minerals. Toxins? Not so much. Your liver and kidneys are the true MVPs for detoxification, breaking down and eliminating waste from your body.

So, while that hot yoga class might leave you feeling Zen, it’s not purging your system of toxins. If only life were that simple! Hydrating, eating well, and supporting your body’s natural detox processes with a balanced lifestyle are the real keys to a toxin-free existence.

Next time someone insists that a brutal spin class is a spa day for your insides, just smile and remember: your liver is the real star of the detox show. Cheers to keeping it real and letting the sweat do what it does best—cool you down and make you feel like a fitness champ!

9 The Myth: “Eating Carbs at Night Makes You Gain Weight”

Forget the midnight snack guilt trip! The notion that eating carbs at night is a one-way ticket to packing on pounds is nothing more than a myth waiting to be debunked. So, dim the lights, grab your favorite comfort food, and let’s unravel this bedtime story.

Contrary to popular belief, your body doesn’t turn into a carb-hoarding gremlin after sunset. The key to weight management isn’t the clock but total caloric intake throughout the day. Your body doesn’t have a built-in sundial, signaling fat storage after 6 pm.

In fact, consuming carbs at night might actually be a smart move. Carbohydrates promote the release of serotonin, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter that could double as your sleep fairy godmother. A happy tummy equals a happy snooze. Sweet dreams, carb enthusiasts!

8 The Myth: “Cracking Your Knuckles Causes Arthritis”

Oh, the sweet symphony of knuckle cracking—the urban legend that suggests it’s a one-way ticket to arthritis. Well, fear not, fellow knuckle enthusiasts, because this myth is as cracked as the joints themselves!

Contrary to popular belief, no scientific evidence links the delightful pop-pop-pop of knuckle cracking to the development of arthritis. In fact, studies have shown that the habit is more like a harmless percussion ensemble than a sinister precursor to joint doom.

When you crack your knuckles, you’re releasing gas bubbles that build up in the synovial fluid—a lubricant that helps your joints move smoothly. It’s like giving your fingers a tiny round of applause for a job well done, not a secret handshake with arthritis.

7 The Myth: “Eight Glasses of Water a Day for Everyone”

We’ve all heard the advice of guzzling down eight glasses of water a day. Some of us might even be carrying around a water jug the size of a small swimming pool to meet the quota. But let’s splash some truth on this hydration myth.

Firstly, our hydration needs are as unique as our taste in Netflix shows. The one-size-fits-all eight-glass rule is as accurate as predicting the weather with a crystal ball. Our bodies are smart—they tell us when they’re thirsty, and it’s not always a strict eight-glass memo.

Moreover, did our ancestors carry water bottles around as they roamed the savannah? Probably not. The idea that our bodies need a daily water chugathon has about as much scientific support as a conspiracy theory from a distant uncle.

So sip skeptically, my friends. Hydration is essential, but there’s no need to drown yourself in water like you’re auditioning for a mermaid role. Pay attention to your body’s signals, and remember, it’s okay to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea—they count toward your fluid intake, too!

6 The Myth: “Being Cold Gives You a Cold”

The belief that being cold gives you a cold is like blaming the rain for making your hair frizzy. But fear not, my chilly comrades, because this myth is as frosty as an ice cream cone in Antarctica.

Contrary to popular belief, catching a cold isn’t a game of tag with the winter breeze. Colds are caused by viruses, not by shivering in the cold like a penguin caught in a snowstorm. So, the next time someone insists that your runny nose is the direct result of that chilly wind, politely inform them that viruses, not temperature, are the real party crashers.

Sure, being cold might make you uncomfortable, but it won’t summon the common cold virus like a frosty magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. So, bundle up in that cozy sweater, embrace the winter wonderland, and let the viruses know they’re not invited to your cold-weather fiesta.

5 The Myth: “No Pain, No Gain”

This one’s a classic gym mantra that has been taken a bit too literally: “No Pain, No Gain.” It sounds like the battle cry of the fitness gods, urging you to push through the burn and embrace the agony for the sake of those gains. But let’s debunk this myth with a sprinkle of wisdom and a dash of humor.

