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The personal hygiene thread — Page 2

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I've known those who brush after lunch, but they're few and far between. I tried to get into the habit twice in my life, but failed both times. Once when I was in braces. That lasted a good long while as all the other middle-schoolers were told by their orthodontist to do it and the teachers were patient with the extra restroom time it took. Later in adulthood, but that only lasted a few weeks.

Americans are just funky that way. We'll spend thousands of dollars on dental care for the whitest, brightest, straightest smiles on the planet, and then not brush properly. We figure we can just cap, fill, and bleach our way back every time.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Originally posted by: Obi Jeewhyen
Althought frankly, if someone is going to go down on me ... I can think of nothing ruder than to refuse to kiss them on the grounds that their exposure to my nethergerms is ok, but my own exposure to it is verboten.


Amen, brother.

Pink Floyd -- First in Space

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This is the kind of discussion I can really get into. I am really weird about personal hygiene, and it baffles me at time how many people think it is weird. I brush my teeth at least two times a day. I find it interesting how many American's seem not to brush their teeth very often. I live in America, and I really haven't come across too many (in my line of work) who have nasty teeth and a reeking bad breath, but I have come across them at other places. I think people higher up on the social latter would be more likely to shower everyday and brush between meals.

One of the biggest things that bothers me in America is the lack of the bidet. It seems so much more advanced, so civilized. Here, I feel slightly more advanced than the ape as I wipe with little pieces of paper.
That is one of the things I love about America, everybody claims to be so very advanced, the greatest nation in the world and all that. Yet, they still pick poop out of their behinds with their own hands. No meaning to bash Americans, I live here, I do it too. But I find it interesting how they refuse to adopt the bidet. It costs a ton of money to have one installed if you live here, that is if you have a bathroom with enough room for one in the first place. The bidet is great, you just sit down, turn on the water, stand up, dry off and you walk out. Great stuff, saves a lot of time. Using toilet paper seems very little different than if you were to take a shower by rubbing paper towels all over your body. But I guess that is just me.

And finally, my take on the hand washing issue. I myself not only find it odd to not wash your hands after, but also find it a little sick to not wash your hands before. Think of all the nasty things you have been touching before touch your penis? Kind sick I think. I always wash before and after. Also about the door handle thing, I actually take an extra bit of paper towel and use that to open the door. Now since a lot of places are trying to save money they no longer have paper towel, only electric hand dryers. I feel totally defeated when I get ready to leave a restroom with an inward swinging door, and no paper towel. Fortunately, this is a very rare combination.

And for the guy who said he never brushes his teeth because nobody ever tells him he has bad breath or food in this teeth. I have talked to plenty of people who have had very bad breath, and I have never once said anything. If you were to say to somebody that they have bad breath, in many cultures, America included, it would be considered very rude to say anything to them about it. Perhaps you would fit into society better if you are more presentable and pleasant to talk to. That said, I never comb my hair.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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I never say anything if that person has bad breath, unless it's someone VERY close to me. Belive me if you have bad breath people won't tell you, they'll just move away from you.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Interstingly, the rise in chronic halitosis (bad breath) has less to do with personal hygene and more to do with a certain medical trend: specifically the removal of the tonsils. As recently as the Baby Boomer generation, doctors were yanking tonsils out right and left at the slightest inflammation. With the rise of hi-powered antibiotics that have made such surgery largely unnecessary, more people still have their tonsils. Thing is, behind the tonsils is a breeding ground for actinomyces, that white, solid, pus-looking crud everybody hacks up from time to time. It's perfectly safe, but it stinks to high-hell. For persons with small tonsils and large cavities (known as "crypts") behind them, this decrepid matter "colonizes" in a manner that causes chronic halitosis that, often times, is unknown to the actual person.

Solutions in dealing with it:
1) Having your tonsils removed.
2) Keeping the crypts cleaned out regularly with a water pick, a sterile swab, etc.
3) Regimens of antibiotics such as Clindamycin as necessary.

Department of Otolaryngology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Although actinomyces has been identified in between 1.77% and 37% of resected tonsils its possible role in recurrent acute tonsillitis has received little attention. A histological and bacteriological study of 129 pairs of tonsils from patients with recurrent acute tonsillitis showed actinomyces to be present in 29.5%. The organism, however, was also present in 40% of tonsils from 10 patients with no history of tonsillar disease. In neither of these groups was there any specific evidence of tissue reaction to actinomyces nor was there a male preponderance as in clinical actinomycosis. The presence of actinomyces in the tonsil was not favoured by the concurrence of beta-lactamase producing bacteria. These data indicate that actinomyces does not have a causal role in recurrent acute tonsillitis.

