Are airport x-ray machines bad for your health?

by Annie Scott on

We all know from wearing those iron aprons at the dentist that x-rays are not good for you. Radiation is dangerous, and radiation poisoning can lead to very serious health problems and even death.

Radiation poisoning usually occurs when someone is exposed to a heavy amount of radiation for a short period of time, but in rarer cases, long term exposure to small doses can also be damaging. So, should frequent fliers be worried? What about pilots and cabin crew?

Millimeter-wave imaging-technology units, which are currently operating in 19 airports, don’t produce the kind of radiation we get from x-rays, but backscatter units like this do. Following the terrorism attempt on Christmas, the US has just ordered 150 backscatter screening systems (like the above).

Is it dangerous? Probably not. Rodale reports: “According to TSA, the amount of radiation you’re exposed to during a two-second millimeter-wave scan exposes you to radio-wave radiation that is 10,000 times less powerful than radiation levels that pulse from a cellphone.” They also note that the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement “found that a traveler subjected to at least 2,500 backscatter scans per year would barely reach the Negligible Individual Dose.”

Wait. Barely? That’s not really what we wanted to hear, but 2,500 would come to seven scans per day, every day. At that point, you’re not a traveler, you just have a weird hobby.

The concern that no one can shake (besides that of privacy) is that of machine stability and maintenance. Backscatter scanners do have the capability of doing harm; they just won’t if they’re functioning properly. Rodale adds, “If you feel uncomfortable going through advanced-imaging airport body-scan machines, know that you do have the right to an alternative search, although it may be in the form of a more invasive pat-down-type search by a security worker.”

For more information on radiation poisoning and radiation sickness, visit MayoClinic.com.

[via Rodale]

U.S. lifts ban on travelers with HIV or AIDS

by Sean McLachlan on

For the past 22 years, if you had HIV or AIDS and weren’t American, you couldn’t enter the U.S.

That changed today as President Obama lifted the ban. Since the Obama administration is planning to host the 2012 World Aids Conference, the change in policy was necessary.

The biannual conference naturally includes many people living with HIV and AIDS, and barring their entry would have been bad PR for an administration that wants to be seen as a global leader in the fight against the disease

There are only ten countries that now ban people with HIV/AIDS from entering. They are: Brunei, China. Equatorial Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

According to the website hivtravel.org, some of these countries allow people to enter under “special circumstances”. Some other countries not on the list put restrictions on people living with HIV/AIDS but not full bans.%Gallery-13474%

GPS almost kills five people in Oregon

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The invention of the dashboard-mounted GPS unit has been a lifesaver for many of the navigationally-challenged among us. But it’s also, well, almost killed people who rely on it blindly.

About a week ago, a Nevada couple got stuck for three days when their GPS device led them down a snowy, remote road in eastern Oregon. John Rhoads and his wife were trying to drive from Portland to Reno when their GPS told them to turn onto Forest Service Road 28 in Oregon. They followed it for 35 miles before their vehicle became lodged in the snow.

About 2 1/2 days later, their cell phone acquired a weak signal and they were able to call for rescue.

The lone bit of comic relief in the story, as Mike Munger points out, is the name of the driver’s wife: Starry Bush-Rhoads. “No, really,” Munger writes. “They got lost for three nights in the mountains on bush roads, and her name is….well, you see my point.”

The day before the Rhoads became stranded, another couple and their child were also driving in Oregon when their GPS led them astray. According to Yahoo News, “They had no cell phone service and ran short on formula for their 11-month-old daughter. After taking exploratory hikes, trying to dig out and spending the night in their car, the distraught couple filmed a goodbye video.”

Yikes!

Thankfully the couple was rescued after two days.

People, do not follow your GPS blindly! Always keep a paper map in your car. And don’t forget this important advice from Marie Dodds, a AAA spokesperson: “If you are following your GPS and all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of nowhere with snow all around, don’t go there. Turn around.”

More from Gadling’s Kraig Becker on the limits of GPS here.

