Things you should know about cooling down with a beer

It is now summer in northern hemisphere and many of us like getting a cold beer on hot days. Beer tastes good and having a cold beer really feels nice when it’s boiling hot outside. Furthermore, alcohol increases peripheral blood flow, which might help you cool down a bit, although it might make you feel warmer for a while. There is one thing though, all the alcoholic beverages dehydrate your body.

According to Dr Karl from ABC any given amount of beer will make you produce 60% more urine than the amount you just drank. For example 200 ml beer will produce 320 ml of urine output. This urine comes from the water already present in your body. The same is true for any other alcoholic beverage. This happens because the alcohol decreases the production of a hormone called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) which has the effect of increasing the production of urine. Even if we would drink plenty of water together or after drinking alcohol we would still end up dehydrated.

I’m not trying to tell you to stop drinking beer, far from it. You should just keep in mind that alcohol makes you lose water and drinking large amounts of it during very hot days when your body needs plenty of sweat can lead to dangerous situations. Ideally, you should drink water during the day and save the beer for the evening.

The most damaging drug

All recreational drugs have certain negative effects on our bodies, but not all drugs are the same. Different drugs have varying effects, some are more harmful than others. All of the drugs are damaging to our societies in various ways and again the extent of damage depends on the type of drug.

In 2010 researchers led by Professor David Nutt, former chief drug advisor of the British government, asked drug experts to rank 20 legal and illegal drugs on measures of harm to the user and to the society, such as damage to the health, addiction, economic costs, crime, etc. Drugs were given a score from 0 to 100.

Now, try guessing which is the most damaging drug. Heroin? Cocaine? Crack? If these were your guesses you were wrong. According to this research alcohol creates the most damage to the society and it is fourth most damaging drug to the user. See the chart.

Although this study was done in the UK and the situation in other countries might be different, it shows how dangerous alcohol is. I’m not advocating prohibition or any kind of bans, because they are always counter-productive, but this is something we should keep in mind. Alcohol is widely available, easily obtainable and the border between casual use and overuse (abuse) is often very thin.

Drink responsibly or don’t drink at all.

Sunburns, remedies that work and those that don't

With the winter behind us and the days becoming longer and warmer we are going to see more and more sunburns. How can this condition be treated, what remedies work and what don’t and most importantly, how can this be prevented?

Sunburn is not much different from any other thermal injury, like a burn on a hot stove. It causes pain, makes the skin red and may even produce blisters. Redness is what medical professionals call first degree burn. If there are blisters then it is a second degree burn. These conditions can be serious if they involve large areas of the body, but sunburns are usually localized.

First of all I must point out that sunburns are 100% preventable. More importantly they should always be prevented. Pain and discomfort will only last a while, but each sunburn damages the skin permanently. Each sunburn will cause your skin to age prematurely and each sunburn increases the risk of developing skin cancer. So, wear a large brimmed hat, long sleeved shirts, long pants/skirts, use sun screen and most importantly avoid being exposed to the sun when it is high in the sky. Don’t go out in the middle of the day.

Now, what to do if you get sunburn? First of all, cool down the burnt area. Use compresses soaked in cold water. Pain can be alleviated with some ibuprofen or Tylenol. Hydrocortisone cream can help, especially if it was cooled down in a fridge. If you have blisters LEAVE THEM ALONE. Piercing or popping blisters will only make matters worse.

There are countless folk remedies for sunburn that simply don’t work, or even worsen the condition. Mentioning them all in one article is impossible, so I’ll just name a few.

Food products: tomato juice, potato slices, mayonnaise, mustard, milk, honey, vinegar, eggs, butter, cooking oil, etc
Medications: hydrogen peroxide, vitamins, alcohol, milk of magnesia, shaving cream, toothpaste, etc
Others: bleach (oh, my God), whiskey, vodka, laundry detergent