PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

rcounts · #48 10-22-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbobenz

I don't agree. The risks still arent worth it. More and more people are getting cancer nowadays and avoiding all toxins no matter the duration or concentration is a good idea. I agree worrying is not good. My dad literaly gets upset if we leave a few crumbs on the counter. I agree with you in this sense. But were talking about our bodies, and introducing man made toxins to them is not a good idea no matter what. Its not just WMO that's giving you cancer, its everything daily which is why you need to limit your exposure to all toxins. IMO exposing yourself to chemicals which are proven to damage DNA is never ever a good idea. I always wear gloves now but for the longest time I didnt. I began to notice that the skin on my 19 year old hands looks worse than the skin on my 30 year old brothers hands. Im beginning to think its just not good for your skin in general. I also got sick of people thinking I was a dirty person becuase my fingers are literaly stained black. Gloves are cheap. Put em on, get all greasy, take em off and your hands are 100% clean. That's a good enough reason right there.

I disagree with the whole philosophy. Sure, chronic exposure to toxins causes cancer. However, I don't believe that tiny, incidental exposures have an appreciable impact - either individually or cumulatively.

We all know that smoking is bad for your health and causes lung cancer. No denying it. And there have been studies showing that people living in an environment with HEAVY smokers - a.k.a. living with a chain smoker - and receive chronic second hand smoke exposure - have a slight increase in their risk of lung cancer, and other respiratory illness. Every new study that comes out on the subject the media trumpets the headline that "SECOND HAND SMOKE CAUSES CANCER"! without putting it into perspective. So now people get the idea that if they catch one whiff of second hand smoke from my cigar their risk of lung cancer is dramatically increased. Therefore I'm a terrible person and should be treated as a criminal for putting others at risk. What a bunch of garbage!

Look, you change your oil what, 3 to 6 times a year? And you get what, a fraction of an ounce actually in contact with your skin? For how long, a half hour, to a couple of hours max? Come on! Think about it! Is that a risk worth worrying about? If so, you better not cross the street, because your risk of getting hit by a car is thousands of times higher than your risk of getting skin cancer from exposure to dirty oil.

Benzine is one of the worst carcinogens known to man. It is on the EPAs 200 most toxic substances list. Yet professional mechanics get it on their hands just about every day because ordinary gasoline contains roughly 13% benzine. Yet you don't see hundreds and thousands of mechanics whose hands are covered in skin cancers because of it. You don't see any news stories or studies showing that it is an issue - because it isn't! But its a risk! Better wear a respirator when you pump gas in your car!

This kind of stuff has to be kept in perspective. What if they come out with a study next month that says sweaty skin contact with nitrile causes skin cancer - but only if you wear the gloves 24 x 7 x 365 for 10 years straight? Would you stop wearing the gloves? Personally I don't wear gloves because 1) they don't hold up - every little snag and they tear or split and 2) gloves heavy enough to hold up are so thick that they reduce tactile feel and agility and 3) sweaty rubber gloves are uncomfortable.

As for your hands looking older than your brothers, if he doesn't work on cars and you do, then that is to be expected. Anything that will take the motor oil off of your skin will also take the natural oils out of your skin. Anything that dries your skin is going to cause it to look older. Like any other tool, your hands will look older and more "worn" if you actually use them to do hard work, than if you don't. That doesn't mean they're going to get cancer and rot off though.

IMO, you simply can't live your whole life worried about and trying to dodge every minute "boogie man" of risk. Well, actually you can, but would you really be living? Not in my book! And even if you do, you still aren't going to succeed because some risks are unavoidable. Sugar causes cavities - known and proven fact - but cake and candy taste good enough that we eat them anyway. Likewise, living causes death, but I'm not going fret and worry and try to isolate and insulate myself from every thing that someone says has some percieved - or even real but minute - risk attached, because doing so wouldn't be much better than being dead anyway. I simply refuse to play that game. Life isn't a competition to see who can end up with the most pristine corpse at the end. Its for LIVING, and I want what is left of me at the end to be as worn out and used up as possible - from really living - not from being afraid of every thing.