PMID: 8877183 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


This concludes my "way more information than you ever knew existed" entry of the month.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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FYI, I just had my tonsils out yesterday. I'm kinda thankful this thread came up, as it lit a fire under my ass to get this taken care of once and for all. Now I'm high as a kite on painkillers.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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I don't know why I never replied to your initial post, because I had no idea that the tonsils were responsible for that. I've always felt pretty fortunate that I still have my tonsils, because I prefer to keep my body as intact as possible, and I don't really like the idea of someone going down my throat and slicing (or laser blasting) parts of my body out. While I'd still prefer to not have surgery, you did give me something to think about.

So did you just get yours removed solely on the basis of that article, or did you have a serious inflammation necessitating or encouraging their removal?

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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ADM,

Your post of November 9th got me moving on this. I found the little buggers described on Wikipedia as tonsilloliths.

A couple years ago I discovered my problem and mentioned in to a physician who knew what I was talking about. She gave me a plastic curette to deal with the problem and did mention a surgery for closing up the crypts in extreme cases, but said nothing of tonsil removal.

The curette solution is difficult, imperfect, and mildly painful. During my search after reading your post, I decided to try a waterpik to help the situation. Well, now my teeth are more clean than ever, but it's not easy to use this thing for the tonsillolith problem. All that water to the back of my mouth causes me to gag more easily than the curette does. And I can't look in the mirror when I rinse because the water would end up all over the mirror. So I keep my head down over the sink and guess if I'm hitting the crypts with the spray. Maybe it's improving the situation, but I think I could eventually do better.

If the tonsilloliths were the reason for the removal of your tonsils, was this covered by your health insurance?

Pink Floyd -- First in Space

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Waterpik resulted in immediate regrowth within two days. Gargle antibiotics were worthless. Internal antibiotics were effective for about three months before another regimen became necessary (and that's not good for MANY reasons, the least of which is the problem at hand). With the constant food trappings, colonies, and frequent sore throats, it became a chronic condition that went beyond mere halitosis. Thus insurance was willing to pick up 80% of it.

Plus, now maybe my wife will stop bitching about the stank.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Let me go on record though right now by saying this hurts like a motherfucker.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Originally posted by: starkiller

I have pretty good teeth. Despite the fact that, as much as I hate to admit it, once per week is probably the most accurate count, I have no cavities, no extraneous issues of any kind beyond having my wisdom teeth removed.
My teeth seem able to handle anything I throw at them.



I am going to take the leap to guess that your not to popular with the ladies.

HARMY RULES

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Seriously, guys, don't do this. I feel like Bond after the carpetbeater torture right now.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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I have 3 friends who had them removed. And oh my god were they bitching!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of them didn't eat for almost 2 weeks.
Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
Hyde: Fezzy, man, it's Star Wars.
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About the bidet, when reading this thread it appears in Europe we all have one. That is not the case. A bidet here is just as rare as it is in the US. Only once have I seen one. I know no one who has one.
Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
Hyde: Fezzy, man, it's Star Wars.
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I didn't mean to say all of Europe has them, where I am from, they were fairly common. I was generalizing that in America they are unheard of, and that they are a more European thing. One interesting thing was you knew what it was, while I would go as far as to bet the majority of Americans wouldn't have a clue.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
Seriously, guys, don't do this. I feel like Bond after the carpetbeater torture right now.

Now that a month has passed, can you give us an update? Those of us (meaning "me") with tonsilolith issues would like to know if the problem has been solved. Thanks.

Pink Floyd -- First in Space

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I'm well now. Swallowing feels different and it still pulls when I yawn, but otherwise I'm 100%. Looking back, the only thing I wish that had been done differently was somebody (like, ya know, my frappin' DOCTOR) letting me know in advance just how bad the pain would be. He said I'd have a really bad sore throat. I've had really bad sore throats before so I wasn't really prepared. What he should have said was "It will feel like you have been shot in the throat" as that is the best analogy I could think of.

