Man goes blind after texting girlfriend too much

Washington: A young Chinese man who constantly texted his girlfriend at night so much that his retina became detached.

This man was into messaging app WeChat, which allows intimate conversations, day and night.

According to Medical Daily, this 26-year-old WeChatted with his beloved so much in the dark that his retina became detached.

Retinal detachment tends to appear in those who already suffer from advanced myopia. It is also far more prevalent among those of advanced years.

There are many symptoms, including heaviness of the eyes and a vast increase in the number of floaters.

WantChina Times said that this lover needed surgery to ensure his eyesight remained intact.

Excessive use of cell phones has been linked by researchers to headaches, dry eye, and blurred vision. Doctors are relating early and constant screen staring with myopia in the very young.

Teenagers who drink have more friends

Middle and high school students who drink alcohol are often the same ones winning the popularity contests, new research suggests.

Previous studies have found friend groups can influence choices about alcohol, but haven't looked at the possible social payoffs of drinking.

"There has not been much data to support that drinking among teenagers directly leads to higher popularity and more friendships," said Peter Delany. He is the director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality in Rockville, Maryland.

Delany was not part of the study team, which was led by Mir M. Ali, also from SAMHSA.

"The fact remains that underage drinking is linked to a long list of adverse health and behavioral consequences, including the deaths of thousands of adolescents and young adults each year," Delany told Reuters Health in an email.

Ali and colleagues analyzed data from a national study of 7th through 12th graders from 132 schools who were surveyed in 1994. The survey included a variety of questions on drinking and substance use, number of friends, friends of friends, home life and other factors.

Teens who reported occasional drinking and getting drunk tended to have higher "social connectedness" than their abstaining peers. That was especially true for white students.

Getting drunk seemed to be more important for popularity than just drinking in general. Kids who drank at all reported having an extra half a friend, on average, and those who got drunk reported one additional friend compared to non-drinkers.

The findings "provide new evidence on the motivation behind adolescent drinking," the researchers wrote in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

"There are many healthy behaviors, both athletic and academic, that increase teens' popularity among peers," Delany said.

For instance, two of the study's authors found in an earlier paper, published in the Journal of Public Health, that playing sports leads to more friends for overweight white boys.

Family, peers, schools and neighborhoods can all influence teen drinking and may also indirectly influence how much popularity teens gain by drinking, Delany said.

"We know that parental influence can help adolescents resist drinking and other forms of substance use," he said. "Recent SAMHSA reports have shown that adolescents are very influenced by their parents' attitudes on substance use."

Teens need adult help to develop a healthy relationship with alcohol and to have positive social values, Joseph P. Allen said.

Allen studies adolescent social development at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He was not part of the new research.

"Adults often avoid teens like the plague, but then we're surprised when, left to their own devices, they develop values with which we're not comfortable," Allen said. "If we don't engage with teens - by getting them involved in volunteer service, encouraging their participation in civic activities and debates and just talking to them - then we can't be too surprised when their values are largely those that appear in the online and popular media."

The link between drinking and having friends is not only an issue for the underage, researchers noted.

"One of the toughest problems with teen alcohol use is that alcohol use is associated with greater social involvement, and likely popularity, even in adulthood," Allen said.

"Teens are often just trying to do what they see adults doing, and it's hard to convince them it's a terrible thing when they see both social and work-life events where alcohol plays a prominent role," he said.

"Our best chance is likely to give teens ways to feel like they are moving into the adult world that don't revolve just around alcohol," he said.

Parents can consult resources like SAMHSA's "Navigating the Teen Years: A Parent's Handbook for Raising Healthy Teens," Delany said. The handbook is available here: 1.usa.gov/JHyeEC.

Christmas is deadliest day of the year

A new survey suggests that more people die on Christmas than any other day of the year.

According to Medical Daily, in the 1970s, researchers discovered this phenomenon after they began studying death trends throughout the year.

A wide array of causes seem to contribute to the trend of Christmas Day deaths including understaffed hospitals and an unwillingness by people to bother their relatives for a ride to the doctor's office.

Death by cardiac disease, respiratory diseases, endocrine/nutritional/metabolic problems, digestive diseases, and cancer - the five most common causes of death - see an overall increase during this time of year, Medical Daily reported.

One study from the University of California San Diego examined hospital workforces around the holidays and discovered that Level 1 trauma centers often carry less than a full staff, and have less experienced professionals on hand during the Christmas holiday.

Grapefruit may be heart's best friend

A new research has revealed that grapefruit, which contains health-promoting biomolecules, could help prevent cardiovascular diseases.

The study, which was carried out by the researchers from Glasgow University, has found out that biomolecules could be used to reduce the inflammation that is the main cause of various heart problems , the Daily Express reported.