Living in the Now: Travel gratitude

by Brenda Yun on

Sam Chillingworth, a high school classmate, friend, and now featured writer in the inspiring book series Wake Up… Live the Life you Love, recently passed on a book he contributed to called Living in the Now. At the time, I had just returned from a two-month trip to the mainland and Peru, and (as I usually do when I return from a trip) was experiencing a bad case of travel hangover.

There’s nothing like reading a collection of inspiring essays about embracing life. Some of the tips I found were so helpful in putting life — and, more importantly, travel — in perspective that I thought it would be worthwhile to pass on some life and travel wisdom to ye faithful Gadling readers. Seeing that the new year is so quickly approaching, these tips should generate some good ideas for your 2010 resolution(s). On Sunday, I outlined how to travel in 4D, and yesterday we learned about the 80/20 travel rule. Here’s my third and final travel tip to get your new year started on the right foot:

It’s easy to forget just how lucky we are to have the freedom to travel — and to have the freedom to choose what we want to do from day to day. My friend Sam wrote in his essay about living in the now, “[Gratitude] has allowed me to travel to more than 15 different countries, experience adrenaline-filled adventures that would blow your mind, and brought me the forgiveness, happiness and love I’d once longed to receive.” Being thankful for life itself and the great possibilities that exist from one day to the next is the first step toward embracing all of the treasures along the journey of life. When you’re on the road, it’s easy to be present and totally engaged, and it’s even easy to be thankful for the gift of travel itself. The true challenge, I find, is the gratitude that should exist even after your trip is over.

After some very difficult personal struggles, Sam began to appreciate life by watching the sun set into the Pacific Ocean every evening: “I would be there no matter what I was doing, even if all I saw was the final moment.” When your travel sun sets, there’s another new one on the horizon — another beautiful journey that begins each day. Be grateful for every moment you have to experience it fully.

Part of my plan for the new year is to say thank you for the gift of freedom, travel, and life. We are all fortunate souls for having all three.

5 ways to cure your travel hangover

by Brenda Yun on

Travel hangover (NOUN): the sad feeling you have upon returning home from an inspiring trip, otherwise known as the back-home blues or a hangover without the alcohol

We’ve all had it, and there’s no easy cure for it either. No matter how eager you are to return home from a trip, there’s something about the trip that you’re bound to miss — whether it’s the food, the culture, the sunsets, or the escape from reality. Upon returning home, you find yourself bummed out. Not only that: your friends just don’t understand — and can’t do much to get you out of your back-home funk.

Don’t get me wrong: there’s no place like home, but there’s also nothing like traveling abroad. Usually, the longer you’re away the longer your travel hangover will be. Here are a few ways to get rid of your “illness” a little quicker.

  1. Take time to reflect: Before you get back into the swing of things back home, make sure you reflect on the trip you just took and take note of the things you learned — about yourself and the place you went. If possible, share your reflections with your friends and family, as they will be better able to lift your spirits when you feel sad.
  2. Get and stay busy: Once home, try to get out of the house as much as possible and engage yourself in the real world. Getting and staying busy will force you to spend energy on other things rather than dwell on what you’re missing.
  3. Be grateful: I once sent a letter and care package to a lady I stayed with in Vanuatu and she wrote back with such enormous gratitude that it really lifted my spirits even more than my deed lifted hers. We often forget to say thank you to the people who made our time abroad so memorable and special. All it takes is a little thank you postcard, which is a small thing for the gift you just got in traveling.
  4. Make a difference: Your journey doesn’t have to end when you return to home soil. In fact, there are several ways to continue your trip in a metaphorical sense by saying thank you (#4) or giving back to the people who gave to you. If you don’t have the cash to make a donation to a local NGO, do your part to educate the people you know about what’s going on in the world. Sometimes the smallest gestures have the biggest outcomes.
  5. Plan your next trip: If you’re really feeling bummed out and still dreaming big, who’s to say you can’t begin planning for your next great adventure? Book your next ticket abroad! That way, you’ll have something to look forward to as well as back on.

While there may not be a sure fire way to cure your back-home blues, there are plenty of ways to turn your frown into a smile — and maybe even make others smile in the process. The world is your oyster, but so is your home, so take advantage of having your loved ones beside you again, and take comfort that your next big trip is just around the corner.