Ear muscle we thought humans didn't use activates when people listen hard

Re:Ear muscle we thought humans didn't use activates when pe... by kstrauser on Friday January 31, 2025 @01:31PM (#42890237)

Those are all true. However, appendicitis is still the most common abdominal surgery worldwide[0] and lots of people still die of it. It's easy to make the case that someone already undergoing abdominal surgery where the surgeon has ready access to it could have long-term lower health risk by removing it.

If you live in a country with excellent healthcare and you're never far from a hospital, the calculus is a bit different. You'll probably be fine. If you regularly find yourself far away from modern medical clinics, it's easier to defend the idea.

I had appendicitis as a kid. If you've never experienced it, trust me, you don't want it.

[0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9945388/

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Re:Ear muscle we thought humans didn't use activates when pe... by wongarsu on Friday January 31, 2025 @02:06PM (#42890610)

If you practice good food safety and hygiene (and live around people who do the same) then removing the appendix during unrelated surgeries or even preemptively before long stays at a place without emergency healthcare can be beneficial.

It's a bit of a Chesterton's Fence situation: the appendix is really useful, but for you and me the benefit was much larger 300 years ago than it is today. Today the benefit is small enough that you can remove it with only minor considerations (like being more cautious about your gut microbiome, and having a slightly worse immune system)

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