vital signs

Internet addiction

Some people are as addicted to the Internet as compulsive gamblers are to roulette or poker, say researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Their study of over 400 World Wide Web surfers, reported in New Scientist, shows that the Net plays havoc with some people's lives: 46 per cent admitted they had sometimes had less than four hours' sleep because they were surfing.

Danger in the bathroom tap

Rinsing contact lenses in cold water from the bathroom tap is dangerous, warn specialists from Moorfield's Eye Hospital, London. Their study of Acanthamoeba keratitis, a micro-organismthat can cause severe eye damage, found two out of 19 cases of infection were linked to cold tank-fed tap water, according to a report in Disability Now. Previous alerts have already been issued to contact lens wearers using no cleaning solutions, or chlorine- based solutions that do not kill the microbe.

How to save a knocked-out tooth

Swift action can save a knocked out front tooth, yet even casualty doctors are unsure about what to do, says a report in the British Medical Journal. The tooth should, if possible be immediately pushed back into its socket by someone at the scene of the accident, which will allow it to bind back into the jaw. If this is not possible, the tooth should be kept moist, preferably in milk, and a dentist found as quickly as possible. Since peridontal cells on the root die out quickly, any delay in treatment reduces the chance of a successful outcome.

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