I didn’t want to start multiple threads for all of my questions, so I thought I could condense them all in to one:
Do the “moons” at the base of the nails serve any purpose? (I called them moons because I remember an old Trivial Pursuit question that read “where will you find the 20 moons that grace the human body?” And the answer was “te base of the nails”)
What’s up with those little white spots you see underneath your nails sometimes?
How much self-diagnosis can be done via bowel movements (not meant to take the place of a doctor’s exam, of course)?
What happens is you swallow too much toothpaste? I was reading the tube the other day (I get bored easily), and it said “if more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.” I assume they’re referring to someone possibly swallowing an entrie tube’s worth, but is this REALLY a problem? What happens if you swallow a vast amount?
Same question as #4, but with hydrogen peroxide. I usually use peroxide as a mouthwash. What happens if I swallow a mouthful?
Why doesn’t the part of your brain that realizes that you are having a nightmare stop you from waking up screaming? Don’t these people cooperate?
The reason you can’t eat toothpaste is due to fluoride, which is more toxic than lead.
Sodium flouride has an LD50 of 52 mg/kg (kills 50% of those who take this much). A tube at 0.24% flouride (i have no idea how many ppm this is) probalby isn’t enough to kill you but still dangerous.
I am not 100% sure what the risks of lower doses are, osteoperosis and retardation comes to mind.
I once had a dream in which I was sentenced to “life in prison”. I worried and worried about how I was going to get out. Finally, I thought “Maybe this is a dream” and I woke up. Sorry I was not screaming.
Moons server no particular purpose; however, I’ve heard tale that they can be indicative of over all health and nutrition - the bigger the better.
The white spots are usually an injury to the nail - you probably banged your finger or nail sufficently to leave a mark, but not sifficently to break blood vessels leading to a purple mark.
My mom always told me to carefully inspect my poop, although she never specified what for. I believe that if a person is having rather severe lower GI distress blood streaks will sometimes show in turds. An upper GI bleed can result in black turds - digested blood.
Toothpaste and peroxide have been answered.
Regarding dreams - I dunno - I haven’t had a nightmare since I was a kid, but I do remember being pissed when I knew I was dreaming but couldnt’ wake up.
Darker than normal stool could mean some blood; lighter than normal stool could mean liver problems. In either case, you should see a doctor; in all likelihood, you probably are feeling pretty crappy if you’re having these problems.
What’s up with those little white spots you see underneath your nails sometimes?
Ditto what was said above about having knocked your finger on something. The white spot is a place where the nail has separated from the skin beneath it.
I hope not. Mine have never been very big and looking now (first I’ve every specifically looked at them, I think) they’re nonexistant. Reference, anyone?
A thread from fingernailcare.com discussing the “lanula” - the moon at the bottom of your nail. They say the moon is a good thing. And yes it appears that fingernailcare.com does have a fingernail forum.
Hypochondriac, eh? Take heart. I found a nice, long listing of various gastrointestinal disorders, diseases, and organ dysfunctions that list as symptoms various bowel problems. As I suspected, a simple symptom such as diarrhea or bloody stool doesn’t mean one specific thing, but it could mean a whole host of things. By itself, any BM abnormality means nothing; you’d have to get other symptoms or clinical correlation to be certain.
The list contains such lovely possibilities as watery diarrhea (which could be viral gastroenteritis), explosive diarrhea (which could be cyclosporiasis), and bloody diarrhea (which may indicate typhoid fever).
Of course, it might just mean you have an ear infection, so I couldn’t start planning my hospital stay just yet.
Similar to the poop question, I have occasionally experienced green-tinted poop. I know of other people who have, as well, so I always figured it was no big deal and was somewhat normal.
Your bowels are full of bacteria all busily at work on the ‘matter’ at hand. The gas is a byproduct of these bacteria.
Your bladder on the other hand is presumabky not full of bacteria, and hence doesn’t have the concordant gas problem. I’m sure i’ve read somewhere that urine is sterile when it is expressed.
My question is when one muscle in isolation begins a rapid spasmodic twitch, what’s up with that? On me usually it’s a thumb but once it was a single thigh muscle. Happens infrequently and lasts less than a minute. Some sort of motor neural misfiring.
Did anyone ever drink those black cherry icees they had at Burger King over Halloween? I’ll bet I had that phenomenon 10 times worse than you the next day. Dyes may have had something to with your experience as well, caphis .
