Here’s Something You Can Add to Your List of Fears

A woman in California was poisoned through her eyeball after her husband smashed a black widow spider and a chunk of its venom-soaked body hit her in the face. Within minutes, her left eye ballooned shut. Then came the nausea, followed by full-body cramps. Her arms, legs, and even her neck started to spasm. Doctors eventually traced it back to one absurd cause: venom from the spider had soaked into her eye’s thin membrane and entered her bloodstream. No bite — just splash damage. The 37-year-old woman had been cleaning out a shed with her husband when they spotted the large black spider. The husband smashed it with a hammer, which catapulted the exploded bug straight into his wife’s eye. She told doctors the pain hit instantly, followed by the other awful symptoms. The official diagnosis was accidental envenomation via ocular absorption, meaning her eye tissue absorbed enough of the black widow’s venom to trigger a systemic reaction. Black window bites rarely lead to death, but most people don’t end up absorbing venom through the literal window to the brain. This case is a reminder that spider encounters aren’t always the same. You don’t need a fang mark for venom to make its way into your body. Sometimes, all it takes is one unlucky squish at the wrong time.

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Rare Monkey With Orange Hair Born at a Zoo in England

A rare monkey with shocking orange hair has been born at the Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England. The birth of the endangered François' langur offered renewed hope for the long-term survival of the species. Zoo officials say the orange hair is an evolutionary quirk, thought to allow parents to easily spot their youngsters when they’re being cared for by other members of the troop. “It’s estimated that only 2,000 of these primates remain in the wild, so every birth is a ray of hope for the species,” said zookeeper Amanda Robinson. The infant was born to 10-year-old mother Nguyen and 9-year-old father Wang. The baby boy is part of the international conservation breeding program for François’ langurs, which aims to boost the numbers of species that are threatened in the wild. Native to China and northern Vietnam, the species faces threats from illegal hunting for their meat and traditional medicine. Whipsnade Zoo said that caring for a back-up population in zoos is vital to protecting their future. "Over time, the newborn's hair will fade to black, so I'd definitely recommend coming to see him in his home at Monkey Forest while he's still tangerine,” said Robinson.

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Things You Should Never Leave in Your Car During Winter

These days, people practically live in their cars. Even with more people working from home, they pile into the car daily to go to the grocery store or post office, and some shuttle their kids to school, sports practice, and play dates. Of course, people pack everything they think they might need: snacks, drinks, electronic devices — anything they think they can’t live without. That might be fine when the weather is warm, but when winter hits, your car is the last place you want to leave some belongings. That’s because winter temperatures mean more than cold seats and an icy steering wheel — frigid temperatures can cause major damage to a variety of items if they’re left in the car. Here are just a few that should be left at home.

 

Many medications require refrigeration, so it’s tempting to think it’s no big deal to leave pills in the car, but pharmacists warn against this practice. Cold temperatures can actually change the chemical structure of many medications. Liquid and injectable medications can freeze, causing separation of the inert ingredients, and cold temperatures can cause vials or pens to crack. Tables and capsules can become brittle and crumble or split, and inhalers and nebulizers can clog, rendering them useless.

Cold temperatures are hard on electronics, particularly those powered by lithium-ion batteries, which lose capacity at low temperatures. When electronics are brought inside, condensation can form and allow moisture to affect components on some devices.

You might think it’s okay to keep a can of de-icer, WD-40 or Fix-A-Flat in your trunk during the winter, but don’t count on it working when you need it. That’s because aerosol cans are pressurized, and when they are subjected to cold temperatures can leak, malfunction or even rupture.

While leaving your grocery haul in the car for a few hours this winter may seem like no big deal, it’s not worth the risk. The interior of your car is different than your refrigerator, and perishable foods can easily go up above a safe temperature for food storage. Canned foods aren’t safe either. When the liquid inside a can freezes, it expands, and most packaging isn’t designed to handle that kind of pressure. Once a seal is compromised, the risk of foodborne illness rises quickly. Shelf-stable dry items like protein bars or crackers are far safer than liquids, but anything with moisture inside doesn’t belong in your car in the winter.

Practically everything is made from plastic nowadays, but unfortunately, plastic can be incredibly brittle when it freezes. As liquids expand, containers can crack, split or warp, leading to leaks that you might not notice until everything thaws. Some plastics also become brittle in cold temperatures and may shatter when handled, leaving you with the mess of what was in the container plus shards of microplastics in your car. Even things like antifreeze and windshield wiper fluid can be affected, so keep those items in the house.

 

 

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Thunderstorms Can Cause Asthma

Most people don’t worry about thunderstorms, but if you’re a person with bad allergies or asthma, stormy weather can be more than an annoyance — it can be a serious threat to your health. “Thunderstorm asthma” describes an attack of asthma that starts because of a unique sequence of events. Cold downdrafts concentrate air particles, such as pollen and mold. These air particles are swept up into clouds where humidity is high. In the clouds, wind, humidity and lightning break up the particles to a size that can easily enter the nose, sinuses and lungs. Finally, wind gusts concentrate these small particles enabling large amounts to be inhaled. Thunderstorm asthma may seem like more of a curiosity than a serious threat to public health, but when it affects a large population area, emergency rooms can become overwhelmed. In 2016, a thunderstorm in Melbourne, Australia, sent 9,000 people to urgent care centers for treatment. In the US, 25 million people have asthma and more than 20 million have seasonal allergies. If you're among them, the weather forecast may be much more than just a guide on what to wear or whether to bring an umbrella. Knowing thunderstorms are headed your way may serve as an advance warning to make sure that you're taking your asthma medicines properly, have a supply of rescue medicine handy, or simply plan to stay indoors until the storm has passed.

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