You might not realise you have it until infections happen
Not only does sitting down on your a*se all day for work get a bit boring and uncomfortable, it could also lead to something pretty sinister.
For those in desk jobs, it can be tough sometimes to get breaks to move about enough, often leading to several hours in a row sat at your laptop.
And it’s something that’s regularly warned against, with tips being given to combat the consequences.
But in a scary addition, a doctor has warned those who site down for work over a health condition that’s one of the ‘most painful’ things you can have – putting it up there with (and in some cases) higher than the likes of childbirth, apparently.
Dr Sooj is an NHS GP and emergency doctor who shares educational videos on TikTok.
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It’s common in those who sit down for long periods apparently. (Getty Stock)
In one video, he shared something that’s the ‘definition of tears you a new one’, and honestly, it sounds rough.
“It’s one of the most painful conditions around,” he claims.
More common in ‘hairy people’ and those ‘who sit for long periods of time’, Sooj explains how there can be a small tunnel at the base of the spine, called pilonidal sinus. Basically, it typically develops in the cleft of the buttocks, as he says it can be caused by ‘excess hair between your butt cheeks that either grow or are pushed inwards’.
“Most people don’t notice that they have one until they become infected and cause symptoms,” the doctor says. “This means that you usually only need treatment if they become infected but these can be disgustingly painful.”
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A pilonidal sinus is a small hole or tunnel at the top of your bum. (Getty Stock)
He explains when this happens, you may get a ‘pus-filled abscess’ which will need to be cut and drained by surgeons.
Showing an animation of this process, Sooj describes: “They’ve opened up the passageways to get rid of all of that infected tissue, gunk and hair, and then they’ve cleaned the area with a special solution, probably hydrogen peroxide.
“And next, they insert this endoscope to do an ablation, which is where they use heat to seal the sinus.”
The doctor adds that the procedure isn’t done ‘often anymore’ when it is, ‘sometimes people are awake for it’.
And while the area would be numbed beforehand, ‘it’s not pleasant’.
The NHS recommends asking for an urgent GP appointment or contacting NHS 111 if: “You have a small lump at the top of your bottom (between your buttocks) that’s painful, bleeding or leaking pus.
“These symptoms can develop quickly, often over a few days. They’re signs of infection and need to be treated.”
Treatment isn’t needed for a pilonidal sinus if there aren’t any signs of infection. A ‘watch and wait’ approach will instead be recommended.Featured Image Credit: TikTok/doctorsooj/Getty Stock
Topics: Health, NHS, TikTok, Science
Jess Battison
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Published 18:32 26 Jun 2024 GMT+1
People who sit at desk for more than 6 hours a day warned to add thing to their diet
And if you’re already having it, then it could be cutting your risk od death apparently, so well done and all that
If you work an office job, and unless you’re someone who’s managed to persuade their boss to get them a standing desk, it’s likely you spend a good chunk of the day on your arse.
I mean, we’ve all seen that gross looking model of what remote workers will look like in the future, so there’s no wonder we often end up feeling achey after a few days of desk work.
It’s pretty fair to say that it can’t be doing our health much good sitting on our chairs for hours on end without physically doing anything. And well, turns out research backs that up too.
So, experts are warning people who sit at a desk for more than six hours a day to add one certain drink to their diet.
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Turns out that coffee is a good idea. (Getty Stock)
Although, if you’re an office worker, I’d imagine it’s pretty likely you’re already consuming a fair amount of this stuff. It’s practically part of the requirements.
Researchers at Soochow University in China used long-term data from people in the US – looking at over 10,000 of them – and found that a certain drink cut their death risk.
Apparently, people who sit for long periods of time but also drink coffee are 1.58 times less likely to die of any cause than those who don’t consume the stuff, with the effect lasting for up to 13 years.
Yep, coffee saves lives it seems… though it definitely isn’t good for white teeth.
The study found that drinking the caffeine cuppas seemed to offer protection from all the nasty impacts of sitting on your bum for ages every day, such as diabetes and heart disease.
It could cut your risk of death apparently. (Getty stock)
They found that people who drank coffee also had better protection than those who exercised. Overall, it came out with the findings from 10,639 people that those who sat for several hours a day had an increased risk of dying if they didn’t drink coffee.
