Research by a group of Ear, Nose and Throat specialists is hinting that cutting nasal hair can cause premature death. This result has come from intense statistical examination and it was found that 66 percent of all who cut their nasal hairs each month died within six months of their birthday. The number of people (3) in the study was not enough to state this was a cause with any confidence, but the researchers felt there was enough of a connection to make further research important.
I read that sort of nonsense every week with new “research” results coming through the internet. This is the basic problem with the internet in that it is not moderated or checked for accuracy. Anybody can get their pet hobby horse uploaded into the clouds, where it takes on biblical characteristics and is quoted as gospel. Say a black cat is really a white one with black genes enough times and it eventually becomes accepted. Folk lore turns into fact lore and away it goes from there. Eventually my 10 year old son will come home with the incontrovertible truth that black cats have been given a bum rap, and they actually have white DNA inside.
From that lack of any real research, you can build an entire industry. Nasal hair clippers that are designed to cut across the grain of the hair, stopping the chances of an early unexpected death. Nasal oils which will nourish the hair, making it stronger and able to trap pollution. Special infra-red filters which can take over when the hairs get tired and lose the ability to be straight. And you can buy it over the net for $19.99. All sound a bit familiar?
Then of course there are the naysayers, the people who claim that immunization causes Autism. I’m not going to waste space on this page to discuss this. Just take it that it does not cause autism, and by the same token, immunization has changed the face of disease in the past 50 years.
Take Influenza vaccination, for example. Flu vaccination can help protect people who are at greater risk of getting seriously ill from flu, like older adults, people with chronic health conditions and young children.
Flu vaccination also may make your illness milder if you do fall ill.
Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of more serious flu outcomes, like hospitalizations and deaths.
A recent study showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74 percent during flu seasons from 2010-2012. Seventy four percent reduction!
One study showed that flu vaccination was associated with a 71 percent reduction in flu-related hospitalizations among adults of all ages and a 77 percent reduction among adults 50 years of age and older during the 2011-2012 flu season.
Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. Vaccination was associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event in the past year. Flu vaccination also has been shown to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes (79 percent) and chronic lung disease (52 percent).
Vaccination helps protect women during pregnancy and their babies for up to six months after they are born. One study showed that giving flu vaccine to pregnant women was 92 percent effective in preventing hospitalization of infants for flu.
Other studies have shown that vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-related hospitalizations in older adults. A study that looked at flu vaccine effectiveness over the course of three flu seasons estimated that flu vaccination lowered the risk of hospitalizations by 61 percent in people 50 years of age and older.
There are special vaccination instructions for children aged six months through to eight years of age as some children require two doses of influenza vaccine. Children in this age group who are getting vaccinated for the first time, as well as some who have been vaccinated previously, will need two doses. Your child’s health care provider can tell you whether two doses are recommended for your child.
