6 strange health facts we bet you didn't know!!

6 strange health facts we bet you didn't know!!

Our bodies are capable of doing some weird and wonderful things. We've rounded up a few health facts we bet you didn't know.

Sweat We have between two and four million sweat glands that help keep our body temperature regulated, GP and author Dr. Ginni Mansberg says. Women tend to have more than men, but men’s sweat glands are more active. Associate professor David Ranson, of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, says that until recently the only real marker sweat seemed to leave was in the armpits of our gym gear, but research suggests it could hold a forensic key: “A study found they could get DNA out of a fingerprint because there were cells shed that stuck to the surface of the fingerprint with sweat.”

Hair The average person loses about 80 hairs a day – often more towards the end of summer – and they end up everywhere from shower drains to pillows and coats.

“Most comes out when you’re washing your hair because of the agitation or pulling on your hair,” Dr. David Salinger, director of the International Association of Trichologists, explains. “But whether you wash hair daily or once a week, the total hair loss over the week will be the same.”

And each hair follicle is a goldmine of cells and DNA. “It can be an eyebrow hair, an eyelash, or any hair on the body if it’s pulled off, rather than cut off, it will have some cells at the root, and there will be DNA there,” Ranson says.

If you’re experiencing excessive hair loss, you could have a hormonal imbalance. “With polycystic ovarian syndrome, women have too much testosterone and start losing hair in the male pattern, off the top of the head and the sides of the forehead,” Mansberg says. “Iron deficiency can also lead to hair loss, but often if we correct the iron deficiency, their hair is much better.”

Bacteria There are up to 1000 different types of good bacteria living in our skin. They help with our skin cell turnover and immunity, and we leave remnants of them wherever we go. No two people have the same combination, so scientists are investigating using samples of bacteria from our palms to get a reading that could one day replace or be used alongside DNA in criminal profiling. “They’re talking about using a bacterial footprint instead of fingerprints,” Mansberg says After death Our body breakdown speeds up once we die, Dr. Jacqueline Lee, a forensic pathologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, says. “Some organs will start to be broken down by enzymes in the organs, but most of the tissue breakdown is done by the bacteria from our gut,” she says. “They travel freely to other parts of the body and cause discoloration of the skin – first on the stomach, then the face, then other body parts. In hot, humid conditions, a body will start to deteriorate within hours.

Skin Our skin is like a conveyer belt, constantly producing new skin cells at the base layers that push the old, dead cells away. “Apart from our eyes, almost every other part of the surface of

the body is dead,” Ranson says. The body is made up of 1.6 trillion skin cells and we lose and replace between 30,000 and 40,000 a hour, with it fully regenerating every 30 days. “We lose a lot of them in clothes and bedding,” dermatologist Dr. Michael Rich, of enRich clinic in Melbourne, says. “We’re shedding skin non-stop.” The cells also end up as household dust, where they’ve been found to absorb harmful ozone. Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey revealed that an oil called squalene in human skin cells “gobbles up” a small amount of air pollution from our homes.

Waste material Traces of faecal matter aren’t just confined to the toilet bowl – microscopic remnants have been found on hotel TV remotes, aircraft basins and toothbrushes.

A US study found 72 per cent of shopping trolley handles had traces of faeces and 50 per cent had E.coli, while a UK study found the bacteria on one in six mobile phones. “If E.coli is there, so too are germs that could cause colds, coughs and gastro viruses,” Mansberg says.

Before you go crazy with the antibacterial wipes, she says the health risks depend on the amount of bacteria you’re exposed to and your immune system’s ability to fight if off.

Urine, on the other hand, is sterile while it’s in the bladder and only picks up a few germs on its way out. “But our nether regions do carry bugs,” Mansberg says. “So, you owe it to society to give your hands a decent wash for at least 60 seconds after going to the toilet.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Find nearby Doctors and book appointment | Find Pharmacy Stores | Find Diagnostic Labs

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