#UnseenKillers #SilentDeaths #HealthHazards
🚨 What causes way more deaths than people are aware of? 🚨
You may think of heart disease, cancer, or accidents as the leading causes of death, but there are other threats that are just as deadly, if not more so. Surprisingly, there are several overlooked factors that contribute to a significant number of deaths each year. In this article, we’ll delve into these unseen killers and shed light on the dangers that may be lurking in our everyday lives.
#### Unseen Killers: The Overlooked Culprits
1. **Air Pollution**:
– While it may not always be visible, air pollution has been linked to millions of premature deaths worldwide. Fine particulate matter and toxic gases from vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, and wood-burning stoves can lead to respiratory issues, heart disease, and other health problems.
2. **Poor Diet and Inactivity**:
– Obesity and related health issues contribute to a large number of preventable deaths. Unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, and lack of physical activity are major risk factors for conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
3. **Medical Errors**:
– Surprisingly, medical errors and complications from healthcare procedures are a leading cause of death in several countries. Mistakes in diagnosis, medication, and treatment can have devastating consequences for patients.
4. **Indoor Hazards**:
– Radon gas, asbestos, lead, and other toxins found in homes and workplaces can pose serious health risks. Poor ventilation, mold, and unsafe building materials can lead to respiratory issues, cancer, and other illnesses.
#### The Impact of Unseen Killers
The consequences of these overlooked threats are far-reaching and can have devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities. From chronic illnesses and disabilities to premature death, the impact of these silent deaths is often underestimated. It’s crucial to raise awareness about these hidden dangers and take steps to minimize their impact on public health.
#### Taking Action Against Unseen Killers
1. **Environmental Protection**:
– Implementing stricter regulations on emissions and pollutants can help reduce the overall burden of air pollution. Investing in cleaner technologies and renewable energy sources can also make a significant difference.
2. **Promoting Healthy Lifestyles**:
– Educating the public about the importance of balanced nutrition and regular exercise can help prevent obesity-related health issues. Encouraging physical activity and making healthy food options more accessible can contribute to better overall health outcomes.
3. **Patient Safety Measures**:
– Improving healthcare systems and implementing rigorous safety protocols can reduce the risk of medical errors. Enhancing communication between healthcare providers, empowering patients to advocate for their own care, and promoting transparency in medical practices are crucial steps towards preventing unnecessary harm.
4. **Home and Workplace Safety**:
– Regular inspections, proper maintenance, and the removal of hazardous materials can mitigate the risks associated with indoor pollutants and toxins. Providing education and resources for safer living and working environments is essential for protecting individuals from unseen threats.
#### Conclusion
While heart disease, cancer, and accidents rightfully receive significant attention and resources for prevention and treatment, it’s crucial not to overlook the equally impactful yet often underestimated causes of death. By addressing these unseen killers and taking proactive measures to reduce their impact, we can strive towards a healthier and safer future for everyone.
In conclusion, by shedding light on these overlooked threats and advocating for solutions, we can work towards a healthier, safer world for ourselves and future generations. Let’s not allow these unseen killers to claim more lives than they already have. Together, we can make a difference.
stairs
Trains in India
Hippopotamuses
Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs
Depression/ mental illness
People really seem to downplay heart issues. Heart issues causes more deaths than cancer, it’s the leading cause of death in the US — but cancer seems to get more of a spotlight.
Death by strangulation has increased 90% in the last decade.
[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/25/fatal-hateful-rise-of-choking-during-sex](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/25/fatal-hateful-rise-of-choking-during-sex)
More people die during the summer due to high temperatures than the amount of people who die in the winter due to cold temperatures.
Forcing doctors to work long shifts.
driving while sleepy.
Sleepy driving and drunk walking.
NPR just had a report on how you’re actually safer driving drunk than walking drunk, it’s just not widely reported because you (obviously) pose a greater risk to others while driving drunk.
Diarrhoeal diseases. Shit’s crazy.
People who die by getting tangled in their bedsheets. I was shocked to hear this ever happened, let alone 800 times a year.
Stress! Stress and burried trauma manifests physically. Chronic illness, heart attacks, cancer
Medical Mistakes.
Six hundred people die in parking lots every year because somebody didn’t look behind them when they backed up their car. I wouldn’t have imagined it was that high.
Depression. I mean people are aware of it but they tend to simply push it away
Tripping. On average around 17k people a year in the US die from injuries incurred after tripping and falling.