First off, pain is your body’s way of saying, “Hey, buddy, something might be wrong here!” It’s not a VIP pass to the gain train. It’s more like a red flag waving in the breeze. While a little discomfort is expected in any workout, treating pain as a badge of honor is like saying you enjoy stubbing your toe just for the thrill.

Contrary to popular belief, gains don’t exclusively come from punishing your body into submission. The key is finding the sweet spot between challenge and self-care. Think of it as a spa day for your muscles, minus the soothing music and fluffy robes.

4 The Myth: “Eggs Raise Your Cholesterol and Are Bad for Your Heart”

The myth that eggs are little cholesterol grenades ready to explode your heart health has been cracked wide open! Contrary to popular belief, eggs are not the villain in the heart health saga. In fact, they’re the heroes of breakfast.

Let’s scramble the facts: Eggs do contain cholesterol, but they also boast high-quality protein and essential nutrients that make them “eggstraordinary” for your overall well-being. Studies have shown that the cholesterol in eggs doesn’t necessarily translate to an increase in blood cholesterol levels for most people.

The incredible edible egg is a powerhouse of nutrients, from brain-boosting choline to eye-loving lutein. In the grand breakfast buffet of life, eggs have rightfully earned their spot. So crack open those shells, embrace the yolks, and let the cholesterol myth be a sunny-side-down story of the past.

3 The Myth: “Detox Diets Cleanse Your Body”

Detox diets promising to cleanse your body like a superhero fighting off toxins might sound tempting, but let’s unravel the truth behind this health myth. Contrary to popular belief, your liver and kidneys aren’t slacking off on the job—they’re the real deal for detoxifying your system.

Detox diets often boast about magical elixirs and exclusive blends that claim to purge your body of impurities. However, science doesn’t quite sing the same tune. The human body is a well-oiled detox machine, breaking down and eliminating waste products without needing a trendy juice to cleanse.

Instead of sipping on pricey concoctions that promise miracles in a bottle, focus on giving your body what it craves: a balanced diet rich in fruits, veggies, and water. Your organs will thank you for nourishing them with the good stuff.

2 The Myth: “More Sweat Equals More Calories Burned”

Have you ever looked at someone drenched in sweat at the gym and thought they must be torching calories like a furnace? Well, sorry to burst your sweaty bubble, but this notion is as false as claiming chocolate makes for a nutritious breakfast.

Sure, sweating feels like a workout victory lap, but it’s not a reliable measure of calorie-burning prowess. Sweating is your body’s way of cooling down, not a sign that you’ve turned into a human calorie-burning furnace.

Think about it this way: A summer stroll in the scorching heat might leave you drenched, but it won’t magically transform your walk into an Olympic-level calorie burn. It’s the exercise itself—not the sweat—that makes the real difference.

So the next time you see someone sweating buckets on the treadmill, give them a nod for their commitment. Remember, the effort they’re putting in, not the amount of sweat, torches those calories. Keep calm, carry a water bottle, and let the sweat flow naturally without expecting it to be a calorie-burning magic potion.

1 The Myth: “Fat-Free Means Healthy”

The notorious “Fat-Free Means Healthy” myth—it’s like the unicorn of dieting, too good to be true. In reality, the absence of fat doesn’t automatically transform a snack into a nutritional superhero.

Sure, fat has a bad rap, but not all fats are created equal. Some fats, like the ones hanging out in avocados and nuts, are part of a balanced diet. The problem with the fat-free frenzy is that it often leads to a sneak attack of added sugars and mysterious chemicals that sound like they belong in a science lab, not your snack drawer.

Think about it: When they take the fat out, something’s gotta give in the taste department. And that something is usually replaced with sugar or artificial flavorings, doing a tap dance on your health goals. So you’re left with a snack like a sugar-coated mirage of healthiness.

The truth? Embrace the good fats, avoid the sugar-loaded impostors, and remember, balance is the real name of the game. Because let’s face it, life’s too short to deprive yourself of the delightfully creamy wonders that healthy fats bring to the table.