
17 Doctors Share "Bad" Habits That Are Bad For Health
We recently asked doctors, scientists, and other medical professionals of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us things people don't realize are very bad for their health, or "bad" habits people often downplay that could be detrimental. Their answers were incredibly eye-opening — and I can't lie, some of them were even scary. Here's what they had to say:
"If you snore, get a sleep study. Sleep apnea kills. It's not just something that annoys everyone within a five-block radius; it can KILL YOU. Why? Hypertension, excessive daytime sleepiness with more accidents, depression, anxiety...and hypertension leads to heart, kidney, and other small vessel disease that leads to organ failure and strokes."
"Taking OTC products with the same ingredients, such as a cough syrup and cold medication. They both have Tylenol. You can easily end up in liver failure."
"As if it needs to be said, but excessive alcohol drinking. We all know what it does to you, but I'll give it a spin that I learned in a decade in the ICU: Dying from alcohol is just about the worst way to die. No one thinks about dying slowly, constantly seizing when they're on a bender. No one thinks about your entire body turning yellow when they're tying one on after work."
"Biting your nails!!! This brings so much bacteria into your system, can chip and harm your teeth, and in extreme cases, can lead to stomach pain and blockages."
"Secondhand smoke. You get all the negatives of smoking cigarettes, just at a lower concentration. But over time, it adds up. I've seen people with significant lung disease because they lived with smokers for decades!"
"Hands down, the worst thing you can do to your body is smoking. The pictures on those anti-tobacco ads aren't nearly gruesome enough to show you how much it affects the body. My colleagues and I see SO many diseases and internal injuries that are caused by smoking: internal bleeding, lung cancers, loss of appetite, tremors, etc."
"Skipping the floss portion of oral health care. The bacteria not only can lead to bleeding gums and potentially tooth loss, but the same bacteria can also enter the bloodstream. If that bacteria enters the bloodstream, it can lead to major heart problems or possibly dementia."
"Being underweight is just as unhealthy, if not worse, than being overweight. When you're underweight, you're more likely to have a severe injury than average or overweight people, and recovery takes longer. You're also more likely to get sick more often and feel worse when you do get sick because your body has fewer resources to fight off illnesses like respiratory infections. Plus, tiredness and fatigue are huge problems for people who are underweight."
"Mental health professional here. A lot of people don't seem to realize that overachievement is bad for your mental health. Achievement and being good at things are supposed to boost your self-confidence, but constant competition to be the best is not good for your mental or physical well-being. It just runs you down and burns you out. There's a reason you hear about high-achieving students having nervous breakdowns. Your body and brain can only sustain that so long. It's better to focus on being your best and balance that with self-care habits like getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and scheduling time for fun."
"Dentist here! [Sugary drinks, like sodas.] I've put more people in dentures from Mountain Dew than meth or drugs. It's addictive and so bad for your health and your teeth. Avoid that stuff at all costs!!!"
"I'm a former nurse and EMT. Ignoring infections until they turn necrotic. You treat that spider bite or infected scratch today; I wash it out with a sterile rinse and put some ointment. You bring it to me after two weeks, and I'm cleaning out a softball-size chunk of dead flesh and packing it with dressing you're gonna have to change every day for months. You bring it to me after a month? You may lose a limb or at least be in PT for quite a while based on how much muscle you lose."
"I suggest not playing sports that involve getting hit in the head. If you don't plan on your kid doing professional sports, don't risk all the injuries and future pain from bad joints and old injuries. I've treated many ex-professional athletes. Unless they make it big and sock it away, they end up broken and poor."
"Ignoring your diabetes. I've seen people having bad leg and foot wounds; going to dialysis three days a week, four hours each time, just to stay alive; going blind and forced to quit their jobs because they can no longer drive; stepping in a fire ant hill but unable to feel the bites due to neuropathy until their legs were completely covered in welts; having blood vessels diseased all over their body due to constant hyperglycemia, causing heart attacks and strokes."
"Take care of your teeth. The number of patients with endocarditis (heart infection) that started in their rotten teeth is excessive."
"Wounds that don't heal correctly from trauma may turn into skin cancer! If something isn't healing right, go to the dermatologist! And get your skin checks! If you are over 30, you should get a skin check every few years. If something keeps growing back after picking it, go to the dermatologist!"
"Stop eating sugar daily! From cavities to weight gain to exacerbating chronic illnesses like diabetes, sugar really is the enemy."
And finally...
"'Nothing.' Being stagnant with your body will literally kill you. Move around. Go walk. Bend your knees. Stretch."
Fellow doctors, scientists, and other medical professionals, what other "bad" habits do people downplay or don't realize are wildly bad for their health? Tell us in the comments, or use this anonymous form below.

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