The Youth Suicide Rate Is on the Rise, and This 23-Year-Old Who Attempted to Take Her Own Life Has Some Thoughts About Why

On New Year’s Eve in 2017, Kaitlyn Buchko felt like everyone in the world was celebrating except for her. Most other 21-year-olds were out celebrating the first New Year's they could legally order drinks at a bar, but not Buchko. She was at home with her parents—and she wasn’t planning on making it to 2018. 

Buchko, who is from South Carolina, was battling anxiety, bipolar disorder, and narcolepsy. She tried medication after medication, but she was still struggling. She had also just gotten out of an abusive relationship, and she wasn’t handling the breakup well. It felt like new layers kept getting added to her pain. So as people around the globe popped champagne and threw confetti, Buchko attempted to end her own life. 

Buchko’s story isn’t uncommon. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that shows the suicide rate among people ages 10 to 24 rose 56% between 2007 and 2017, after remaining relatively steady from 2000 to 2007. In 2017, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among this age group, behind unintentional injuries, such as car crashes or drug overdoses. 

Researchers aren’t sure of the exact causes fueling these alarming statistics. “The increase in suicide is very broad,” Sally Curtain, a statistician at the CDC and an author of the report, tells Health. “It’s across all race groups and virtually every state. We can’t isolate this to one group or area—it’s pervasive across the US.” 

Experts believe a rise in depression among adolescents, drug use, stress, social media usage, the visibility of suicide in the media and online, and access to firearms may all be contributing factors, though further research needs to be done to know for sure. In the meantime, Curtain says it’s important to talk to young people about their stressors and experts who work to prevent suicide in order to better understand the crisis.

RELATED: What to Say–and What Not to Say–When You Talk About Suicide

One reason it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact causes, says Curtain, is that in most cases, there’s not just one thing that makes a person suicidal. That was true for Buchko. It wasn’t simply because of the stress of school or the pressure of social media. Rather, she felt like she “kept getting slammed with another thing to deal with,” she tells Health. 

It all started during her junior year in high school. Buchko regularly experienced stomachaches growing up, but they were getting much worse. When they were really bad, she couldn’t eat or even walk. She went to see a specialist and was diagnosed with gastroparesis, or paralysis of the muscles in the stomach. The doctor said it was caused by anxiety. 

“At first I thought, ‘But I’m not anxious?’” says Buchko. She had noticed that her stomachaches were worse when she was in a class with a strict teacher or studying a subject she didn’t believe she was good at, but she didn’t think much of it. “I just assumed that happened to everyone,” she says. Her doctor explained that stomachaches can be a symptom of anxiety, and that sometimes anxiety presents as physical pain. “The more I thought about it, I was like, ‘OK, maybe not everyone freaks out the way I do every day when they go to school,” she recalls.

She did what she could to manage her stress, but things only got worse. One night, at the start of her senior year, she got into a fight with her mom about her room not being clean, as she (and most other teenagers) had so many times before. But this time, something was different. The fight sent Buchko into a rage, and she tried to run away.

She got into her car and started driving. She was screaming, crying, punching the steering wheel. “It was the first time I was suicidal,” she says. 

RELATED: 8 Signs Someone Is at Risk of Suicide

Buchko eventually returned home, and her family made sure she got help. She went to her general practitioner, who referred her to a psychiatrist. She was then diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder, a type of bipolar disorder characterized by having four or more episodes of depression and/or mania per year. 

Following her diagnosis, Buchko finished the last few months of her senior year. It wasn’t easy, as stress is a trigger for her bipolar disorder, but she did it. She decided to take a year off before starting college to prioritize her mental health. Then, in the fall of 2015, she enrolled as a nursing student at Anderson University in South Carolina. 

Buchko was excited to go to college, to get back to “normal.” But it wasn’t long before the stress of freshman year started getting to her. “Stress is the biggest trigger for my bipolar,” she says. “When I get stressed, it flares up, and I get manic or depressed.” On top of that, Buchko was also dealing with narcolepsy, or overwhelming daytime drowsiness, which she wouldn't be officially diagnosed with until a few months later. 

At the beginning of 2016, as she was starting her second semester, Buchko’s psychiatrist suggested she take a medical withdrawal. “I was really upset about it,” she says. “It was really hard to feel like I failed at something.”

Buchko felt like her mental illness was derailing her life, and she spent the time after she withdrew from college trying to get better. She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a week, went to therapy, tried different medications, and took up horseback riding. She was learning how to control her emotions. But at the end of 2017, everything started to unravel. 