Pushing on the toilet. Lots of strokes.
Stress. It can snowball into other issues. Ulcers, headaches, heart problems.
Undiagnosed high blood pressure
Sepsis infectionsÂ
Mosquitos. A lot of us just find them annoying and itchy, but in other parts of the world mosquitos kill millions of people via malaria
People you know killing you, I guess nobody really expects it
Snow shoveling= heart attacks
[Air pollution](https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution). 1 in every 9 deaths worldwide, higher in lower and middle-income countries like where I live. Man, it sucks to unavoidably breathe in my slow killer daily…
Champagne corks! More deaths per year than by shark attack.
Not wearing a helmet. A helmet saved my life as a kid, hit a pothole and the chain fell off my bike (it was one of those brake-pedals.) Hit a second pothole and fell off, still broke both arms but my helmet was destroyed. I got out of that with minimal head/face injury, but impact still messed with my c-spine pretty bad.
I see kids going down my street on bikes, scooters, skateboards, and none of them have helmets. It makes me so anxious, and I don’t want to seem weird suggesting they wear one, either. (Newly living on my own, though I have babyface so I look a lot younger than 21)
asthma and allergies.
10 people a day die from asthma in the United States. More people than died on 9/11 die every year due to smog, pollution, smoke and allergies.
But when my ex-husband had an asthma attack that put him into the ICU for a week… and everyone acted like it was some sort of joke.
We divorced decades ago for non-health related reasons.. but I never forgot that feeling of him almost dying in front of me while we were in the ER because he wasn’t responding to the meds and there was nothing more the doctors could do.
But people treat asthma and allergies like they are just something for hypochondriacs to fuss over. How many times do we see posts from people whose families think it’s funny to just slip in some peanuts and see what happens? I mean.. it’s just an allergy right? That candle smoke (with all the heavy perfume) can’t hurt anyone – they are just being snowflakes. I’ll blow it out before they get here.
It’s not a joke.
Women being murdered by their ex/ partner. I live in a western country and did not realize how big of an issue this is here until I read into it.
Stress and overthinking.
Vending machines. No seriously, people get mad at vending machines and they tip the machines over on themselves. Vending machines kill more people than sharks, cows and something else combined iirc (and cows are another, they have quite the body count).Â
RN:ALCOHOL!
Stomach cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Mouth cancer
Throat cancer
Colon cancer
Breast cancer
Heart disease
GI bleeds
Liver failure
Pancreatitis
Alcohol is NOT benign and new studies show there is no amount that doesn’t have deleterious health effects. It’s not one glass of alcohol is OK. It’s it’s better if you don’t have any at all.
I think people are aware of liver issues I don’t think they’re aware of how many cancers are associated with alcohol.
Also my first 10 years as a nurse were in trauma and most of our suicides were drunk, MVA, Drunk JetSki accidents, drunk boating accidents…
RADON! It’s really nasty stuff. Most people don’t even think about it.
Childbirth. Yes, even in countries with modern medicine.
Best friends/family. These people are more likely to kill you than anyone else.
When I was in the ICU for pulmonary embolisms, my attending pulmonologists said that the morgues were filled with people who didn’t know they had blood clots.
Neglect in nursing homes
Cows, they look nice and harmless but more people die by cow than by shark.
Antibiotic resistance Â
 Moose are also dangerous as hell.
Right-handed products/tools used by left-handed people.
Poor dental hygiene. It can cause a slew of other health problems including sepsis and heart attacks.
I am a Pediatric Emergency Medicine doctor.
**CO-SLEEPING WITH BABIES**
Ask any peds ER doctor. The most common deaths we see in our ER are babies that get smothered while sleeping. Co-sleeping in the, falling asleep with the baby on the couch, letting the baby sleep on the edge of the bed and falling into the crack between the mattress and the wall.
They usually come in between 0600 and 0700. That’s when people are waking up for work and school, and notice something is wrong.
The kid is usually already long dead, but EMS usually do not like to call time of death on babies in the field. So they run the code when they get there, and transport to our ER.
We run the code for a bit. Often, the kid is clearly dead. It’s mostly performative. It supposedly gives families closure to see the code performed and time of death called.
Not sure how many I’ve seen. Usually several per year at our hospital. Sometimes multiple within a month.
Of all the kids that I’ve participated in codes in, or called time of death on, babies that died from unsafe sleep situations are the most common.