Category Archives: WHAT?
179.WHAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO FAINT?
In a play or movie, a hero or heroine sometimes faints upon hearing bad news or when suddenly frightened. We usually associate fainting with an event of this kind. But the fact is that fainting can be the result of many situations.
People may faint because of confinement in a close and poorly ventilated room, or because of hunger, fatigue, severe pain, emotional shock, or for many other reasons. The immediate cause of fainting is an insufficient supply of blood to the brain.
178.WHAT ARE VARICOSE VEINS?
Elderly people and people who spend a great deal of time on their feet sometimes develop varicose veins. You may have noticed them on people who have this condition; the veins are swollen, twisted, and quite blue.
Varicose veins are veins that have lost their elasticity, a loss which causes them to swell and look twisted. The swelling occurs because the weakened walls of the veins can no longer withstand the pressure of the blood in the veins.
177.WHAT ARE HALLUCINATIONS?
There are many things that people sometimes claim they “see” that really aren’t there. They may have visions of “ghosts” or strange creatures. Sometimes little children claim they “saw” things that no one else did. Sometimes these are fantasies or day dreams; sometimes they are illusions.
There is a difference between an illusion and an hallucination. When a person has an illusion, there is something present that stimulates the eyes or senses. It can be verified, because other people see it, too. A mirage, for example, is a kind of illusion. But the main point is that something is there that causes the person to think he saw what he saw.