RELATED: 6 Ways to Help Someone Who Lost a Loved One to Suicide

She had been in a relationship, and just after Christmas, she and her partner broke it off, which she says sent her “spiraling.” A few days later was New Year’s Eve, when the pain drove her to attempt suicide. 

Fortunately, Buchko’s mom found her before it was too late. She survived, and when she woke up the next day, she was immediately grateful to have been given a second chance.

Buchko was almost part of the statistics in the CDC’s new report on the rising youth suicide rate. When she heard the numbers from that report, she wasn’t surprised. “There’s a lot of pressure on youth and young adults these days,” she says. “People say, ‘Oh you’re young, you can’t be that stressed,’ but that’s not true.”

She says the pressure to do well in school and get into a good college is only intensifying for young people. And Jennifer Rothman, manager of youth and young adult initiatives at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, agrees. 

“A lot more is being asked of students,” Rothman tells Health. “They’re trying to juggle being involved in extracurriculars, doing their homework, and keeping their grades up. They don’t have the coping skills to handle that kind of stress. I know many adults who don’t have the coping skills to handle stress like that.” 

RELATED: Why Do People Kill Themselves? These 5 Factors Help Explain It

Interestingly, in a 2018 survey by the American College Health Association (ACHA), college students reported that anxiety and depression are among the biggest factors negatively affecting their academic performance.

Rothman adds that between everything students are involved in, they don’t have much downtime, and whatever time they do get to themselves is spent online. “They’re on their phones, their iPads, their computers,” she adds. Buchko also believes time spent online is a contributing factor. “Social media can be a very negative place, especially if you’re struggling,” she says. Various studies have linked social media to depression in young people, which is also on the rise. 

The 2018 ACHA survey determined that 42% of students had felt so depressed in the past year, it was difficult for them to function. Yet the same survey given in 2009 found 31% of students felt that level of depression. More students are, however, utilizing their campus counseling centers, which experts attribute to a reduction in the stigma of having mental illness. 

Buchko agrees that mental illness is becoming more accepted, but she says there's still a long way to go, and young people need to be reminded that there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. “We get into this mindset that no one understands,” says Buchko. “We feel so alone, but if we would just talk about it, we would realize that we’re really not.”

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< The Youth Suicide Rate Is on the Rise, and This 23-Year-Old Who Attempted to Take Her Own Life Has Some Thoughts About Why

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Pippa Middleton Says Cranial Osteopathy Helped Calm Her 1-Year-Old Son—But What Is It?

The Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister, Pippa Middleton, has embraced an alternative therapy known as cranial osteopathy for her 1-year-old son.

“Soon after Arthur was born last year, I heard a few mums talking about seeing a cranial osteopath,” the 36-year-old wrote in her Waitrose Weekend magazine column over the weekend, per People.

“It’s a popular alternative therapy for newborns, particularly those who have had a traumatic birth, are unsettled, or have trouble sleeping,” she continued. “It claims to heal, relax and promote sleep, digestion and body alignment through gentle head and body manipulation." Pippa added that she started taking her son Arthur when he was just 7 months old.

Pippa claims the results of the treatment were immediate. “I was fascinated to see how calming it was for him, but also how valuable the feedback was,” she wrote. “The osteopath noticed one side of his neck was tighter than the other, which explained why he favored one side sleeping. She also saw that his arms were stronger than his legs, so she gave me an exercise to help him.”

While Pippa acknowledged that the treatment has "a lack of scientific evidence," it still begs the question: What is it—and could be beneficial for babies, or people in general?

RELATED: Pippa Middleton Shows off Postpartum Body in Bikini 10 Weeks After Welcoming First Baby

What exactly is cranial osteopathy?

Cranial osteopathy is the subtle movement of the cranial bones to help alleviate pressure and allow for the movement of cerebral spinal fluid, Erica Steele, ND, a board-certified naturopathic doctor at Holistic Family Practice, tells Health. “Traditionally trained osteopaths are trained to move these bones on a subtle level," she says.

The practice is a form of osteopathic medicine—or using the body's musculoskeletal system to play a part in health and disease—which was founded in the late 19th century, stemming from the belief that the body contains everything it needs to maintain health, if it's properly stimulated, according to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Osteopathic physicians (aka, DOs), use hands-on techniques that release tension in the muscles, joints, and nerves to promote healing.

“Cranial osteopathy specifically takes those same osteopathic principles and applies them to include the 29 bones (22 in the skull itself, plus 3 little bones in each ear and the mandible) of the skull and the central nervous system, in addition to the whole body,” Annette Hulse DO, president of the Osteopathic Cranial Academy, tells Health. In slightly manipulating those bones in the skull, ear, and mandible, osteopathic doctors can "change and/or slightly restrict the movement of [cerebrospinal] fluid," says Dr. Hulse—which can, again, have a relaxing effect on the patient.