And you don’t have to be absolutely downing gallons of the stuff for this supposed protection – even one mug of it is ok. Although, two to three cups a day were found to be the most effective.
This is all backed up by previous studies which suggest having caffeine in the blood can reduce people’s risk of developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
But you probably shouldn’t just think adding coffee to your diet will solve all your problems as of course, it’s important to follow a healthy diet in general.Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Health, Science, Food And Drink
Jess Battison
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Updated 14:14 15 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 15:13 14 Dec 2024 GMT
Military sleep method can send people to sleep in ‘two minutes’ and works for more than 90% of people
Justin Agustin showed his followers how to nod off within minutes
If you’re like most of us Brits who can’t seem to fall into a listless sleep at the drop of the hat, you’re going to want to try the ‘military’ sleep method.
This is something that claims to send you off to sleep within minutes and it’s easy peasy to try.
While you might think it’s a load of tosh (harsh words, reader – even for you) a fitness coach has backed it.
Justin Agustin shared the hack with his TikTok following (Getty Stock Image)
Justin Agustin has claimed that the military sleep method will get you into the land of Zzz in just two minutes and is apparently effective for 96 percent of people.
Sharing on TikTok, Agustin explained that it’s the ‘technique to fall asleep in two minutes’, but put out a warning that most people who give it a go will need to practice for around six months to see the full results.
Don’t moan. It could really help you out in the future.
Think of it as a sleep investment.
The video shows Justin giving a demo of how to drift off to sleep in two minutes (Getty Stock Image)
What is the military sleep method?
Well, according to the experts, the technique was developed by the US Army, apparently ‘mainly for fighter pilots who need 100 percent of their reflexes’ and for those in active combat who need to be able to fall asleep in noisy and stressful situations – perhaps even on the battlefield in order to recharge and refresh.
It’s thought to have first been shared with civilians in the 1981 book Relax and Win: Championship Performance, written by American track and field coach Lloyd Bud Winter.
Winter hoped that the method would help him recover faster from injuries and improve his overall performance.
And if you fancy giving it a go yourself, it’s pretty easy.
How to do the military sleep method
First up, you need to get yourself into a comfortable position, once that’s done turn your thoughts to your breathing and then begin to slowly relax your entire body to ‘shut it down’.
Start off with your scalp, and then work down towards your forehead and facial features.
Make sure your whole body is relaxed: arms are loose and to your sides and imagine a warmth spreading from your head to your fingertips.
Then you move to your chest and take a deep breath to help it relax, and then continue to the stomach, thigh, legs and feet.
The warm sensation needs to be imagined going from your heart down to your toes.
But the hack doesn’t stop there, while ensuring your body feels nice and relaxed, you also need to clear your mind of any stressors – you can do this by picturing a soothing scenario such as lying in a canoe on a clear, calm lake, or tucked away inside a hammock in a dark room.
If your mind does start to wander, repeat: “Don’t think,” to yourself for ten seconds.
I don’t know about you, but I feel quite tired already.Featured Image Credit: @justin_agustin/TikTok
Britt Jones
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Published 16:25 13 Dec 2024 GMT
Woman diagnosed with hard-to-detect cancer shares key symptoms she had as cases soar among young people
Diagnosed with stage three cancer in her 30s, she initially brushed off symptoms
A woman diagnosed with a hard-to-detect cancer shared the key symptoms she experienced as cases soar among young people.
Earlier this year, figures found that bowel cancer (often referred to as colon or rectal cancer) was rising in those under 50 years old.
This type of the disease is when it’s found anywhere in the large bowel which includes the colon and rectum.
While it is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK, the symptoms can often be dismissed by patients as something else – but the NHS encourage early bowel cancer screenings as it may mean it’s easier to treat.
And only in her 30s, TikToker Bri Mahon found she had stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Bowel cancer is said to be one of the hardest cancer to detect (Getty Images)
She shared a video to the social media platform to share all of her symptoms that led to her ‘getting checked out and getting a colonoscopy’.