Knowing a thing going into it can help you prepare for it. The procedure was definitely necessary, as in my post-op the doctor noted how bad my tonsils actually were when he got them out. In his words, they were "very enlarged and particularly nasty." I probably should've gotten them out about six years ago when the problem started getting out of hand.

That said, here's what to expect if you go through the procedure:

* Don't underestimate the pain.

* Percocet (Oxycodone) is the doctors' pain reliever of choice, but those really screwed with my mind. Plus, they're loaded with acetaminophen, so you can only take so much without damaging your liver. I wish they would have prescribed oxycontin instead so I could have just been doped up on a 12-hour opiate instead of a 4-hour one. Because I had problems, they switched me to Tylenol 3. Great, more acetaminophen and less opiates. They were about as effective as M&M's, hence all my bitching. T3s did keep me calmer than the Percs, but the pain itself was pretty damned bad on them.

* Invest in a good blender that will puree anything. You'll be blending all your meals, even soup, for about 2 weeks. I lost only about five pounds, whereas the norm is 10-20. Because I blended meals and kept eating throughout all the pain, I did keep my energy from totally bombing out. I was able early on to eat scrambled eggs mixed with very soupy grits, and this was VERY good for boosting my energy in the day. Say goodbye to cereals and toast for at least two weeks. Say goodbye to crispy stuff like tortillas and baguettes for a good month.

* Contrary to popular belief, stay away from ice cream and dairy. In the beginning, I was living on Ensure and yogurt for the nutrient value. Unfortunately, dairy causes your phegm to overproduce. I had to quit dairy cold turkey around day 4, and then reintroduced about 1/2 can of an Ensure in the morning around day 8 to get some quick nutrients into my system, but that was it. If you can handle cold foods, try popsicles and chocolate sorbet. The latter is like ice cream without any of the dairy. Jello is also very easy to eat or drink and coats the stomach prior to a dosage of pain meds.

* Push fluids like there's no tomorrow. I couldn't stand the taste of just about anything, including Gatorade, which I forced down routinely to keep my electrolytes in balance. Because I couldn't stand hot or cold very well, I mostly drank lukewarm water, about 16 oz. per hour all day. I kept a large sports bottle full of it while I sat around watching movies in my drug-induced haze.

* Don't spit, swallow. In addition to being great advice for your wife/girlfriend, it's important advice for recovering. When my phlegm was in overdrive, I got into the habit of spitting constantly, because it didn't like swallowing did. Unfortunately, this will not retrain your throat, it will cause you to dehydrate, and it will also stink up your entire living area.

* You'll be sleep deprived. Most of the time I couldn't sleep because of the pain. When I did get to sleep, I would awake within an hour soaked in some foul drool that tasted and smelled like bile. I burned through 2-3 pajama tops a night before realizing I could get decent rest by sleeping upright with a towel wrapped around my neck and torso to catch this mess.

* Plan to be off work two weeks, not just one. You'll be sleep deprived, foul-breathed, and generally miserable, so there is no purpose in bringing that into the workplace or any other public place for that matter.

* Communicate this to everybody who you live with. It is major surgery and you'll be an invalid for two weeks (longer if you're over 40). People need to understand that and help you through it. You shouldn't be driving, lifting, exercising, doing chores, watching the kids, working, going out, or anything like until the scabs slough off your throat. Then you'll suddenly be just fine. Some healing continues afterwards, but you'll largely be able to resume normal life when the scabs come off, which kinda happens in waves. Oh, and the smell gets worse when that happens. Then it goes away. No amount of oral hygiene will change that.

Expect all this going into it, and your surprises will be few. I only wish somebody had set these expectations for me going in.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Holy crap ADigitalMan, that sounds like fun! I think I will have mine out tomorrow. I would have never expected that much from what seems like a really common surgery.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Damn, Adigitalman, that sounds liked it sucked royally. I'm just curious how old you are, not relevent but I was curious. I hope I never have to have that done, I didn't even know anyone over the age of 18 got that done at all.

I have to have some Carpel Tunnell surgury within the next year or so on both wrists, anyone here had that? If so, how bad was it? I'm a chronic guitar player, internet super surfer, and Xbox 360 fanatic (all of which contributed to my problem I'm sure) but how much will this effect all of my hobbies in the long term. I know at first it'll be bad, but what about in a month, six months, year?