These cranial osteopathy session typically involve an osteopathic doctor holding various fulcrums (or hand positions) on the skull, says Steele, while a patient is lying down on a table. Overall, Dr. Steele says the practice is "a deeply profound and relaxing experience for the participant," and that "the person arises feeling more relaxed, at ease, and at peace."

RELATED: A Guide to Choosing the Best Holistic Doctor for Your Needs

Okay, but is there any scientific evidence to back up cranial osteopathy?

Unfortunately, as Pippa mentioned in her article, there is very little conclusive scientific evidence that cranial osteopathy is effective. “The treatment regime lacks a biologically plausible mechanism, shows no diagnostic reliability, and offers little hope that any direct clinical effect will ever be shown,” Steve E. Hartman, PhD, a professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of New England, wrote in one paper published in the medical journal Chiropractic and Osteopathy.

Hartman did note, however, that “In spite of almost uniformly negative research findings, ‘cranial’ methods remain popular with many practitioners and patients.” Dr. Hulse and Dr. Steele also believe that research has not yet fundamentally disproved the benefits of cranial osteopathy either. "The totality of its physiology and the capacity for the brain to control the body is still seemingly understudied," says Dr. Steele. 

Still, as far as credible research goes, it maybe best to stick to conventional medicine and use alternative therapies, like cranial osteopathy, only as a supplemental approach. 

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Hyperhidrosis Is a Disorder That Makes Me Sweat Constantly—and I've Finally Learned to Live With It

Do you wear light-colored shirts without fear of getting sweaty pit stains? Do you shake hands with confidence because your palms are perfectly dry? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then consider yourself lucky. I envy you. That’s because I have hyperhidrosis, a condition that causes me to perspire a lot more than the average person.

Hyperhidrosis is a fancy word for excessive sweating. It usually occurs under the armpits, the palms, the soles of the feet, the face, and a bunch of other body regions where people typically sweat. Doctors call it "focal" hyperhidrosis, because it affects one or more body areas—which differs from another form of hyperhidrosis that involves the entire body and is usually related to some underlying condition.

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What causes this sweat overload? While most cases occur in people who are otherwise healthy, Fran Cook-Bolden, MD, a dermatologist with Advanced Dermatology PC in New York City, says that “neurologic, endocrine, infectious, and other systemic diseases can sometimes cause hyperhidrosis.” Heat and emotions may trigger hyperhidrosis in some, but many of us who have it sweat during nearly all their waking hours, regardless of their emotional state or the weather, she adds.

What it’s like living with hyperhidrosis

Plain and simple: I’m always sweating. I sweat right after I shower, during sex, when I work out, when I sleep, when I sit in the car, when it’s 20 degrees, when it's 95 degrees, when I’m nervous, and when I’m calm. I've had hyperhidrosis my whole life, and I remember going to a dermatologist when I was in elementary school, hoping the doctor could explain why I was so much sweatier than other kids.

My feet, hands, and armpits are basically always damp and clammy, which isn’t very sexy when I hold hands, sleep next to, or cuddle with a partner or potential partner. It's not uncommon for me to reach for someone's hand and then have them reply, “Eww, why are your hands so clammy?” When that happens I get even more sweaty—because I’m anxious about how gross it must feel for them to touch my slimy hand.

According to Dr. Cook-Bolden, excessive sweating isn't life-threatening, but it can compromise your well-being. “About one-third of people with focal hyperhidrosis describe their symptoms as significantly affecting their quality of life,” she says. I can explain why: because sweating a lot is really awkward and embarrassing. 

RELATED: The Weird Reason Why Stress Sweat May Smell Worse Than Exercise Sweat

My personal experience perfectly aligns with the frustrations that most patients report. I've had to change my cute outfit more times than I can count. Not 10 minutes after dressing up to go out, whatever I'm wearing is already soaked at the pits. It's super uncomfortable, but I wear black cardigans or jackets over my clothes, so no one can see the sweat stains. I also dab my armpits with napkins a million times on the way to wherever I'm going.

Drippy perspiration can foil even simple business transactions. Ever tried signing your name when your hand is so moist that the pen slips away or you splotch the ink on the page? And, of course, it creates challenges in the romance department, as I've already alluded to.

Sweating so much can become problematic when it causes secondary skin issues, like macerations (similar to pruney fingers from sitting in a bath too long), athlete’s foot, warts, or bacterial infections from moist skin. I used to get eczema under my arms and behind my knees from trapped moisture, but now I apply steroidal ointments that prevent flare-ups.

