Cynical Activities - A
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ANTIQUE STORES
Antique stores have high concentrations of molds, which can cause nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, and wheezing. If you're exposed to them for too long, you could end up with more severe reactions such as fever, shortness of breath, or mold infections in the lungs. (And that's just in America, where an "antique" is anything made before 1945. European antique stores can probably kill at ten paces.) |
ANXIETY
If you worry, you should worry. Anxiety (which, as the most common mental disability in the country, affects about twenty-three million Americans) can double your risk of asthma, arthritis, headaches, ulcers, and heart disease, as well as making middle-aged men more likely to die of strokes. Maybe you should put this book down now. |
APPLIANCES
In 1997, the most recent year for which data are available, seventy-six people died in the U.S. after being electrocuted by appliances such as television sets, battery chargers, fans, pumps, refrigerators, and air conditioners. The magnetic fields produced by appliances such as hair dryers, electric shavers, and vacuum cleaners may also increase the risk of miscarriages. Be safe, become Amish. |
ARKANSAS
Arkansas is the fifth most unhealthy state in the U.S. |
ARMPITS
If you were thinking about smelling a young man's armpits this weekend, change your plans: it can have a depressive effect. |
ARTIST; BEING AN
"Suffering for your art" Isn't just a clichei. Artists are at risk for repetitive motion conditions, respiratory and neurological disorders due to poor ventilation and toxic substances, dermatitis and other skirt conditions from contact with irritating materials, and acute eye injuries from welding and woodworking. |
ASPIRIN, TAKING
If this book is giving you a headache, think twice before you do anything about it. Long-term use of aspirin can cause bleeding and start you on the road towards ulcers. Aspirin may also have bad effects on pregnancy, especially if taken during the last trimester. Taking aspirin when you have the flu has been linked to Reye's syndrome, especially in children, possibly leading to swelling of the brain and liver failure. It also can bring on asthma attacks. |
ASPIRIN, NOT TAKING
Not taking aspirin, on the other hand, may increase your risk of suffering or dying from heart disease, strokes, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy (although probably not all at once). Maybe you should do something about that headache after all. |
ASTHMA
You already knew that asthma attacks can't be good for you, but there's more (gasp!): being asthmatic increases your risk of heart disease by 33 percent. |
ATHEISM
Time to make your mom happy and start going to church again. If you are African-American, not practicing a religion can increase your blood pressure. |
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