Bri says she had ‘just gut issues in general’ for some time like bloating, adding that the signs ‘would point more towards Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)’.
But when she cut out the likes of gluten and dairy and took various allergy and blood tests, ‘nothing concerning came up’.
Feeling as though her stomach was ‘irritated and bloated a lot’, she then noticed a ‘change in her anxiety and fatigue’.
Around two years ago, she had to ‘step back’ from the work she was doing and thinks it’s because her body ‘was really, really, really tired’.
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The woman brushed off her symptoms. (Getty Stock)
Then after giving birth to her twins premature, she noticed blood in her stool shortly after, passing it off as ‘haemorrhoids from pregnancy’.
“My IBS symptoms were flaring up, and I just kind of thought that was it,” Bri added.
With her babies in the NICU, she was stressed out and tired anyway so justified any fatigue and stomach problems as being down to that.
“But it’s when I found and started to see more regular blood in my stool. I got pretty concerned as kind of like red blood,” she explained.
“And then I really got concerned when the blood turned a lot darker, and my urgency to go to the bathroom was kind of like out of control, and I would either be insanely constipated or I’d be going to the bathroom and just dark blood would be coming out.”
Bri says this only happened for a few months and it led to her calling her doctor.
At first, they thought it could be an autoimmune disease, but following a colonoscopy and biopsies, they found it was stage three cancer.
To the list of bowel cancer symptoms, the NHS include blood in your poo, bleeding from your bottom and feeling very tired for no reason.
If your poo is black or dark red or you have bloody diarrhoea, you should ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111.
If you’re bleeding non-stop from your bottom or there’s a lot of blood, for example, the toilet water turns red or you see large blood clots, then go to A&E or call 999.Featured Image Credit: brimahon / TikTok / Getty Images Stock
Topics: Cancer, Health, NHS, TikTok
Jess Battison
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Updated 10:01 14 Nov 2024 GMTPublished 08:20 14 Nov 2024 GMT
People who sit down for more than 6 hours a day warned of early death if they don’t add one thing to diet
If you’re sat down all day you might already be having this
If you work an office job or maybe work remotely with a deep love for your sofa, you probably spend the majority of your days sitting on your arse.
I mean, sure, we say we’ll follow the whole ‘get up and move’ every now and again thing when we’re at our desks but let’s be honest, plenty of us never step up from our spinny chair.
I’ll put my hands up and say I’m guilty of using the wheels on my chair for transport over my own feet – I bet you are too.
And it probably won’t come as a shock to you that this isn’t exactly great for our health.
In fact, those who sit down for over six hours a day are warned of an early death if they don’t add one thing to their diet.
Some people might not even move all day. (Getty Stock)
Although, if you’re an office worker, I’d imagine it’s pretty likely you’re already consuming a fair amount of this stuff. It’s practically part of the requirements.
Researchers at Soochow University in China used long-term data from people in the US – looking at over 10,000 of them – and found that a certain drink cut their death risk.
Apparently, people who sit for long periods of time but also drink coffee are 1.58 times less likely to die of any cause than those who don’t consume the stuff, with the effect lasting for up to 13 years.
READ MORE:
WOMAN ISSUES ENERGY DRINK WARNING AFTER HUSBAND’S ‘CARDIAC ARREST’
DR REVEALS REASON WHY BAD ORAL HYGIENE CAN CAUSE ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
Yep, coffee saves you from an early death it seems… though it definitely isn’t good for white teeth.
The study found that drinking the caffeine cuppas seemed to offer protection from all the nasty impacts of sitting on your bum for ages every day, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Coffee, our saviour. (Getty Stock)
They found that people who drank coffee also had better protection than those who exercised. Overall, it came out with the findings from 10,639 people that those who sat for several hours a day had an increased risk of dying if they didn’t drink coffee.
And you don’t have to be absolutely downing gallons of the stuff for this supposed protection – even one mug of it is ok. Although, two to three cups a day were found to be the most effective.
This is all backed up by previous studies which suggest having caffeine in the blood can reduce people’s risk of developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
But you probably shouldn’t just think adding coffee to your diet will solve all your problems as of course, it’s important to follow a healthy diet in general.