Hyperhidrosis also leaves me more susceptible to vaginal infections. I have to change my workout clothes immediately post-workout, or else I risk getting a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis. Hanging around in damp leggings poses a risk to most folks with vaginas, but symptoms of either of these infections typically strike for me after an hour, unless I change clothes.

How I’ve tried to stop the sweating

I relied on help from a dermatologist when I was younger, and it seems the treatments for hyperhidrosis are basically the same now as they were then. I’ve tried prescription antiperspirants that permanently stained my armpits a weird yellow color and tons of different over-the-counter deodorants with aluminum, which can supposedly stop sweat. None of them work for me. Lasers and surgery sound extreme, and I’m too nervous to try Botox, but I hear that these are all advanced options that could stop the sweat. 

RELATED: 5 Things in Your Closet You Need to Throw Away Now (Your Underwear, for Starters)

Luckily, I’ve learned to manage hyperhidrosis my own way. I warn people that my hands are sweaty when I go to hold or shake theirs. I never buy tight, colored tops. Wearing black clothes has become a staple of my wardrobe in an effort to eliminate pit stains, and it’s also part of my personal brand now. 

I sit on a blanket or a towel in my car in the summertime because my thighs sweat so much against the seats. I’m mindful of the fabric of any chair I sit on in public when I wear shorts, so my legs don’t saturate or stick to the seat. I use an aluminum-charcoal deodorant, which seems to work okay, but I still sweat through it.

Managing my hyperhidrosis is mostly a matter of attitude. After struggling with it my whole life, I mainly just accept my excessive sweating as a part of my identity now, which helps to reduce my anxiety about it. Living with this condition was more frustrating back when I was in middle school and didn’t know how to deal. Now, it is what it is. I’m perpetually sweaty. Love me or leave me.

Once upon a time, I body-shamed myself for my excessive perspiration. Now, I accept my sweaty pits and clammy palms as just another normal part of me—and perhaps even my very own form of radical self-love and body positivity. After all, if I can’t love me at my sweatiness, how can I expect someone else to? Sweating a lot might dampen my body, but it won’t put a damper on my days anymore if I can help it (and I can).

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Why Would Someone Poop in a Public Bathroom and NOT Flush? We've Got Answers

Introducing Health's new column, Why Would Someone Do That? Here, psych experts decipher the reasons behind the most puzzling human behavior mysteries.

It’s your worst office nightmare: You’ve stumbled through the first few hours of work thanks to three cups from the Keurig, checked to make sure that no one’s stolen your lunch, and finally wandered into the restroom to relieve yourself and take a tiny, unsanctioned break from your coworkers.

But what you’ve walked into isn’t a bathroom; it’s an active crime scene. And when you open a stall, you know that no jury would convict you if you found the person who’s defecated all over the place and disposed of them, Liam Neeson–style.

Right now, you’re probably thinking about the last time you walked in on such a bananarama of human indecency in your workplace. And you’ve got feelings. Everyone does.

RELATED: Is Your Poop Healthy? The Bristol Stool Chart Shows What It Should Look Like

Every office has this poop problem, apparently

One person I spoke to—on condition of anonymity—told me that the women in their office wanted to launch a full-on hunt for the person who’d gone number two in a plastic bag and then dumped it in the bathroom trash can. They’d size up one another at the water cooler, asking leading questions about gut health and what everyone had for lunch. In that time span, the poop bandit got away with the same thing two more times.

In another office, a man fed up with unflushed anonymous poo took it upon himself to snap pictures of his workmates’ feet as they used the stalls. (Illegal!) If a mess were to be made, he reasoned, he’d just match the stall to the culprit’s footwear and inform the authorities—thought it wasn’t clear whether that would be the police, HR, or a vigilante group he’d found on the internet.

Other people I asked said they preferred to block out whatever mess they came across. One friend, a person who would otherwise agree we are close, balked at my question about the bathroom habits of officemates. “Why,” he said, ‘what have you heard?” and then: “Yeah, we’ve had a few problems, but now most of us just use bathrooms on other floors.”

Why other floors didn’t have the same issues, he couldn’t tell me. But he did say that the notes that HR put up—every variation of “be a sweetie and wipe the seatie” in one poster to “NO MORE ‘BIG JOBS’—THX, SANDRA" in another—didn’t seem to help. If anything, conditions may have gotten worse, though he couldn’t be quite sure why.

RELATED: The 20 Best Foods to Help With Constipation So You Can Finally Poop Again

Searching for the psychology behind a poo and run

What goes through the mind of someone who walks into a serviceably clean bathroom at their workplace and proceeds to go on a rampage with no regard for the people they see five days a week?

