i saw this posted on another message board and thought it was intersting:

1. If your throat tickles, scratch your ear!
When you were 9, playing your armpit was a cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat, but you're more discriminating. Take that tickle in your throat; it's not worth gagging over. Here's a better way to scratch your itch: "When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm," says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose, and throat specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. "This spasm relieves the tickle."

2. Experience supersonic hearing!
If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.

3. Overcome your most primal urge!
Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so you won't feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. For best results, try Simpson's "These Boots Are Made for Walking" video.

4. Feel no pain!
German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon, the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.

5. Clear your stuffed nose!
Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and cheaper way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain.

6. Fight fire without water!
Worried those wings will repeat on you tonight? "Sleep on your left side," says Anthony A. Starpoli, M.D., a New York City gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College. Studies have shown that patients who sleep on their left sides are less likely to suffer from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. When you're on your left, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, so gravity's in your favor.

7. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!
Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.

8. Make burns disappear!
When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natual method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less likely to blister.

9. Stop the world from spinning!
One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance -- the cupula -- floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.

10. Unstitch your side!
If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

11. Stanch blood with a single finger!
Pinching your nose and leaning back is a great way to stop a nosebleed -- if you don't mind choking on your own O positive. A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums -- just behind that small dent below your nose -- and press against it, hard. "Most bleeds come from the front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose," says Peter Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in Durban, South Africa. "Pressing here helps stop them."

12. Make your heart stand still!
Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. It'll get your heart rate back to normal.

13. Thaw your brain!
Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. "Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too," says Abo. "In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache." The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.

14. Prevent near-sightedness!
Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma, Washington. "It's usually caused by near-point stress." In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles -- like the eyes – into relaxing as well.

15. Wake the dead!
If your hand falls asleep while you're driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It'll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don't let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.

16. Impress your friends!
Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will cave like the French. By misaligning his hips, you've offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body's ability to resist.

17. Breathe underwater!
If you're dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first -- essentially, hyperventilate. When you're underwater, it's not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it's the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin' ain't right. "When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity," says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. "This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen." It'll buy you up to 10 seconds.

18. Read minds!
Your own! "If you're giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep," says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.

3/16/2007 10:14:15 AM

there are other message boards?

3/16/2007 10:16:04 AM

I'm willing to bet most of these are complete bullshit. But I hope this one works:

Quote :

"9. Stop the world from spinning! One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance -- the cupula -- floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom."

3/16/2007 10:50:37 AM

^haha dude, you have never put your hand on a rail bc you were spinning? it doesn't help, haha.

also, the one about coughing during an injection.....doesn't that kind of seem like a bad idea, i mean i'm not really trying to move during that moment.

3/16/2007 10:56:46 AM

^so long as they aren't trying to find a vein I shouldn't really matter if you twitch a little

The one about hyperventilating before diving under water is true but can be very dangerous. For most people in most situations it would be fine. But in lowering the CO2 content in your blood so much, you can actually run out of oxygen before your body senses the need to breath and you can black out.


I could see the hearing one as being true too, prolly having something to do with the two sides of your brain performing different functions.

[Edited on March 16, 2007 at 11:12 AM. Reason : ]

3/16/2007 11:11:17 AM

I've done 17 before. Some of the others seem to work, but that might just be the placebo effect.

3/16/2007 11:12:14 AM

most of these seem pretty stupid

#18 is my method for studying though

i just look over stuff right before bed and think things out in my head before i pass out

seems to stick better that way

3/16/2007 11:18:42 AM

Quote :

"5. Clear your stuffed nose! Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and cheaper way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain. "

bet this works.... my g/f is going to be a D.O. and I have learned a bunch of good manipulation techniques for sinuses and other problems... shit is amazing.

3/16/2007 11:31:41 AM

someone try 16

3/16/2007 11:37:33 AM

LOL I wanna know if 16 works too These all sound interesting and some sound like they might work and others not so much.

3/16/2007 11:40:16 AM

Tried #16 - It sort-of works. I only had a 1-inch book, but there was a noticeable difference with from without it. Minor, but a bit more unstable.

