When it comes to keeping your home clean, people do not leave any stone unturned. Our parents would often nag us to clean our rooms and keep the house clean. While it would annoy us to no end, growing up we understood why they encouraged us to keep the place we live in clean. It's not just about making it look good, but also about protecting it from harmful bacteria and germs.

While your home may be your personal space, it can quickly become a breeding ground for germs. You are also more likely to fall sick due to an unhygienic space as you spend a lot of time at home, including resting and sleeping.

However, while you may clean your floors, your closet and the washroom frequently, there are many unsuspecting items that are not cleaned as often, sometimes not at all. These items are mostly used daily, and do not need to be cleaned daily. As insignificant these may seem, periodically cleaning them is necessary to stop them from becoming breeding grounds for health issues.

Unlikely Things That Get Neglected Being Cleaned

Sponges and Dish Cloths

Before tackling dishes or counters, remember your sponge and cloth can be very unclean. They collect food scraps and messes, creating a damp home for harmful bacteria that soap alone won't eliminate. A study published in the American Society of Microbiology revealed that 49% of kitchen towels have bad bacteria. Boiling your kitchen towels may be a good practice to keep hygiene otherwise you replace them periodically.

Carpets and Rugs

Consider everything tracked onto your floors – dirt, mud, and even tiny waste particles. According to research done by Philip Tierno Jr., Ph.D., a microbiologist and immunologist, carpets are 4000 times dirtier than your toilet seats. Shed skin feeds these germs, and rugs trap allergens and pet dander. Regular vacuuming isn't sufficient; the aim for professional deep cleaning annually to remove hidden contaminants.

Cutting Boards

Your cutting board, used for various foods like veggies and raw meat, can easily spread harmful bacteria if not properly cleaned. According to the North Carolina State University, plastic boards can develop germ-trapping grooves, while wood is harder to sanitize. Using separate boards for different food types and thorough washing after each use are crucial for preventing foodborne illness.

Toothbrush Holders

You diligently brush your teeth, but the storage of your toothbrush matters. Damp toothbrush holders, especially in steamy bathrooms, become ideal breeding grounds for various germs. These accumulate, and touching the holder can transfer thousands of microorganisms. Weekly washing with soap or dishwasher cleaning can help maintain a cleaner storage environment.

Coffee Makers

While you likely wash your mug daily, neglecting your coffee maker can lead to more than just a caffeine boost. Single-serve machines have water tanks where bacteria, mold, and yeast can thrive. Experts advise emptying and drying the tank after each use and descaling the machine regularly to prevent unwanted microbial growth.

Tech Gadgets

Think of the many hands touching your remote, the crumbs in your keyboard, and the constant handling of your phone. These shared devices can be surprisingly unclean, with keyboards harboring significant bacteria. Regular wiping with disinfectant and frequent handwashing are essential to minimize germ transfer from these commonly used items.

Pillows

Prepare yourself; your pillows can be a haven for dust mites, dead skin cells, and bodily fluids over time. Experts liken them to damp sponges that absorb various substances, creating a thriving environment for these unwanted guests. Regular washing every six months, annual replacement, and dust mite covers are recommended for cleaner sleep.

Diabetes is a chronic and unfortunately a very common issue that people experience all over the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the number of people living with diabetes increased from 200 million in 1990 to 830 million in 2022. More than half of the people who have diabetes do not have access to medication.

While many people do not take this condition seriously it can cause kidney failures, heart attacks, stroke and even limb amputations. While some common symptoms of diabetes include feeling thirsty, urinating more often, blurred vision, unintentional weight loss, Diabetes UK, a charitable trust, says that there is another common sign of diabetes: sleep troubles.

How Diabetes Messes with Your Sleep

According to Diabetes UK, diabetes can really make it hard to sleep. When your blood sugar levels go up and down, it can "disrupt" your sleep. Also, other problems caused by diabetes can make you feel pain that keeps you awake.

Getting enough quality sleep is important for good health and wellbeing, but sleep problems can be common for people living with diabetes, and getting a good night’s rest can be easier said than done. Changes in your blood sugar levels can play their part in disrupting sleep, and diabetes complications such as neuropathy (nerve damage) and foot pain can also make it hard to sleep.

Blood Sugar and Its Influence On Sleep

If your blood sugar gets too low or too high, it can cause issues with sleep. The charity explains that low blood sugar, which is called hypos, can happen at night for people with type 1 diabetes and make their sleep worse. This may also be an issue for people with other types of diabetes who need to take medicine to lower their blood sugar. The experts explain that the medication might also have high and low blood sugar levels during the night. The experts also said that having low blood sugar at night can make you feel sleepy during the day. And if you often have low blood sugar at night, your sleep can become "irregular."

High blood sugar can also keep you awake. Diabetes UK says: “When your blood sugar is high, you might need to go to the toilet more often, which can wake you up. High blood sugar can also make you feel very thirsty and give you a headache, which can make it harder to fall back asleep.”

Lack Of Sleep Can Make Diabetes Worse

What makes this symptom concerning is that studies show that if you have trouble sleeping, it might even make it more likely that you will get type 2 diabetes. A study from 2022 led by the University of Bristol found that people who had problems falling asleep or staying asleep had higher blood sugar levels than people who usually slept well.

The study explained that the amount of blood sugar that gets lowered after proper treatment for insomnia is almost the same as the blood sugar loss of an average height who loses 14 kgs. This means around 27,300 UK adults, aged between 40 and 70 years old, with frequent insomnia symptoms would be free from having diabetes if their insomnia was treated. To help one sleep better, here are some tips according to Diabetes UK.

