Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [disease]

Questions about pathology; impairments of health or a condition of abnormal bodily functions.

  1. An abnormal condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, inflammation, environmental factors, or genetic defect, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs, symptoms, or both.
  2. A condition or tendency, as of society, regarded as abnormal and harmful.
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Have fleas caused more human deaths from plague than wars?

In Amateur Entomologists' Society, it is stated that: But the most serious flea borne disease is Yersinia pestis, or plague (known in the Middle Ages as the Black Death). This is a disease of rats and other rodents, and rodent fleas can transmit it…
Alenanno
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Do antibiotics weaken your immune system?

Recently, my friend told me that antibiotics will weaken your immune system. Their reasoning is that: Antibiotics remove the harmful bacteria from you, but they also remove the natural disease fighting bacteria, leaving your immune system crippled.…
DJMcMayhem
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Is catnip ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET?

Linked from this Travel.SE answer, I saw a surprising claim in Science Daily from 2001: Researchers report that nepetalactone, the essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling…
user56reinstatemonica8
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Getting ill because of staying in a draft/draught?

In Germany it’s a common belief that drafts/draughts can make you ill. Because of that, car and train windows typically get/stay closed, even when it’s really hot; and, for instance, on a warm day in a beer garden, people might change seats/tables…
unor
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Is red meat responsible for one in ten early deaths?

The red meat and cancer link has already been addressed here: Does eating meat increase your risk for cancer? But recent reports suggest a broader more worrying relationship to variety of other causes of death. The Guardian reports the study…
matt_black
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Do fingerprint scanners cause skin cancer?

Recently, my company started using fingerprint scanners to identify employees for access control and for attendance. Many employees have a concern about developing skin cancer from the IR fingerprint scanners. The Saudi Gazette also has a…
user10938
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Do chocolate bars cause pimples?

My mother always told me "eating that chocolate bar will give you pimples." Is there any truth to the claim? I did find an article on about.com that verifies that this is a common myth, and suggests that chocolate bars do not cause acne: Does Eating…
Brian M. Hunt
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Is fever (temperature) below 106° F harmful?

Parents and pediatricians rush to treat low grade fever with acetaminophen and other powerful pain killers. Medical researchers refer to the over zealous treatment of non hazardous fever as fever phobia. In his book, How to Raise a Healthy Child in…
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During the disintegration of the Soviet Union, was there a surge of child allergies in Tajikistan because people hoarded soap?

The Hesitant U.S. Rescue of the Soviet Economy Wilson Quarterly (Fall 2016): By November 1990, Professor Graham Allison of Harvard University had become alarmed at the deterioration of the Soviet economy. Partial reforms had allowed cooperatives to…
Fizz
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Are 40% of the oceans' bacteria killed by viruses every day?

In the March 9, 2018 column of newspaper columnist Cecil Adams' column The Straight Dope, he speaks about the possible benefits of treating bacterial infections with bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, mentioning in passing their…
Robert Columbia
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Do disposable face masks prevent or significantly reduce the spread of disease?

Our local Pediatrician's office and General Practitioner's office both have a policy of giving a disposable face mask to each patient or visitor who has a noticeable cough or runny nose, and insist that it be worn before proceeding with…
Boris Nikolaevich
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Should a tick be removed by pulling (with tweezers)?

I have recently been bitten by a tick. Obviously I don't want to catch some disease (or infection). In my search for how to remove it, I discovered this page: Center for Disease Control and Prevention's How to Remove a Tick Use fine-tipped…
Coomie
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Does stopping antibiotics early increase risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreading?

A 2014 Discover Magazine article suggests that stopping a prescription of antibiotics earlier - when you feel healthy - may reduce the risk of antibiotic-reisstant bacteria spreading, rather than increasing it, as conventional wisdom would suggest…
siphiuel
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Do students on paediatrics rotations get sick a lot?

From http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=605542: 3rd years get sick on peds alot. Peds or EM during the winter months pretty much maximizes your odds of getting something. Do students on paediatrics rotations get sick a lot?
user5582
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Do cleaning agents in the gym stop the spread of disease?

My gym (like almost every other gym) has specific instructions that people must wipe down equipment after using it. This is in addition to the regular (daily) cleaning done by the staff. The gym provides a cleaning solution which is 3.95% hydrogen…
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