The safe way to sneeze

One would think that so elementary a reflex as sneezing would come naturally and harmlessly. Quite the opposite is the clinical truth. A considerable number of sneezers injure their nose, sinuses, or middle ear by performing this simple act incorrectly.

There are grim-visage, lip-locked individuals, who direct the existing forces of the sneeze through the nose, with shattering effect on the nasal membranes and the air-pressure within the middle ear, causing nose bleeding.

Then, there is the “polite” sneezer, who smothers the sneeze or, worse still, aborts it. Either technique creates a pressure within the head, causing sinuses.

The “fire-alarm” sneezer scares the living daylights out of everyone, with a blast that combines the nasal eruption method with an ear-splitting vocal accompaniment. It is my experience that you will usually meet this type of sneezer in a chamber music concert or other like function where deathly silence on the part of the audience is the rule.

Experts offer useful pointers on the safe way to sneeze. All one needs to do is to keep the mouth open and permit the force of the sneeze to be expended orally. To block the spray effect, cup the hands at the mouth.

Anything else you wanted to know about sneezing?

Millions of Indians hooked on the world wide web

Internet addiction amongst Indians is alarmingly on the rise.

An increasing number of people are seeking help from health professionals to get over their (or their children’s) obsession with the cyber world. The net addicts are not only children and adolescents hooked on to Orkut and various porn sites for six to eight hours a day, but also middle-aged people who are addicted to various social networking, gambling, gaming and pornographic websites.

There are an estimated 50 million Internet users in India. In fact India boasts of being the fifth largest country in the world in terms of the number of Internet users.

The increasing online frenzy has raised fears of a growing population of Internet addicts in India. China, where this addiction has become a serious issue, has over 2 million addicts, according to China’s Internet Addiction Treatment Centre (IATC). Alarmed by the increasing number of Internet-related suicides of youngsters, the Indian government has officially started Internet addiction clinics. Recently, the renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai banned Internet in many of its hostels from 11.30 pm to 12.30 pm, because a large number of students had become addicted to gaming, blogging, file-sharing and online movies and showed up late for classes.

What exactly is Internet addiction and what are its symptoms? Internet addiction is not about long hours spent on the Net, but a compulsive desire to log on without any purpose. It is purposeless surfing on the Net which adversely affects a person’s personal, professional and social life.

People with a fixation on the Net tend to get restless when they have no access to it and they have this compelling desire to use the Net without any necessity.

One of the reasons why young people have an increasing obsession with the cyber world is that it provides them with a global social milieu where they are forging all sorts of relationships. It allows them to express emotions and feelings in a way they cannot do in real life. So the Net has a cathartic value.

According to experts, symptoms of internet addiction include a disregard for health, insomnia, lack of physical activity and declining desire for social interaction. It results in strained relationships, as those hooked on to the Internet tend to ignore their families and friends.

These days, many youngsters travelling on trains are so busy with their laptops that they do not have time to look at people sitting next to them throughout the journey. Those contacting health professionals for help include worried parents of children living in college hostels who are online for as many as eight hours when they go home during vacations. The laptop is their constant companion.