Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 101 posts

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#31

Post by gumby »

Folk history judges people by the quality of their skin (to the dismay of adolescents in particular). You see it in hollywood and in literature: the hero has clear skin while the villain is surprisingly often described as being disfigured. This could stem from a long practice of disease avoidance before modern medicine, even when no disease is relevant (a birthmark, recovered from smallpox, etc).

Years ago I worked in dermatology (pharma side) and I started out thinking that apart from skin cancers it was just about vanity. Wow, I could not have been more wrong! The point I started this comment with was pointed out to me. And because of that phenomenon, people with skin issues often do restrict their social activities because of it. In some extreme cases (say, fungal infections that you can't even catch from other people) they even become shut ins. Terrible.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#32

Post by mayormcmatt »

vosper wrote: post #22
meristohm wrote: post #6

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

Did you consider a hot-then-cold shower? After listening to a Huberman Lab episode on deliberate cold exposure I've started doing 2-3 minutes of cold at the end of my hot shower. Obviously it doesn't save on energy, but I definitely get the "wide awake" feeling you describe. And I get to enjoy a nice hot shower, too :) Here's a write-up on deliberate cold exposure by Dr Huberman for anyone interested: https://huberma…

This sounds like a helpful way to ease into the practice and I'll give it a go in my next several showers, certainly. Thanks!

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#33

Post by xyzzy4747 »

What about this? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/

>Results: Women with active sun exposure habits were mainly at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and noncancer/non-CVD death as compared to those who avoided sun exposure. As a result of their increased survival, the relative contribution of cancer death increased in these women. Nonsmokers who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy similar to smokers in the highest sun exposure group, indicating that avoidance of sun exposure is a risk factor for death of a similar magnitude as smoking. Compared to the highest sun exposure group, life expectancy of avoiders of sun exposure was reduced by 0.6-2.1 years.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#34

Post by gochi »

vosper wrote: post #22
meristohm wrote: post #6

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

Did you consider a hot-then-cold shower? After listening to a Huberman Lab episode on deliberate cold exposure I've started doing 2-3 minutes of cold at the end of my hot shower. Obviously it doesn't save on energy, but I definitely get the "wide awake" feeling you describe. And I get to enjoy a nice hot shower, too :) Here's a write-up on deliberate cold exposure by Dr Huberman for anyone interested: https://huberma…

Been doing this for years now. Thought it's what everyone did until I found out some people actually spend a lot of money to buy a container specifically to throw themselves into after filling it with cold water.

I prefer the gradual method, pushing the dial colder and colder as opposed to a quick instant cold shower. Still provides the benefits, but I can challenge myself on the days I want to by pushing just a bit colder.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#35

Post by linsomniac »

My wife said one of the most valuable things she learned in nursing school is: I keep a picture of a healthy patient in my head, and when I look at a new patient I zero in on how they look different from a healthy patient.

I've often thought about that and used similar mechanisms in my tech work.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#36

Post by landemva »

manmal wrote: post #24

I’ve been applying DIY 20% ascorbic acid solution on my face for a few weeks, and am seeing some benefits already. Photoaging and spots seem to revert a bit, and there is definitely some lightening (as expected [1]). According to some Reddit posts, it takes a few months until the improved collagen synthesis becomes noticeable. Vitamin C serums are quite expensive because ascorbic acid oxidizes quickly, and other form…

Interesting, though why would a person want to do this skin depigmentation? Is it like people dying their hair color?

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#37

Post by hereforthecake2 »

linsomniac wrote: post #35

My wife said one of the most valuable things she learned in nursing school is: I keep a picture of a healthy patient in my head, and when I look at a new patient I zero in on how they look different from a healthy patient. I've often thought about that and used similar mechanisms in my tech work.

> I've often thought about that and used similar mechanisms in my tech work.

This made me laugh because I can't for the life of me figure out what this means. Can you elaborate? Sounds interesting.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#38

Post by pessimizer »

gumby wrote: post #31

Folk history judges people by the quality of their skin (to the dismay of adolescents in particular). You see it in hollywood and in literature: the hero has clear skin while the villain is surprisingly often described as being disfigured. This could stem from a long practice of disease avoidance before modern medicine, even when no disease is relevant (a birthmark, recovered from smallpox, etc). Years ago I worked i…

https://www.skinema.com/

> "Beauty equals good" is an age-old trope in entertainment, points out Doris Bazzini, a professor of social psychology at Appalachian State University. In a 1999 study she co-authored, a panel watched 20 of the top-grossing movies in each decade from 1940 to 1989, rating characters by attractiveness and other traits. They found that the stereotype held true across all decades and genres. She discovered the same thing in a 2010 study on human characters in 21 Disney animated movies.

> "Attractive characters displayed higher intelligence, lower aggressiveness and greater moral virtue," the study said. Even animal characters show similar patterns, Bazzini points out: The villain in "The Lion King" is literally named Scar and has one across his eye. "Evil as plain as the scar on his face," says one song in "The Lion King II."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/why-does-hollyw...

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#39

Post by [deleted] »

gochi wrote: post #34
vosper wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you consider a hot-then-cold shower? After listening to a Huberman Lab episode on deliberate cold exposure I've started doing 2-3 minutes of cold at the end of my hot shower. Obviously it doesn't save on energy, but I definitely get the "wide awake" feeling you describe. And I get to enjoy a nice hot shower, too :) Here's a write-up on deliberate cold exposure by Dr Huberman for anyone interested: https://huberma…

Been doing this for years now. Thought it's what everyone did until I found out some people actually spend a lot of money to buy a container specifically to throw themselves into after filling it with cold water. I prefer the gradual method, pushing the dial colder and colder as opposed to a quick instant cold shower. Still provides the benefits, but I can challenge myself on the days I want to by pushing just a bit…

[deleted]

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#40

Post by Izkata »

hereforthecake2 wrote: post #37
linsomniac wrote: post #35

My wife said one of the most valuable things she learned in nursing school is: I keep a picture of a healthy patient in my head, and when I look at a new patient I zero in on how they look different from a healthy patient. I've often thought about that and used similar mechanisms in my tech work.

> I've often thought about that and used similar mechanisms in my tech work. This made me laugh because I can't for the life of me figure out what this means. Can you elaborate? Sounds interesting.

Have an idea of what should happen, compare it to what actually happens.

Even if it's not the thing you're actively working on, something being out of place tends to stick out as wrong and will help you notice problems earlier. An example from pairing with someone at work recently: "Wait a minute, that ran way too fast, there's no way it actually succeeded" - indeed, it had failed in a way the system couldn't detect.

I kinda thought everyone does this at at least a basic level. How else would you realize your code has the wrong output?

Post reply on HN