Health & Wellness Research Weblog | HealthTrekker

Health & Wellness Weblog With Tips And Hacks

For information only. This content is not medical care, advice, diagnosis, or recommendations.

Symptom Checkers & Misdiagnosis: Cyberchondriacs Can Get Things Wrong More Than 50% Of The Time

Filed Under: Stupid Health Tricks

Symptom Checkers & Misdiagnosis: Cyberchondriacs Can Get Things Wrong More Than 50% Of The Time
symptom checker misdiagnosis south park webmd i'm dead meme


Symptom Checkers & Misdiagnosis. Even The Good Ones Miss:
This post is going to sound a bit contradictory on HT, but it’s still important.

While there are plenty of reasons to do research and educate ourselves,

There are at least a few reasons to be cautious on the internet when looking for health information.

Not the least of which are any of the $25,000/visit crazy wasp-based hacks over on GOOP.

More worrisome still than that: a few recent surveys & studies have found that self-diagnosing using the internet may not be such a great thing…

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By: Will  /    /    

McDonald’s Fries For Hair Loss: Huge Hair-Transplant Breakthrough Missed By Adorably-Crazy Internet People

Filed Under: Stupid Health Tricks

McDonald’s Fries For Hair Loss: Huge Hair-Transplant Breakthrough Missed By Adorably-Crazy Internet People
mcdonalds baldness french fries duck fat


McDonald’s Fries For Hair Loss? Why Not?:
Hair-loss is a touchy subject.

And short of over-the-counter remedies that have some real shortcomings,

There doesn’t seem to be the perfect solution that people need right now.

And according to HairLossBuddy, the best non-drug solution so far has been freeze-dried saw palmetto berries or Beta-Sitosterol.

So that being said, you can forgive people for trying to latch-on to just about anything they can find.

That includes mistaking a scientific breakthrough for a license to make a hat out of McDonald’s French Fries…

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By: Will  /    /    

Raw Water, A Dangerous Health Fad Goes At Least 1820s-Retard. Or: Stupidity In The Time Of Cholera

Filed Under: Stupid Health Tricks

Raw Water, A Dangerous Health Fad Goes At Least 1820s-Retard. Or: Stupidity In The Time Of Cholera
raw water dangers oregon trail dysentery screen shot


Raw Water’s Risks Shouldn’t Be Part Of “Pick Your Poison”:
Ok, so the non-medical, non bloodwork+antibiotics+mris world of wellness & supplements occasionally gets a little weird.

And that weirdness usually comes from one place:

California.

Well, this time it’s more of the same.

And their new ideas on water are positively mad…

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By: Will  /    /    

Bonkers Face & Beauty Hacking Devices Return, Thanks To Crazy Asia! [2 Kinda NSFW]

Filed Under: Aging, Stupid Health Tricks

Bonkers Face & Beauty Hacking Devices Return, Thanks To Crazy Asia! [2 Kinda NSFW]
beauty hacks dr macks curves of youth 1890s facelift device


What’s Old Is New Again!:
When we look back at the oldest editions of Popular Mechanics, Good Housekeeping, Life Magazine etc.,

The back pages are chockablock with all kinds of hilarious contraptions to reshape, maintain, & massage women’s faces and figures.

And while we make fun of them now, we’re still not past all of that yet.

-Maybe we never will be in our quest for perfection.

Well today, Crazy Japan & Crazy Asia bring you their newest face & beauty tools in the images below!…

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By: Will  /    /    

Strange Brew: Why Is Post-Drinking Munchies, or ‘The Aperitif Effect’ So Powerful?

Filed Under: Better Living Through Chemistry, Mind/Brain, Nutrition, Stupid Health Tricks

Strange Brew: Why Is Post-Drinking Munchies, or ‘The Aperitif Effect’ So Powerful?
strange brew movie poster with rick moranis and dave thomas


Legacy Of Alcohol, The Ham-Fist Way:
Over time, we’ve tried to sing the praises of alcohol; from Beer BS to Hangover bro-science.

Along the way, we’ve discovered some strange contradictions, like: Thirst is often mistaken for Hunger, & Mars500 finding a great reason to control your salt-intake.

So in the spirit of Weird, !SCIENCE! brings us another “WTF, Mother Nature?!!”

That contradiction starts with our bizarre need to eat after Animal House-level symphonies of drinking…

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By: Will  /    /    

Absinthism For The “Hey Y’All, Watch This!” Crowd. Seriously: Don’t Drink The Hand Sanitizer. Even If You Do Work For Wells Fargo

Filed Under: Better Living Through Chemistry, Sex, Meds, Rock n Roll, Stupid Health Tricks

Absinthism For The “Hey Y’All, Watch This!” Crowd. Seriously: Don’t Drink The Hand Sanitizer. Even If You Do Work For Wells Fargo
vintage french poster for absinthe parisienne


As Stupid As Nascar Cartman:
Every once in awhile, a health news story comes out that is truly inspirational.

Not since Eric Cartman drinking Vagisil in his bid to qualify as a Nascar driver, has something so majestic gone public.

And though in the small “Fail-Army” part of HT there is probably none that will exceed the caution against mixing grenades & sledgehammers.

-Which to be fair, for the rational-minded among you is pretty much the same equation as career blackmail+ impossible sales goals…

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By: Will  /    /    

Pleated Jeans Gives Us 18 Very Painful-Looking Reminders To Wear Your Sunscreen This Summer

Filed Under: Better Living Through Chemistry, Stupid Health Tricks

Pleated Jeans Gives Us 18 Very Painful-Looking Reminders To Wear Your Sunscreen This Summer
pleated jeans sunburn on back with eyes that looks like Patrick from Sponge Bob Square Pants


You Don’t Want To Learn This Lesson The Hard Way:
Now remember to put your sunblock on, boys and girls!

And while you’re at it, go back & read the post on the EWG’s list of the best ones for you.

Here are a few of the 18 painful examples Pleated Jeans rounded up to remind you to do it.

YEOWCH!…

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By: Will  /    /    

Übertool Comics Discovers The Source Behind Each Year’s Mystifying New Fad Health-Foods

Filed Under: Noise, Nutrition, Other, Stupid Health Tricks

Übertool Comics Discovers The Source Behind Each Year’s Mystifying New Fad Health-Foods
ubertool comic 150 the wise old food man of the mountains tells us what random thing to eat this year


It IS A New Thing Every Year, Isn’t It?:
As we’ve already seen from our friend/arch-enemy/frenemy, Jim Gaffigan, some people just can’t get on the Kale bandwagon.

On the other hand, many people seem to run their health-programs based only on what’s new for the year.

-As Übertool describes here…

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By: Will  /    /    

Note: For informational purposes only. Should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendations, or substitute for professional care.