Here’s one interpretation: People just aren’t aware of what they’re doing. They’re so worried about not catching anything from the seats, they can’t imagine they might be contributing to the bathroom problem the entire staff complains about.

One person told me that her last office had a chronic hoverer who let her commitment to personal hygiene be known by the dew drops or urine she left behind. “I sometimes wondered aloud at the logic,” the innocent bystander told me, “because toilet seats aren’t all that germy—unless you piss all over them because you refuse to plant your cheeks.”

A man who works in an office in San Francisco told me that I might be chasing a culprit that doesn’t exist. In a twist as shocking as any of the (first three) Saw movies, he suggested that the messes in the bathroom weren’t the work of one angry person but a group effort from anxious office workers who had to do their business and couldn’t help but ignore or add to the horror.

RELATED: What It Means to Be a High-Functioning Sociopath—and How to Tell if You Know One

“You walk into the bathroom,” he said, “and you see a mess. But it isn’t your job to clean it up and you don’t want to tell someone because they think it might be you. So you just slowly back out and hope that no one blames you. What am I supposed to do? I don’t know how to fix a toilet.”

Of course, it’s a little bit different if there’s an emergency element, and you don't have a second to spare to back away and use another stall. “If it’s a photo finish situation, then, yeah, I might have to do something I wouldn’t necessarily tell other people about,” the man added.

So that’s another twist: Even people who’ve never considered themselves bathroom vandals may contribute to the eldritch terrors that greet you when you’ve entered the restroom during your afternoon slump. None of us are innocent.

But these theories may be a touch too kind. A janitor I spoke to said he’s definitely seen people engage in deliberate bad behavior in the office bathrooms he takes care of.

“When my job is done right, people don’t know I’m around. They only remember when I screw up and some people are sort of mean. It’s like, you forgot to take out my trash, so here’s a little surprise,” he says. “When I make people mad at work, they know that if they make a little mess in the bathroom, I have to deal with it.”

Office workers have left feces, he says, in places where it would have been very hard for it to find itself otherwise. But these heavy hitters are few and far between. Most people, I’m told, just splash water everywhere or miss the garbage can “on accident.” Sometimes it feels like they’re doing it to remind him that they’re better than him—or to remind themselves that even when their bosses come after them, there’s always someone safe to take their aggression out on...someone who will always have to clean up their mess.

RELATED: Sociopath vs. Narcissist: Experts Explain the Difference

A professional sheds some light 

In the course of writing this story, I launched a desperate campaign to speak to someone who’s deliberately trashed their office toilet or, at the very least, just made some yellow and let it mellow.

I asked friends, acquaintances, people I’d just met. I posted my question on Twitter—giving my email address so any interested parties could contact me anonymously—and I enlisted the aid of “Help a Reporter Out,” a site whose thousands of users rush to answer questions posed by bloggers and journalists.

But my pleas to speak to a bathroom annihilator went loudly unanswered. Even though, once again, I’d promised to take their secrets to the grave. And even beyond.

Shuli Sandler, PsyD, a New Jersey–based clinical psychologist with more than a decade of experience, wasn’t surprised. “Even when you say something’s anonymous, I don’t think that’s true,” Sandler, the only person to allow the use of her name in this story, told me.

RELATED: How Often Should You Poop? A Doctor Weighs In

“Anonymity is protection over our true impulses. So if someone owns up to it, they either don't believe they're truly anonymous or they're no longer anonymous to themselves. They have to acknowledge their own actions in a meaningful way,” she says.

By asking people to unmask themselves (even to themselves), Sandler believes I’d be forcing them to attach feelings to their actions. Shame, guilt, and self-criticism, where before there was just excitement and aggression and impulsivity.

Some people just want to crap on their boss, literally

If you look at behavior from a psychoanalytic perspective, and especially from the perspective of Freud’s psychosexual stages, you’ll quickly learn that mastering one’s bowels (the anal stage) is a symbol for learning self-control in general. Your parents aren’t just toiling at the toilet so they’ll save on diapers, they’re also teaching you to follow social rules—the biggest of which is to keep your shit in the proper places, where others don’t have to deal with it.

The problem is that some of us have a lot of pent-up aggression. And if we don’t have an outlet for all that bottled up rage (therapy, for instance), it’ll come out in unexpected ways. When a bathroom defiler’s had a hard day at work, Sandler theorizes, there’s a push-and-pull between the part of them that says “you can’t make messes,” and the part that says “No, I’m an adult, I do whatever I want.”

RELATED: These Are the Best Diets for Your Poop, According to a Nutritionist

The well-meaning signs that remind us to be kind to others when tinkling and sprinkling become invitations for a regressive rebellion. There are no cameras in bathrooms, so what’s the cost of engaging? By the time the mess is discovered, the perpetrator is long gone, back at their desk or buying a Coke from the vending machine in the break room.

