Questions tagged [environmental-health]
Use this tag for questions regarding physical, chemical and biological factors that may affect human health.
225
questions
119
votes
4
answers
25k
views
67
votes
2
answers
15k
views
Is there plastic microfiber in 83% of tap water?
I've recently come across this Guardian article which cites a story by Orb Media.
Tests show billions of people globally are drinking water contaminated by plastic particles, with 83% of samples ...
- 761
50
votes
3
answers
41k
views
Does regularly drinking from a plastic container cause cancer?
I drink water from my plastic cup regularly and a friend commented that it could cause cancer.
He also added that I should not heat food in plastic containers or wrappings in the microwave as that ...
- 831
46
votes
3
answers
24k
views
Does staring at the sun cause significant, permanent harm?
Of course, I think I can safely assume if an eye is left pointing directly towards sun for a long period of time it does get major damage. However, staring at the sun also hurts very quickly. That ...
- 1,491
40
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is it good (for your health) to shower/bathe daily?
I only shower once every few days, sometimes as little as once a week depending how oily/sticky I'm feeling (I lead a pretty sedentary lifestyle so I don't reach that stage daily). People around me ...
- 623
37
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Is water fluoridation harmful?
There’s a controversy going around whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh the potential harms.
What is the evidence for the harm this may cause and what evidence supports the health ...
- 887
33
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Did the Covid vaccines lower fertility rates via causing infertility?
In this Slay News article, linked to by popular right-wing aggregator Off The Press:
According to independent journalist JD Rucker, the establishment media and their allies are ignoring the obvious. “...
- 3,624
31
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Does 5G pose health risks?
Among others, the website RadiationHealthRisks claims:
Second, according to experts, because of the shorter length of
millimeter waves (MMV) required by 5G to support the bandwidth, these
shorter ...
- 33.3k
31
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Can running a fan while sleeping in a closed room cause death?
It is a widely held belief in South Korea that you can suffocate if you leave a fan running in a closed room while you sleep.
Is there any truth or science behind this?
(See Wikipedia on Fan Deaths)
- 575
31
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Is wheat the cause of numerous, serious health problems?
This morning, I stumbled across a realfarmacy article which poses the question [Note: the linked page breaks in Chrome but worked in Firefox]:
Why is there such a strong emphasis on the development ...
- 421
30
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are sunscreens necessary?
There are many warnings of skin cancer due to exposure to sun, which have turned sunscreen lotions/creams/sprays into a big industry.
Apart from the problem in the product, my question is, are ...
- 1,001
30
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is using a standing desk for several hours healthier than sitting at a desk all day?
Is working at a standing desk more healthy than working at a regular sitting desk?
Source: Crackberry Blog
Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of buzz about the health benefits of ...
- 401
28
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Does Flint have a much lower rate of lead poisoning than it had two decades ago?
Does Kevin Drum's article Raw Data: Lead Poisoning of Kids in Flint describes the lead levels in Flint accurately?
What you see is very steady and impressive progress from 1998 to 2013, with the ...
- 33.3k
28
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Does grass alone produce enough oxygen for life?
Over a work happy hour tonight, two employees were talking about their different lifestyles -- one likes riding four wheelers, which the other considers to be recreational pollution. Somehow the fact ...
- 21.7k
27
votes
3
answers
72k
views
Does Marijuana deposit four times the tar in the lungs as tobacco?
This picture is from Emily Miller's Facebook page shows one lung divided into two parts one labeled Tobacco and one labeled Marijuana. The Marijuana side is substantially less-healthy looking and the ...
- 29.5k
26
votes
1
answer
42k
views
Do cacti absorb harmful radiation emitted by computers?
It is a common belief that cacti absorb radiation; consequently, a lot of people put potted cacti by their computer as a safety means.
Do cacti actually absorb radiation? Even if so, will a small ...
- 449
26
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Does staying indoors protect you from wildfire smoke?
I’m in New York right now and I’m seeing a lot of news / government warnings to stay indoors due to the wildfire smoke.
For example: Stay indoors, mask up: Staying safe as ‘hazardous' smoke levels ...
