www.womanthismonth.com March 2019 37 LIFESTYLE | wellbeing SOCIAL MEDIA = DEPRESSION AND LONELINESS New research reveals how social media platforms like Facebook can greatly affect your mental health. Studies have linked the use of social media to depression, anxiety, poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem, inattention, and hyperactivity — often in teens and adolescents. A new study concludes that there is, in fact, a causal link between the use of social media and negative effects on well-being, primarily depression and loneliness. The study was published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. What researchers found overall is that if you use less social media, you are actually less depressed and less lonely, meaning that the decreased social media use is what causes that qualitative shift in your well-being. The bottom line remains that social media use can harm your mental health, especially when it’s used more frequently. Setting limits and sticking to them can help minimise these effects. www.healthline.com COSMETIC PROCEDURES FOR THE COMMITMENT-SHY If you’re interested in giving your ‘selfie nose’ a try but are leery of going under the knife for a permanent change, don’t despair. One of the most exciting plastic surgery developments in recent years has been the nonsurgical rhinoplasty. It uses temporary fillers to reshape the nose with transformative results. While it’s not without its risks (if done inexpertly, it can result in blindness or damage) and not all people are ideal candidates, this minimally invasive method in the hands of qualified professionals provides instant results, almost no downtime, and is temporary. www.healthline.com SNEEZE IT OUT Pinching your nose while clamping your mouth shut to contain a forceful sneeze isn't a good idea. One young man managed to rupture the back of his throat by doing this, leaving him barely able to speak or swallow, and in considerable pain. When the doctors examined him, they heard popping and crackling sounds (crepitus), which extended from his neck all the way down to his ribcage - a sure sign that air bubbles had found their way into the deep tissue and muscles of the chest. Halting sneezing via blocking the nostrils and mouth may lead to numerous complications, such as pseudomediastinum (air trapped in the chest between both lungs), perforation of the eardrum, and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm (ballooning blood vessel in the brain). www.sciencedaily.com CANCER CURE? Researchers have concluded the global clinical trial of a new type of cancer drug that can penetrate tumour cells and attack them from within. The new drug is called Tisotumab Vedotin (TV) and the clinical trial was led by a team from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. A ‘Trojan Horse’ approach was employed in advanced, drug-resistant cancers and showed promising results in a small percentage of them. The findings saw the tumours either shrink or stop growing in 27 per cent of patients with bladder cancer, 26.5 per cent of patients with cervical cancer, 14 per cent of ovarian cancer sufferers, 13 per cent of those with oesophageal cancer, 13 per cent of patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and seven per cent of those with endometrial cancer. This might be the start of a novel arsenal against these types of diseases. The team is already looking at the next steps. www.iflscience.com TOO SWEET TO BE TRUE Artificially sweetened soft drinks may raise the risk of heart disease and death in postmenopausal women. A study that followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for over 10 years has linked a higher consumption of diet drinks to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease and death. Researchers revealed that a high intake of diet drinks among postmenopausal women with no history of heart disease or diabetes was linked to a more than twofold increase in the risk of strokes arising from blockages in small arteries in the brain. Postmenopausal women with obesity who drank two or more diet drinks each day also had twice the risk of stroke than those who drank fewer than one per week. www.medicalnewstoday.com
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