The messes that these people leave behind, Sandler suggests, are indicative of the internal messes that they’re struggling with. “People have a tendency to act out their feelings in a way that can often be destructive as a way to sort of push away the need to personally reflect, to be thoughtful, to open up their minds.” she says.

Being aware of these feelings is what separates someone who says “I want to shit on my boss” and remind themselves that we don’t do that in polite society from someone who says “I want to shit on my boss” and then goes off on the bathroom and quickly distances themselves from the action.

So the prescription for the poop bandits in your office? Maybe it’s just therapy for the guilt and insecurity they feel in their lives. But don’t post a sign about it in the bathroom.

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< Why Would Someone Poop in a Public Bathroom and NOT Flush? We've Got Answers

This Man Had a 3-Inch Pair of Tweezers Stuck in His Urethra—But Showed No Symptoms for 4 Years

A 22-year-old man recently presented to an emergency room in Saudi Arabia for a highly unusual reason: He admitted to having inserted tweezers into his urethra four long years ago.

According to a May 2019 report in Urology Case Reports that's now gone viral, attending physicians were surprised not only by the placement of the three-inch tweezers, but also that the man had no visible symptoms. He told doctors that he didn’t have any pain, chills, fever, or problems with urination—unusual in cases like this with a foreign object inside the body. The man also didn't say how or why the tweezers wound up in his urethra. 

Still, an X-ray revealed that, sure enough, there was a pair of metal tweezers lodged near the front of the man’s urethra (aka, the tube that lets urine—and in men, semen—pass through the body). Surprisingly, the man's bladder wasn’t distended and the opening of his urethra appeared normal.

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The removal of the tweezers was no easy feat. With the patient under general anesthesia in the operating room, doctors attempted to remove them without causing any internal damage. But there was one major problem: the open end of the tweezers, which could have torn the urethral opening.

To address this issue, a surgeon assistant held the tweezers closed throughout the procedure in what researchers called an “external pressure technique.” Meanwhile, a surgeon removed them endoscopically with a pair of foreign body forceps. The patient fared well after the ordeal—and urinated successfully without a urinary catheter—and went home.

RELATED: This Man Tried to Enlarge His Penis by Injecting It With Petroleum Jelly—and It Went Dangerously Wrong

The removal of foreign bodies from the urethra is an uncommon, but not unheard of, procedure. An 11-year-old boy in China underwent a two-hour operation to have 70 magnetic beads removed from his urethra earlier in 2019, according to an article in the South China Morning Post. Some cases are the result of accidents or injuries. Other patients may insert foreign objects into the urethra because of curiosity, mental illness, intoxication, or autoeroticism, according to a series of case studies in the International Neurourology Journal.

Many patients in these cases hesitate to seek medical care because of shame or embarrassment. One case report in Emergency Medicine suggested that patients who had self-inserted objects into the urethra be referred to a psychiatrist to deal with any possible guilt, anxiety, or symptoms of mental illness.

The patient in this case was referred to a psychiatrist, but he refused the referral and has also refused to access outpatient care.

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< This Man Had a 3-Inch Pair of Tweezers Stuck in His Urethra—But Showed No Symptoms for 4 Years

Miracle Baby Born With Brain Outside of Skull Believed to Be First to Survive Rare Condition

A New Jersey family who was told their son wouldn't survive past birth are now celebrating their seven-month-old miracle baby.

During her 10-week ultrasound, Maria Santa Maria's unborn son, Lucas, was diagnosed with a rare defect that would cause him to be born with his brain outside of his skull—a condition known as exencephaly. He's believed to be the first infant born with the condition to survive. 

Local news station ABC 7 New York reports that Santa Maria's doctor told her even if Lucas made it to birth, he wouldn't survive more than a few hours. That's because exencephaly, a rare malformation where the skull doesn't fully form, leaving a "large, unorganized mass of brain tissue," according to a letter to the editor written by doctors in Siddhartha Medical College in India that was published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Journal of Pediatric Neurosciences.

Santa Maria was told she should get an abortion. "That's not what I wanted to do," she said. She knew she wanted to carry Lucas to term, and she later delivered him at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Doctors were stunned that he survived through birth. But still, Santa Maria prepared herself and her family for what the doctors had warned: that he ultimately wouldn't survive.

Santa Maria told Good Morning America that she made funeral arrangements and also had a child life specialist prepare her daughters Sophia, 8, Nia, 7, and Giana, 3, in case Lucas didn't make it.