3/16/2007 1:53:43 PM

I found #1 out all by myself when I was younger ..definitely works

3/16/2007 2:07:44 PM

Quote :

"9. Stop the world from spinning!"

totally and 100% correct

it works when i am windin down in bed, except i always have heard lie on your back and make your foot touch the ground

works though for sure

3/16/2007 2:10:35 PM

interesting.

3/16/2007 2:25:44 PM

Quote :

" i always have heard lie on your back and make your foot touch the ground"

always worked for me

3/16/2007 2:55:21 PM

no no joie...1 foot touching the ground

not 2 of your feet in the air over your shoulders.



silly.

[Edited on March 16, 2007 at 3:06 PM. Reason : zing]

3/16/2007 3:06:32 PM

#10 is close enough to true that every high school cross country team in the nation uses it.

3/16/2007 3:10:45 PM

2 is correct. Your right ear processes people sounds and your left ear processes environment sound. I have no hearing in my right ear, which is why I'll hear someone tapping on a desk over someone talking to me.

3/16/2007 3:15:50 PM

Quote :

"One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance -- the cupula -- floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.""

That shit never works for me.

I have a hand on the nightstand...foot on the floor at the same time. I still usually puke.

Then again, I've always been very very prone to motion sickness.

It's funny, I never have puked while drunk until I try to lie down...and there isn't a thing that helps me

3/16/2007 3:50:13 PM

I just tried #1 and it didn't work

3/16/2007 4:23:06 PM

Quote :

" 10. Unstitch your side! If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground."

cool

3/16/2007 4:32:46 PM

#12 works, but don't use it for betting on sports, it's not as fun if your heart isn't racing

3/16/2007 9:43:00 PM

Quote :

"16. Impress your friends! Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will cave like the French. By misaligning his hips, you've offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body's ability to resist."

i don't think that would work on me...since my spine is one solid piece of titanium.

3/16/2007 10:56:10 PM

i tried #5 the last time i was sick--didn't do jackshit...sudafed (the real stuff) ftw

[Edited on March 17, 2007 at 5:10 PM. Reason : damn...i gotta stop spending so much time in chitchat]

3/17/2007 5:04:01 PM

I tried number three and it worked. But I jizzed on myself in the process.

3/17/2007 5:10:43 PM

one thing i read about when i was a kid umm I think in 321 contact magazine but if you're about to sneeze and for whatever reason you'd rather not at the moment then bite your upper lip. Something about the sensations to sneeze and the pain travel along the same nerves and when you bite your upper lip the sensation to sneeze lessons. Ive used it for years and it works.

3/18/2007 10:32:51 AM

Quote :

"This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground."

I wish they told us this kind of shit in public school.

3/20/2007 12:00:41 PM

Great timing...

I was reading this at work, dying from a toothache (just had a root canal done). I got some ice, slapped it on that spot and BAM...pain subsiding. Awesome

7. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!
Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.

3/20/2007 12:42:13 PM

Quote :

"4. Feel no pain! German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon, the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord."

For some reason I imagine that if you do this then your body will jar from the cough, which will make the needle move around.

3/20/2007 1:12:23 PM

It doesnt say violent cough. My entire body doesnt jar when i cough normally. Should work fine if the needle is going in an extremity.

3/20/2007 1:29:18 PM

I guess my bias is coming from my 4th cold this season - been coughing like mad for two days now.

3/20/2007 1:35:48 PM

Quote :

"10. Unstitch your side! If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground."

Um, the "side-stitch" occurs due to the buildup of lactate which is the by-product of ATP being hydrolysed during anaerobic exercise. Unless we are talking about two different things here.

3/21/2007 8:53:09 AM

Quote :

"17. Breathe underwater! If you're dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first -- essentially, hyperventilate. When you're underwater, it's not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it's the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin' ain't right. "When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity," says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. "This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen." It'll buy you up to 10 seconds."

This is very dangerous and nobody should ever try it. When your CO2 warning is gone, you feel fine up until you pass out.

3/21/2007 2:30:44 PM

danger is my middle name.

3/21/2007 3:02:57 PM

#11 works for nosebleeds (the part about putting some cotton in your upper gums)

my grandma taught me that trick

3/21/2007 4:15:01 PM