Why Aren't These Places Healthy?

Hospitals aren't always places to get healthy. A 2002-2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine was based on 2,341 patients in 10 North Carolina hospitals. The study found 18% of patients were injured by medical care and 63.1% of those injuries were preventable. Most of the injuries were temporary and treatable; but 42.7% required extra hospitalization, 2.9% resulted in permanent injury, 8% were life-threatening and 2.4% caused or contributed to death. This study focused on North Carolina hospitals because they have been more involved in patient safety, but their statistics are nothing "to die for".

Beds can be dangerous too – if you snore. Although snoring is a sign of sleep apnea, snoring itself is unhealthy. Studies published in the journal Sleep found that loud, habitual snorers are 3 times more likely to have "metabolic syndrome" – a group of abnormalities including high blood pressure, decreased HDL, increased triglycerides and increased abdominal obesity – all of which increase risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Also, loud snorers are 10 times more likely to have plaque buildup in carotid arteries causing stroke. Considering 45% of men and 30% of women are habitual snorers, this information shouldn't be "slept off".

Tanning beds are definitely dangerous. In 2007 the International Cancer Research Agency declared that radiation from artificial light is cancer-causing. Nevertheless, almost one-third of women ages 18-24 went to tanning booths in the last 12 months. That's according to data from 2,800 Caucasian people ages 18-64 that was analyzed by researchers at the University of Minnesota. However, usage went down as the women's ages went up. In spite of the fact 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer, the tanning industry is a $2.6 billion business and growing. Obviously, they have made their "bed", but we don't have to lie in it.

And then there are bed bugs. In 2010 the top 5 cities to avoid because of bed bugs were Cincinnati, Columbus, Chicago, Denver and Detroit. That was according to Orkin LLC, one of the biggest pest exterminators in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attribute the increased outbreaks to increased resistance to available pesticides, increased travel and lack of knowledge. Because getting rid of them is difficult, an exterminator should be called as soon as the bugs are seen or their bites felt. Bed bugs are everywhere. Even President Clinton's Manhattan office was "bugged".