HEALTH
that's disgusting: beer pong
Jan Hudzicki, clinical assistant professor at KU Medical Center, says the three biggest infection risks from beer pong are strep throat, pneumonia and meningitis, which is potentially fatal and can be contracted by sharing beer cups.
Most people don't go around picking up dirty things off the floor and plopping them into their can of soda or glass of milk. But on many nights, college students do just that: They pick up beer pong balls from the floor and throw them into each other's cups of beer.
What pongers don't realize is that they are exposing themselves to harmful, or even deadly, bacteria.
Hudzicki says there is also bacteria and fungus living on the floor where a ball lands after a missed shot.
A common excuse students use is that the alcohol in beer kills any lurking germs. But Hudzicki says this simply isn't the case. Alcohol in its purest form takes up to 20 seconds to kill bacteria.The alcohol content in beer is greatly reduced, and we all know there isn't enough time during an intense beer pong match to wait for all the germs to die.
Hudzicki also suggests pouring the beer from the cup on the table into your own separate cup before drinking it, which keeps players from drinking from the same cup after each other.
Another myth students believe is that rinsing the balls off in a water cup will kill any germs.This does no good, however because the beer in the playing cups is what's contaminated.Hudzicki says students' best bet is to use Clorox disinfecting wipes to clean the balls after they hit the floor. This will reduce—but will not eliminate—the chance for infection.
Now get out those wipeys and get your game on!
—Realle Roth
It's past one in the morning, and your eyes feel like someone's burning a hole in them with a laser. As you peel your contacts out—dried out after 18 hours of wear—you rack your brain to try to remember the last time you threw out that old pair and put a fresh set in. Was it two weeks ago? Three weeks? Or was it six?
Crandon says an eye that doesn't
The effects of wearing your contacts for longer than the recommended time may not be noticeable at first, but make it a habit and you risk serious damage to your eyes. Brent Crandon, Lawrence optometrist, says the area of the eye where contact lenses are worn is one of the few areas of the body that has no direct blood supply. Because of this, the tissue in the eye needs exposure to fresh air to survive. Contacts do allow oxygen to pass to the eye, but the older they get, the less oxygen they let through.
that's disgusting: old contact lenses
receive enough oxygen can begin to swell. In some cases, fragile blood vessels that bleed easily grow across the entire eyeball.
The lack of oxygen also weakens the eye and opens it up to infection. Some people develop a corneal ulcer, an infection in which bacteria eat away at the eye. Crandon says a corneal ulcer will feel like a huge speck of dirt under the contact and will make the eye red and irritated. Eyes with corneal ulcers will also become sensitive to light and will often discharge mucus. Crandon says people who leave corneal ulcers untreated risk losing their eyesight within three to four days.
So, how many weeks has it been since you've changed your contacts? Can't remember? Then it's probably time to ditch them.
Susan Melgren
14
August 28, 2008