Expert's guide to living longer
WE all know smoking can kill. Or drinking too much. Or unsafe sex.
But your doc is unlikely to warn of the life-threatening perils of wearing a tie. Or winding down a car window.
Deaths can be seriously daft and now an expert has written a book on unlikely killers to watch out for.
American pathologist Jan Garavaglia penned How Not To Die after carrying out autopsies on one too many freaky fatalities.
She says: "You can avoid meeting your maker prematurely with the simplest life-saving acts."
Here, we look at some of her weirdest health warnings - while on the right are some unlikely mortality odds.
One of Jan's bugbears is RUGS scrunched up against sofas and other furniture in the home.
She tells the tale of one poor lass who was carrying a hairbrush, with the handle end pointed up, when she tripped and fell on an uneven rug.
The end of the brush went through her eye into her brain and she died in a puddle of blood.
Jan adds that falling is a serious problem, particularly for the elderly. You have a one-in-4,870 chance of being killed in a fall involving a bed or other furniture and a one-in-6,455 chance of doing yourself in by slipping, tripping or stumbling.
But all of us, no matter how old or how young, can take simple precautions.
Remove rugs from doorways and halls and look out for where they roll up and could turn into booby traps.
Also, keep your home clutter-free and install good lighting, slip-resistant flooring, grab rails and a night-light in the bathroom.
And don't get Jan started on TIES. She is not a fan.
Why? Because they swing into things, setting off all sorts of calamities.
But also because they are riddled with germs after being constantly fiddled with - yet seldom washed - by their owners.
CAR WINDOWS are another wind-up for Jan - because winding them down can leave you open to trouble.
Bee
She says you run a one-in-84 risk of dying in a road crash - and having a window down increases the risk of traumatic injury.
Rolling a window half-down can be even more deadly if you are thrown from your seat.
Open car windows also cause distraction. Most lads eyeing up passing girls will know this. But one poor trucker died when a bee flew into his cab, causing a crash.
Speed can also kill - when you are forced to decelerate in an emergency. The sudden force can be so intense that your insides will try to pass through your outsides.
And Jan says she has seen people almost cut in half by their lap belt because they did not also use the shoulder harness.
If all that has not put the heebie-jeebies up you, Jan also advises that SNORING can be a sure sign of trouble.
If a person on painkillers, with or without sedatives, snores loudly but does not normally do this, and you can't rouse him, call an ambulance. It may be the sound of his throat relaxing, signalling he is about to slip into a coma.
Beware holidays too - trying out new daredevil activities such as JET-SKIING sends your risk of a heart attack soaring.
source: the sun
WE all know smoking can kill. Or drinking too much. Or unsafe sex.
But your doc is unlikely to warn of the life-threatening perils of wearing a tie. Or winding down a car window.
Deaths can be seriously daft and now an expert has written a book on unlikely killers to watch out for.
American pathologist Jan Garavaglia penned How Not To Die after carrying out autopsies on one too many freaky fatalities.
She says: "You can avoid meeting your maker prematurely with the simplest life-saving acts."
Here, we look at some of her weirdest health warnings - while on the right are some unlikely mortality odds.
One of Jan's bugbears is RUGS scrunched up against sofas and other furniture in the home.
She tells the tale of one poor lass who was carrying a hairbrush, with the handle end pointed up, when she tripped and fell on an uneven rug.
The end of the brush went through her eye into her brain and she died in a puddle of blood.
Jan adds that falling is a serious problem, particularly for the elderly. You have a one-in-4,870 chance of being killed in a fall involving a bed or other furniture and a one-in-6,455 chance of doing yourself in by slipping, tripping or stumbling.
But all of us, no matter how old or how young, can take simple precautions.
Remove rugs from doorways and halls and look out for where they roll up and could turn into booby traps.
Also, keep your home clutter-free and install good lighting, slip-resistant flooring, grab rails and a night-light in the bathroom.
And don't get Jan started on TIES. She is not a fan.
Why? Because they swing into things, setting off all sorts of calamities.
But also because they are riddled with germs after being constantly fiddled with - yet seldom washed - by their owners.
CAR WINDOWS are another wind-up for Jan - because winding them down can leave you open to trouble.
Bee
She says you run a one-in-84 risk of dying in a road crash - and having a window down increases the risk of traumatic injury.
Rolling a window half-down can be even more deadly if you are thrown from your seat.
Open car windows also cause distraction. Most lads eyeing up passing girls will know this. But one poor trucker died when a bee flew into his cab, causing a crash.
Speed can also kill - when you are forced to decelerate in an emergency. The sudden force can be so intense that your insides will try to pass through your outsides.
And Jan says she has seen people almost cut in half by their lap belt because they did not also use the shoulder harness.
If all that has not put the heebie-jeebies up you, Jan also advises that SNORING can be a sure sign of trouble.
If a person on painkillers, with or without sedatives, snores loudly but does not normally do this, and you can't rouse him, call an ambulance. It may be the sound of his throat relaxing, signalling he is about to slip into a coma.
Beware holidays too - trying out new daredevil activities such as JET-SKIING sends your risk of a heart attack soaring.
source: the sun
No comments:
Post a Comment