RELATED: Stunning Photos Capture the Rare Birth of a Baby Still Inside the Amniotic Sac

ABC 7 New York

But when doctors saw Lucas was otherwise healthy, they performed a life-saving surgery four days after he was born. Dr. Tim Vogel, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at the North Jersey Brain and Spine Center, told GMA that Lucas' surgery involved removing abnormal brain tissue to prevent it from damaging the functioning area of his brain. 

Dr. Vogel told Fox News that since the surgery, bone has started to form a protective layer around Lucas' brain, and that the scalp has started to grow over it, complete with hair. He added that future operations will involve taking the bone that's currently growing and shaping it around other areas that are lacking. They'll later start thinking about cosmetic goals, focusing on the top of his skull. 

As far as Lucas' neurodevelopment, Dr. Vogel said he's on the same path that a child his age normally would be. Lucas can lift his head and has already started to crawl, something babies typically learn between six and 10 months of age.

Santa Maria told GMA that Lucas is making great progress and that their family feels extremely fortunate to have him in their lives. "I don't see myself without Lucas," she said. "Sometimes there are miracles. We wanted to meet our baby boy...to us it's a blessing every day."

Dr. Vogel said to Fox News that he hope other families facing a tough diagnosis can find inspiration in Lucas' story. "It’s such a night and day difference from what they told the family was going to happen—it’s just fantastic to see, it really is," he said.

RELATED: A Newborn Crawled Out of the Womb in This Viral Video of a "Gentle C-Section"

< Miracle Baby Born With Brain Outside of Skull Believed to Be First to Survive Rare Condition

Miley Cyrus Has Been Hospitalized With Tonsillitis—Here's What You Need to Know About the Infection

Miley Cyrus has been through a lot lately. First, she split with her husband, Liam Hemsworth, after less than a year, then she had another breakup with her (now ex–) girlfriend Kaitlynn Carter. Now, Cyrus has apparently been hospitalized with a nasty bout of tonsillitis 

Cyrus revealed her hospitalization in her Instagram Stories Tuesday, sharing multiple shots from her hospital room. In one hospital photo, Cyrus said she's trying to “heal [as] quick as possible to make it to Gorillapalooza” this weekend. “Send gooooood vibes my way! Hoping the Rock star G*DS send me a boost of bad ass and help me kick this s—t to the curb where it belongs! We got gorillas to save!" she wrote.

In another post, she shared a photo of herself in a hospital gown with her mom, Tish Cyrus, brushing her hair. She also posed for a photo after "redesigning" her hospital gown, and, in a now-deleted Instagram Story, Cyrus also had a few choice words for her tonsillitis (she called it a "f—king f—k"). 

Luckily, Cyrus seems to be on the mend—but you might still be wondering what tonsillitis is exactly, and why she'd need to be hospitalized for it. Here's what you need to know. 

RELATED: 14 Ways to Soothe a Sore Throat

Okay, what is tonsilitis? 

Tonsillitis is, essentially, inflammation of the throat that affects your tonsils, the visible lumps of tissue on the left and right sides of the back of your throat, according to the US National Library of Medicine (USNLM). Just FYI: Your tonsils are part of your lymphatic system, which clears away infections and keeps bodily fluids in balance. Your tonsils (along with your adenoids, which are a patch of tissue high up in your throat behind your nose) actually work by trapping germs that come in through the mouth and nose. 

Tonsillitis is typically caused by a viral infection, but sometimes bacterial infections (like strep throat) can also be to blame. 

Children and teens are more likely to develop tonsillitis, but, while it's not common in adults, technically anyone can develop it, per the USNLM. And while tonsillitis itself isn't contagious, the bacteria and viruses that cause it are—which is why frequent hand washing and other precautions are important to prevent catching or spreading the infections.

RELATED: 8 Foods to Eat When You Have a Sore Throat

What are the symptoms of tonsillitis?

Symptoms can vary, but the USNLM says these are pretty typical signs that you have tonsillitis:

• Sore throat
• Swollen and very red tonsils with a yellowish coating
• Difficulty swallowing
• Swollen and painful lymph nodes in the neck
• Fever
• Bad breath
• Fatigue or lethargy

RELATED: 7 Signs You Could Have Strep Throat

How is tonsillitis diagnosed—and how is it treated?

Doctors typically begin a tonsillitis diagnosis with a medical history and current symptoms. Then, the provider will do a visual check of your throat and neck for redness or white spots on the tonsils (which can signal strep throat) and swollen lymph nodes. You may also need a rapid strep test or throat culture to check for strep throat. 