This research may give rise to a new generation of anti-inflammatory drugs that are cheaper and less lethal than some existing therapies.

Skipping Breakfast Increases Heart Attack Risk

Another reason to eat breakfast: Skipping it may increase your chances of a heart attack.
A study of older men found those who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those who ate a morning meal. There's no reason why the results wouldn't apply to other people, too, the Harvard researchers said.

Why would skipping breakfast be a heart attack risk? Experts aren't certain, but here's what they think: People who don't eat breakfast are more likely to be hungrier later in the day and eat larger meals. Those meals mean the body must process a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. That can spike sugar levels in the blood and perhaps lead to clogged arteries.

The researchers did not ask what the study participants ate for breakfast and were not prepared to pass judgment on whether a fatty, sugary breakfast is better than no breakfast at all.

"We don't know whether it's the timing or content of breakfast that's important. It's probably both," said Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

"Generally, people who eat breakfast tend to eat a healthier diet," he added.

The new research was released Monday by the journal Circulation. It was an observational study, so it's not designed to prove a cause and effect. But when done well, such studies can reveal important health risks.

The researchers surveyed nearly 27,000 men about their eating habits in 1992. About 13 percent of them said they regularly skipped breakfast. They all were educated health professionals - like dentists and veterinarians - and were at least 45.

Over the next 16 years, 1,527 suffered fatal or non-fatal heart attacks, including 171 who had said they regularly skipped breakfast.

In other words, over 7 percent of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks, compared to nearly 6 percent of those who ate breakfast.

The researchers calculated the increased risk at 27 percent, taking into account other factors like smoking, drinking, diet and health problems like high blood pressure and obesity.

As many as 18 percent of U.S. adults regularly skip breakfast, according to federal estimates. So the study could be important news for many, said Eric Rimm, one of the study authors at the Harvard School of Public Health.

"It's a really simple message," he said. "Breakfast is an important meal."

Signs that show if spouse is cheating on you

It is a difficult to know when your spouse could be cheating on you.

Blogger Kiri Blakely has collated some classic signs which could help you see if your husband (or wife) is cheating on you.

Firstly, your other half starts dressing better. Divorce lawyer Marilyn Stowe, has said that this is still a sign that people should look for, she said that wearing cologne all of a sudden, or changing the cologne he always wears to something new could be a sign that his lovers gave them a bottle that she likes better, the Huffington Post reported.

Another sign is that the spouse starts guarding their cellphones zealously and won't even let the other half touch it.

One more sign could be that the person starts making hurtful remarks about his/her other half.

One more sign could be that a husband starts talking about how "ugly" or "horrible" a certain woman is.

Lastly, the husband is not interested in having sex with his wife.

What couples really want in bed

Couples want emotional intimacy in their sex lives, new research has suggested.

In a poll conducted by YourTango and Durex of more than 1,000 people, 96 percent surveyed said that the best sex they had is with someone with whom they were able to get emotionally connected, the Huffington Post reported.

In addition, 92 percent said that when their partner displayed vulnerability it was a turn-on for them.

The respondents confessed that the top confidence boosters were being with someone that they love, which was followed by their feeling good about their sexual abilities and when their partner complimented them.

90 percent of those surveyed said that they believe sex can get better over time.

People also said that the top 3 requirements for having great sex is physical attraction, emotional intimacy, feeling secure and loved.

One pint of beer a day boosts heart health: study

Drinking a pint of beer a day improves the condition of blood vessels around the heart, boosts blood flow and makes the arteries more flexible, a new study has claimed.

Greek scientists found that arteries became more flexible and blood flow improved within a couple of hours of drinking the equivalent of two-thirds of a pint.

However, they found that alcohol-free beer did not have the same effect, 'The Sun' reported.

The findings support previous evidence that moderate beer consumption may protect against heart disease.

Previous research has suggested a pint a day reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 30 per cent.

In the new study, scientists at Harokopio University in Athens recruited 17 non-smoking men in their late twenties and early thirties.

Each one had their cardiovascular health measured within an hour or two of drinking 400 millilitres of beer - equivalent to just over two-thirds of a pint.

They later had the same tests done after the same amount of alcohol-free beer or a measure of vodka.

Researchers tested for endothelial function -- a measure of how easily blood passes through major arteries -- as well as aortic stiffness, a check designed to assess whether blood vessels are nice and relaxed or beginning to harden.

The results showed all three had some beneficial effect on the stiffness of arteries but beer had the most benefits.

Researchers said the combination of alcohol and antioxidants in beer may be crucial to the drink's healthy effects.

Darker beers, like stouts and ales, have been shown to be better for the heart than lager.

The study was published in the journal Nutrition.