"Bracing" for Some 2009 Expenses

I set aside $2,500 of my salary to my Health Care Spending Account primarily to cover the cost of the dental braces that I plan on having next year. The treatment duration is expected to be 18-24 months so I will just pay for the remaining balance through the amount I will set aside in the account for the year 2010.

The Health Care Spending Account gives me some financial benefits because it is taken from my pre-tax salary. The downside is that it is a use-it-or-lose-it option. Should I decide not to have braces, that amount cannot be retrieved back to my salary and I have to spend it on any qualified health-related spending.

The alternatives that I have thought of so far are:

1. LASIK (eye surgery)
2. A pair of really cool eyeglasses
   
3. Psychiatric care
   
4. Lots and lots of Tylenol/Advil bottles

 

Getting Sick on Thanksgiving Week

Holidays are one of the worst times to get sick, not that there's a good time for it.

If feels like I probably will be under the weather for Thanksgiving Week. I'm having sore throat and some sniffles. Will taking Vitamin C help? Probably not according to this Newsweek article.

 

Is It Really Dangerous To Stand Too Close to a Microwave?

I've been told, for more than a few times, to stay away from the microwave oven because of the radiation it emits which might be harmful to the body. Personally, I was skeptical of this idea, thinking (mistakenly, I suspect) that ultraviolet radiation is even more dangerous and yet people feel it is OK to be exposed to the sun for short periods of time (yes, i'm no SME). So I've been wondering about this but never actually took the time to find out.

Then I encountered an article that talks about the topic and cites the claim by FDA, no less. According to the article, FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health sets a standard for all microwaves in the market. No more than 5 milliwatts per square centimeter can be leaked at about two inches away from the oven in its whole lifetime. The level is said to be too low to be harmful to humans. By contrast, cellphones are said to operate at a peak power of up to 1.6 watts.

Facts might tell you to it isn't dangerous, but fears still might.

 

This Week is...

National Men's Health Week. Err, this should apply internationally as well. MSN Health lists the following as the top causes of men's death in the US (in increasing levels of risk):

10. Alzheimer's Disease
9. Kidney Disease
8. Suicide
7. Pneumonia and Flu
6. Diabetes
5. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CPOD)
4. Stroke
3. Accidents
2. Cancer
1. Heart Diseases

 

Take Multivitamins... At Your Own Risk(?)

A study by the National Cancer Institute suggests that men who take too many multivitamins may be increasing their risk of dying from prostate cancer.

From the Freakonomics Blog, I found additional and separate studies about the harmful effects of taking vitamins: from high calcium/vitamin D intake and multivitamin brands to, well, vitamins themselves. Doesn't this sound like another of those damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't scenarios? I hope it is not.

In a related matter, chromium in drinking water also causes cancer, according to the US National Institutes of Health.

Most of these reports I read on those little screens in the bus as I went to and from school today.