Once it's determined that you have tonsillitis, it’s treated with medication to relieve the pain and fever, like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, along with antibiotics (if the tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection), per the USNLM. Using throat lozenges, gargling with salt water, and drinking tea may also help with symptoms.

In some cases, if you've had tonsillitis regularly, if bacterial tonsillitis doesn't get better with antibiotics, or your tonsils are so inflamed that you're having trouble breathing and swallowing, your doctor might recommend having a tonsillectomy, or a surgery to remove your tonsils. Luckily, that's often a same-day surgery and can take just 1–2 weeks to fully heal.

As for Cyrus, she hasn’t revealed why she was hospitalized for her tonsillitis or if she’s having surgery; but it seems like whatever happens, she'll be documenting it on Instagram. 

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This Dad Says His Baby Was Charged $3,500 For His Own Delivery—How Common is That?

There are a lot of bills to wade through after you have a baby, especially if the birth took place in a hospital. But one new dad noticed something unusual with a hospital bill his family received: His newborn son seemed to have been billed for his own delivery.

Redditor QuicksandGotMyShoe shared a post about his family’s experience that’s now gone viral. “My wife gave birth three months ago and, when going through the bills, we noticed that our baby was billed for its own delivery,” he wrote. “Conveniently (for the insurance company), this meant that it applies towards my son's deductible ($3,500) instead of my wife's which had been fully met at that point due to an earlier hospital stay.” QuicksandGotMyShoe said the family’s insurance “covers in-network hospitalizations fully after the deductible has been met."

QuicksandGotMyShoe later followed up with some good (and not-so-good) news: That the baby was not charged for its own delivery—and that the charges are valid. After speaking with a hospital representative, QuicksandGotMyShoe said he was told "most of what my son was charged was 'newborn charges' ($1,200/day, $2,400 total), the circumcision ($1,800) and 'other charges.'" 

The Redditor added that, while he's still appealing some of the charges to see if they can be moved to his wife's insurance, but says that, overall, the charges are "legit"—but it still raises an important question: How exactly does insurance and billing work when it comes to giving birth?

RELATED: 25-Year-Old Gives Birth While in a Coma After Brain AVM Diagnosis—and Now She Can Hardly Remember She's a Mom

So what do babies (and moms) get billed for during birth?

Health insurance coverage can be confusing under the best of circumstances, and it’s hard to know the details of this particular situation and the family’s coverage. (Health reached out to QuicksandGotMyShoe for comment, but didn’t hear back.) But, when it comes to having a baby, health insurance can be even more maddening. 

“When babies are born, there are two components to the bills,” says Katalin Goencz, CIC, co-president of Alliance of Claim Assistance Professionals. One is the delivery, which is billed to the mother; The other is baby care, which is billed to the insurance on file under the newborn, she says.

As far as deductibles go, which are also confusing, some insurance policies have a per person deductible (i.e. the amount you pay for covered health care before your insurance plan starts to pay). “So, if the baby is born there is a new person on the policy and per person deductible kicks in,” Goencz explains.

Many policies also have a larger family deductible in addition to the personal deductible of each member, says Adria Gross, president of MedWise Insurance Advocacy and author of Solved! Curing Your Medical Insurance Problems. If the family deductible wasn’t met yet, the baby’s birth wouldn’t be covered, she says, adding that "it's a normal thing with health insurance."

In general, you usually have 30 days after you give birth to add your new baby to your healthcare benefits, says Abbie Leibowitz, M.D., founder, chief medical officer. and president emeritus of HealthAdvocate. If you do that, your child’s birth should be covered—again, provided your deductible has been met.

RELATED: Amy Schumer Shares Emotional Post About Going Back to Work After Giving Birth—And Moms Are Living For It

What can you do to make sure you’re not paying unusual bills after you give birth?

When you’re pregnant, make sure your doctor and hospital are in your network, Gross says. And, if your health insurance changed during your pregnancy, you’ll want to check your coverage again.

If you’re planning on having pain management during labor or a C-section, know that anesthesiologists are often out of network. Check your plan in advance to see what your in– and out–of–network coverage entails and, if you’re not sure, Gross recommends calling the hospital where you plan to give birth to ask in advance which insurance companies their anesthesiologists accept. If you have a scheduled induction, call and ask who will be the anesthesiologist who will work with you and make sure they’re in your network, she says. If they’re not covered, ask upfront what the cost will be. “If they tell you in advance what the amount will be, that’s what it should be,” Gross says.

It’s easy to just assume a bill is correct and pay it to avoid a hassle, but insurance mix-ups can and do happen. “Never pay a medical bill without questioning it,” Leibowitz says. You can contact your insurance provider directly or, if that doesn’t seem to help, there are patient advocacy organizations that can take this on for you.

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