26
votes
1
answer
13k
views
Is prone masturbation detrimental to your sex life?
The term "Prone masturbation" refers to men lying face down and thrusting their penis into or against the bed, pillow, or something else.
Healthy Strokes is claiming that:
Prone ...
- 823
26
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Is eating boogers good for you?
Damn Interesting:
There is an Austrian doctor who has gained notoriety by advocating the picking of one's nose and the consumption of the resulting bounty, particularly in children. Dr. Friedrich ...
- 897
26
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is looking at an IR transmitter bad for your eyes?
I've seen some warnings regarding IR sensors and transmitters such as the 4th panel below for the Nintendo 3DS:
The Operations Manual says,
Do not get too close to the infrared transceiver
...
- 481
25
votes
1
answer
38k
views
Does Vitamin D created by sun exposure get washed off in the shower?
A recent article by Dr Mercola on a health advocacy web site makes a number of claims about Vitamin D production in your skin. The most surprising to me is the claim that you can wash off a ...
- 5,543
25
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Is sitting straight up the healthiest way to sit?
When I was in school, my teacher always told me "Sit up straight stop slouching!". I am sure many others have heard this too, the thing is though, sitting up with straight back is very ...
- 5,958
24
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Has 99% of the western continental Europe banned water fluoridation?
I keep seeing this claim about the unpopularity of water fluoridation parroted.
Despite dental pressure, 99% of western continental Europe has rejected, banned, or stopped fluoridation due to ...
- 29.5k
23
votes
1
answer
41k
views
Can excessive masturbation cause acne?
Many people believe excessive masturbation causes acne, among many other things (e.g. hair loss and erectile dysfunction - off topic for this question).
One such site that claims or supports this is ...
- 239
23
votes
2
answers
43k
views
Do memory foam mattresses give off toxic fumes?
I recently purchased a memory foam (polyurethane) mattress and was looking online to see how long they take to "air out". They produce a strong odor for awhile after manufacture. However, instead of ...
- 2,156
22
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Does organic food have more vitamins than nonorganic food?
Aside from the issue of pesticides there's the claim that organic food has more nutrients, vitamins and minerals than nonorganic food:
Organic food is known to contain 50%
more nutrients, ...
- 33.3k
22
votes
1
answer
63k
views
Can you get ink poisoning from drawing or writing on your skin with pen?
It's a common claim in school yards (and from parents?) that you should not draw on your skin with a pen, or you will suffer "ink poisoning".
Here's an example for notability: a Facebook page called ...
- 321
22
votes
2
answers
928
views
Is lead exposure responsible for the rise and fall of violent crime in the US?
I just found an article titled "America's Real Criminal Element: Lead" via Hacker News that made an assertion about the cause of violent crimes that I found rather surprising.
The article states that ...
- 43.6k
21
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Are Unvaccinated Children Healthier?
Got this today on my facebook wall...
Alarming New Study: Unvaccinated Kids are Healthier
The study’s findings really make you wonder. Here’s some of the specifics:
Vaccinated children ...
- 1,062
21
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Is it unhealthy to live with cockroaches?
There are a number of cockroaches in my wardrobe where I keep my clothes. I have noticed that the cockroaches haven't done any damage to my clothes. I haven't seen the need to get rid of the ...
- 313
21
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Is water calcification bad for your health?
I have a friend, who adamantly believes that water calcification causes a number of problems, including poor health. He also said it made the water taste disgusting. He had recently installed a ...
- 11.9k
21
votes
3
answers
992
views
Does Roundup harm mammals?
In the anti-GMO debate, it is frequently suggested that the use of Glyphosate (trade name: Roundup) on Roundup-ready GMO crops causes environmental harm.
Example claim: Natural News
Monsanto's ...
21
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Did wheat nutrition change in the 1960s, causing health problems?
Mark's Daily Apple gives an example of a claim that I have encountered: that modern wheat bears little resemblance to wheat prior to the 1960s, and that this new wheat is the cause for the rise in ...
- 311
21
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Do memory foam mattresses help reduce back pain?
