Everyone has pondered some offbeat medical question for which they imagine a simple answer. Perhaps you’ve wondered whether a person can truly spontaneously combust. If so, you’re not alone.
Without delving too deeply into the annals of medicine or science, we’ve gained some insight as to why, for example, it hurts so badly when we stub a toe, why our hair grays as we age, or why we get hiccups, have tonsils, an appendix, or a tail bone.
Here are the answers we’ve found to a handful of medical conundrums. Most of them were provided via email by Dr. Shabana Farooq, program director, Mercy Family Medicine Residency Program. Others were gleaned from health-related websites.
Why does it hurt so much when you stub your toe? It is, after all, a pretty small part of the body.
Stubbing a toe hurts as much as if it was run over by a bus because our feet are densely packed with nerve end- ings. We may question the severity of a stubbed toe, wondering if it’s broken after 10 minutes of soreness. When it comes to your health and comfort, it’s best to ice and rest your toe after an injury or, better yet, to keep your feet protected at all times. — healthyfeet- blog.com
Why do our ears pop when we change altitude?
The pressure in the environment decreases so the ears absorb air on ascent and the opposite occurs when you descend; the pressure increases and now the ears have to release the absorbed air into the throat as the pressure equalizes popping occurs.
What is the purpose of hiccups? Are too many of them dangerous?
Hiccups occur when the diaphragm, the large muscle separating the chest from the abdomen, contracts, [and] the voice box closes, causing a hiccup. They may last for a short time but may become chronic. Prolonged hiccups may lead to poor nutrition, fatigue, poor appetite.
Different eye colors or Heteroch-romia is common to some breeds of dogs. How common is it in humans?
Heterochromia may be congenital or it may occur because of other factors. One in 400 people may be affected.
Does the tail bone serve any biological function? Did it ever?
The tail bone or coccyx is considered a vestigial structure. It aids in sitting and attaches muscles and ligaments to support the pelvic floor.
What causes the voice to change pitch at puberty?
Boys go through hormonal changes at puberty. The male sex hormone, testosterone, causes a changes in the voice.
Is it possible for humans to spontaneously combust?
For more than a century, some have claimed that people can suddenly and inexplicably explode into a ball of fire. The phenomenon, called spontaneous human combustion, has been described in popular books as mysteries and the unexplained, and only about a dozen such real-life cases have been investigated.
Researcher Joe Nickell examined many “unexplainable” cases in his book Real-Life X-Files and found that all of them were far less mysterious than often suggested. Most of the victims were elderly, alone and near flames (often cigarettes, candles, and open fires) when they died. Several were last seen drinking alcohol and smoking.
There is also a rare medical condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome that, in extreme cases, may be mistaken for a case of an aborted spontaneous combustion. The skin disease, which can be triggered by a toxic reaction to medications, including antibiotics and prescription painkillers, causes the appearance of severe burns and blisters, and can be fatal.
If SHC is a real phenomenon, why doesn’t it happen more often? There are 7 billion people in the world, and yet we don’t see reports of people bursting into flame while walking down the street. No one has ever been seen, filmed, or videotaped (for example, on a surveillance camera) anyone suddenly bursting into flames. It always happens to a single person left alone near a source of ignition. — livescience.com
What determines why some men have receding hair lines and go bald and others do not?
Receding hair line in males [is] also known as androgenic alopecia. [Its] causes may be genetic and hormonal. Testosterone is an androgenic hormone. — Dr. Farooq (According to MedicineNet.com, androgenic pertains to the development of male characteristics.)
What is the purpose of the appendix and why must some people have theirs removed?
The appendix is an abdominal organ serving no definite purpose. It gets inflamed and causes symptoms. In some cases if untreated may lead to rupture and complications.
Do the tonsils serve a purpose?
Tonsils protect the human body against respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. They are removed when [infections are] recurrent and or are so enlarged [that] they lead to breathing problems.
Aside from the fact that it hurts, why is it not a good idea to pull hang nails?
Hang nail is a condition when a piece of skin tears at the edge of the nail. Pulling at the hang nail will cause pain and sometimes infection. The skin needs to be trimmed.
Why does our hair gray as we age?
According to MIT biologist Lenny Guarente, author of Ageless Quest: One Scientist's Search for the Genes that Prolong Youth, hair follicle cells cooperate with cells that produce pigments such as melanin that make hair shades of brown, black, blond, or red. As we get older, the pigment producing cells fail, and the only thing left is the white, unpigmented protein that makes up the hair shaft. — slice.mit.edu/2014/02/05/gray/
Contact Rose Russell at: rrussell@theblade.com or 419-724-6178.
First Published January 18, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