• Try to be more active during the day.
• Try to sleep on a comfy bed with comfy pillows and blankets.
• Try to relax for at least an hour before you go to bed.
• Avoid drinking alcohol before bed because it can mess up your body's sleep clock.
• Turn off bright lights and screens like TVs and phones before bed because they can also confuse your body about when to sleep.
• Make your bedroom cooler by turning down the heat or using a fan.
• Don't spend too much time on social media before bed.

Asthma, also called bronchial asthma, is a condition that affects your lungs. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as a chronic health condition involving muscle tightening and inflammation around the air passageways. Since it is a chronic condition, asthma does not go away with time and needs ongoing medical management. Symptoms can include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. These symptoms can be mild or severe and can come and go over time.

Dr Sandeep Nair, Principal Director and HOD - Chest and Respiratory Diseases at BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, said that despite being a common disease, it is still misdiagnosed worldwide. He underscored that there is both over and underdiagnosis of asthma. Overdiagnosis leads to unnecessary treatment and a delay in diagnosing the patient's actual disease. On the other hand, not being able to diagnose asthma may result in the progression of the disease and difficult to treat.

Asthma Can Go Undetected For Years

According to Dr. Nair, one may continue to have symptoms and go undiagnosed for years together as they take symptomatic treatment and don't bother to get it fully investigated. Routine investigations like chest X-ray and another blood test may be normal, giving a false sense of well-being. To diagnose asthma, one needs to get a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT), which may not be easily available, especially in remote rural areas and is often difficult to interpret. Bronchoconstriction with reversibility on Pulmonary Function Testing is a hallmark to diagnose asthma. PFT is a very underutilised investigation as it is either not advised by a doctor or patients themselves avoid getting it. Another problem in diagnosing asthma is that asthmatics do not have continuous symptoms, as the airway constriction occurs intermittently. So patient may not have any signs or symptoms during routine physical examination. Careful history and thorough investigation help in clinching the diagnosis," he said.

Another problem in diagnosis is the acceptability of the disease by the patient, and hence, he may be labelled as bronchitis or by some other name. The patient will take treatment for some time and leave it once they feel better, and will also not get further investigated.

Many patients may consult quacks who would control their symptoms by giving them medicines on their own, which may contain steroids. Patients feel better and continue to take steroid-containing medication from them without consulting a specialist. Unfortunately, these patients become resistant and dependent on steroids and then fail to control their asthma symptoms over a period of time. These patients then visit a specialist to realise that they were suffering from asthma and were being administered steroids for the past many months or even years.

Asthmatics Can Live For Years Without Getting Diagnosed

Dr. Nair concluded that asthmatics may live for years together without getting it diagnosed. Some of them may be lucky to have mild or seasonal symptoms, which would be controlled by getting treatment from local doctors. But on the other hand, some patients may not be lucky enough and may be either taking self-medication or consulting quacks who would have put them on steroids to control their symptoms. Hence, it is advised to consult a specialist whenever you have a symptom of cough or wheezing or chest tightness or breathlessness.

Maitlyn Walrich or Mae, who goes by @satangjuseyo on her Instagram with 57.6K followers, is a content creator and an artist with her releases on several music and streaming platforms, based in the US shared a story of how she was misdiagnosed when she noticed something was off with her period.

The video is titled "Weird Stuff", and the text on it reads "We're Still Learning About Female Anatomy". The video was shared on April 9, and has garnered over 169,700 views. She shares that six years ago, she thought her uterus fell out. She shares that she had been bleeding for 14 days, however, she noticed that there was a chunk of blood in her trousers. "I thought my uterus fell out"

Thinking that it is her uterus that fell out, she collected the blood chunk, put it in the Tupperware and refrigerated it.

When she went to see a doctor, the doctor had no idea about what actually happened with her. It was over the course of 6 years that she was finally told that it was decidual cast, which means that your entire period comes out all at once.

In her video, she also touches about the fact that there have been many times when doctors are unaware or dismiss patients' concerns. In fact, when she shared with another doctor about the excruciating pain she felt, the doctor told her to just take a hot bath. She also pointed out that every since she had issues with her period, she has learned so much about female anatomy, including that the uterus do not look like what we are taught in the diagrams.

What Is Decidual Cast?

As per Cleveland Clinic, a decidual cast is when the lining of your uterus or the endometrium sheds in one piece. This lining usually comes out of your vagina and gradually during your menstrual period.

However, with a decidual cast, the entire lining of your uterus sheds in one piece at one time. It often takes shape of your uterus, like an upside down pear or an upside down triangle. This is why Mae initially thought that it was her uterus that fell off.

What Happens In Such Cases?

Over the course of your cycle, your endometrium, which is the lining of your uterus, thickens up. This happens because your body is preparing your uterus for a potential pregnancy. If you do not get pregnant in that cycle, you get your period. This now thick lining sheds over several days. However, with decidual cast, the thick lining is expelled from your uterus in one large piece of tissue instead of happening gradually.

While decidual casts are rare, it is not always a sign of a serious problem or a medical emergency. It is most common in pregnancy women who experience ectopic pregnancy, which occurs outside your uterus.

It can also happen in people who are not pregnant, usually due to progesterone contraceptives.

What Are The Symptoms?

• Severe menstrual cramps
• Pelvic pain
• Vaginal bleeding or spotting
• Nausea
• Feeling dizzy or like you may faint

A decidual cast could be as big as the size of your palm, however it could be of the size of a walnut too. The size varies on person. While decidual cast usually comes out in one big piece, it could also come in pieces.