Memory foam and related products have claims like
TEMPUR Mattresses create a custom fit for your body, virtually eliminating painful pressure points and reducing your body’s need to toss and turn ...
- 261
20
votes
3
answers
11k
views
Does one drop of nicotine kill a horse?
There is a popular aphorism in Russia, translated as "one drop of nicotine kills a horse":
, which is widely used on the anti-tobacco posters etc.
Can 0.05 ml of nicotine really kill a healthy 400-...
- 4,353
20
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Is standing near Lake Karachay for an hour fatal?
I read this 9gag post (Okay, 9gag isn't really reliable for facts), where it says :
I then checked it at Wikipedia (Again, not the most reliable, really, but it does the job when necessary), and ...
- 693
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is sun protection clothing a real alternative to sunscreen?
I was reluctantly dragged along to do clothes shopping in Singapore today and all over the place they advertised clothing that has supposedly been coated with some form of UV protection. As far as I'm ...
- 18.6k
20
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Is food becoming less nutritious because of depletion of soil minerals and nutrients?
Over and over, I have heard and read claims that the soil growing much of the planet's crops is "depleted" and thus our foods do not have sufficient minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients.
Five ...
20
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is this new study on cell phone / cancer connection legitimate?
Insanely related: Do mobile phones have anything to do with cancer?
I was just sent THIS article, which claims that a new study does show a link between brain cancer and cell phones:
This new study ...
- 21.7k
19
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Can a pair of rats multiply to 200 within a year?
A story on the BBC News website makes the following claim:
Brown rats are one of the planet's most serious mammalian pests, ruining crops and harbouring disease. Expert jumpers, climbers and ...
- 11.6k
19
votes
1
answer
73k
views
Does a cell phone emit 1000 times more radiation when its battery is low?
Found this gem on G+:
The rest seems all extremely circumstantial except the very last item. The 'radiation' they're talking about, I'm assuming, is electromagnetic radiation - which would be weaker ...
- 1,064
19
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Are activities in which both people bleed on each other considered "No Risk" for the transmission of HIV?
My friend, who was a HIV care provider, claims explicitly that "no one has ever transmitted HIV through wound to wound contact" and that therefore there is no significant risk to hockey players ...
- 1,063
19
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Are organic vegetables higher in carcinogens?
My common senses would have told me that organic vegetables are healthier and less harmful compared to vegetables treated with pesticides. A recent post on Quora made me think otherwise.
Organic ...
- 485
19
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Do electric cars create more fine dust pollution than comparable petrol cars?
According to this Flanders Today (a local Belgian newspaper) article (dead link, archive on archive.org).
a new small car on petrol in the city creates less fine dust than an electric car of average ...
- 317
19
votes
1
answer
31k
views
Does washing your hair with a coal-tar soap prevent hair loss and accommodate hair growth?
I have heard several people, including both a former dermatologist and a hair-dresser claim that coal-tar soap can help prevent hair-loss.
The Herbs and Home Remedies site recommends it (combined ...
19
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Do more people drown in deserts than die of thirst?
I had first heard about the claim that more people drown in deserts than die of thirst in school maybe 30 years ago. The explanation is that sudden rains can create dangerous flooding in normally dry ...
user22213
19
votes
2
answers
947
views
Do some ingredients in lip balm cause dry lips?
According to this LifeHacker article, some brands of lip balms actually cause the problem of dry lips rather than solve it.
America News Now spoke to dermatologist Gary Slaughter, who found
...
- 2,489
18
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Are US sunscreens less effective due to FDA regulations?
A recent answer to the question Best sun protection for swimming on a sister site makes the claim "The US market version is hamstrung in order to pass FDA regulations" and expands with the ...
- 594
18
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Can WiFi waves cause headaches?
I saw there was a question about the harmfulness of WiFi waves, but i'd like to focus on the claims that they can cause headaches specifically; not the cancer-claims.
Numerous people come up with ...
- 475
18
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Is it possible to get a sunburn if you're behind a (glass) window?
Someone recently told me that windows act as a kind of "magnifying glass". That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Here's an example of someone with that belief (in the comments):
Can a baby get ...
- 551