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It started with her eating less and pushing food around on her plate at lunch. Then she started skipping lunch altogether, telling our group that she had to study or needed to catch up on her homework. Something just wasn’t right.

She began looking a little thinner, but nothing to be concerned about. People would ask if she lost weight, which would make her entire day. But to her friends, it was concerning.

Suddenly, she was skipping class or stopped coming to school altogether. When she did show up, she was wearing huge sweatshirts and jackets even when it was hot out. She wouldn’t return phone calls and would lash out when I asked what was going on with her. I knew I had to do something about it.

I went to my school’s guidance counselor to ask what I should do. I explained that my friend had been skipping lunch and was looking less than healthy. The counselor told me that unfortunately, the only thing I could do was to just be there for her. She said if I was really that concerned, then I should talk to her parents but that I should be prepared that my friend probably would blame me.

It turned out that another friend had already tried that. And her parents, unfortunately, were in complete denial about the whole thing. They ended up confronting her, but she freaked out. When she found out that we had brought it to their attention, she abandoned us as her friends even though we were trying to help.

A few weeks later, my friend ended up being taken to the hospital because her body was rejecting food. She was sent to rehab for pretty much the remainder of the school year. As hard as it was to see what happened to her, we were all so glad that she was getting the help she needed.

She made it through and now she’s back to her healthy self. Our friendship, however, didn’t quite make it. Every time I’ve seen her since then, we’re cordial and nice to each other. But we’re not friends anymore. It hurts because as her friends, we wanted to help her. I wish that our friendship had survived, but I’m so glad that she’s healthy and thriving. She seems really happy, and that’s honestly all I can ask for.

Have you ever had a friend who struggled with an eating disorder or addiction? What did you do? Tell us in the comments!
 
This post is written in partnership with Simon & Schuster and Letting Ana Go.
 

What should you do if you think your friend has an eating disorder?

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I feel like there’s a huge stigma when it comes to gynecologists, but they’re people too! My gyno is the best, and I have the greatest conversations with her. It’s great because I know she really cares about my well-being. And she’s super honest with me too, which makes me feel better.

Don’t be afraid of your gyno, seriously. But here are some things your doc probably isn’t telling you.

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Be Ready To Pee

You don't need to chug a gallon of water before you head to your appointment, but make sure you can pee when you get there. Your gyno is going to test your urine, and it really sucks to have to say you can't do it and end up stuck in the waiting room trying to drink water.

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They're Going To Prick Your Finger

I didn't know they did this every time, and my fear of needles does not appreciate it. I know it's just a prick, but it hurts and makes me anxious! It's mainly to test your iron levels, but just brace yourself and don't forget to breathe.

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No Waxing!

Your gyno does NOT care if your hair down there is shaped like a lightning bolt or vajazzled or whatever. But they'd rather you not wax right before your visit because it can be more difficult to determine if anything's wrong. Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., told Redbook "It's hard to know if something is actually wrong-like an inflammation or infection, for example-or if the woman is simply swollen from the trauma of waxing." So stay away from the salon before your appointment!

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They're Not Judging You

Your gyno is not there to judge you. I'm more honest with my doctor than I am with anyone else! Whether you switched partners without getting tested first or didn't use a condom that time, your doc isn't writing "slut" across your chart.

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Don't Go On Your Period

No, you can't go anyway. Don't schedule your appointment when you know you're going to be on your period. And if you get it that morning (it happens) call right away to reschedule.

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No Underwear When Possible

Wearing underwear all the time apparently is not good for your vajayjay. When you have it on 24/7, you end up trapping all kinds of bacteria and stuff. Dr. Hutcherson says, "Wear underwear during the day, but as soon as you get home, the panties should come off. And no woman ever needs to wear them to bed." Good to know!

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Did you know any of the things on this list? Is there anything you want to add? Tell us in the comments!
 

Yearly pelvic exams might not be totally necessary, by the way

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This gal won’t be so smiley when she learns that shower gel can cause STDs and STIs! | Source: ShutterStock

One of the best parts of being a girl is being able to use flowery, fruity, sweet-scented shower gels–it feels so feminine and makes you feel so pretty! But there’s a downside, unfortunately: New reports suggest that using scented shower gel or fancy soaps down there can make you prone to STDs and STIs!

Research says that if you use shower gel, soap, lotion, or oils inside your vagina that aren’t designed to be there, it can lead to yeast infections or bacterial vaginosis. There’s a reason for that: the chemicals in all that stuff–which is still rad for the rest of your bod–can mess with the natural pH of your vagina, which cleans itself. As a result, your vag becomes unable to regulate the bacteria down there on its own, and the bad bacteria winds up taking over . . . and you end up very uncomfortable.

What’s more, the same STD and STI risk is posed by douches–as in, the literal kind, not the guy kind (though you should avoid both at all costs). Basically, anything scented near your vag? Or anything designed to make it smell better? It’s gonna make everything worse. And they can even make the smell–which is probably normal and healthy–worse in the long run, because the flowery coverups can cause infections that make it smell bad and sting. Yikes!

Using anything in your vagina–unless your doc specifically tells you to–does a lot more harm than good. Experts also recommend that even if you’re using lube that’s generally okay for down there, check the ingredients: you’re much better off with lube that doesn’t have glycerin, and you should opt for one with a silicone base.

If you use anything down there that you’re not supposed to, it can cause irritation–and tiny skin tears–that can make you more susceptible to STDs and STIs because when there’s broken skin, there’s more a chance of bacteria, viruses and other bad stuff getting in. Trust us–you smell fine. If you want to use shower gel or scented soap elsewhere on your body, go for it–but as for inside of your lady bits? It’s not worth the risk!

Do you use shower gel or scented soap? Do you think the link between shower gels and STDs and STIs is legit? Would the risk of STDs and STIs deter you from using shower gel entirely or just down there? Tell us in the comments!

Shower gel isn’t the only thing that causes yeast infections!

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It seems that teens are searching for chemicals to huff all over the place. Another young girl died after inhaling freon from the air conditioning unit of her grandmother’s home. Teens are inhaling everything from nitrous oxide out of whipped cream cans to hairspray to keyboard cleaner.

Huffing is also called dusting, bagging or sniffing. They’re all different methods of inhaling or smelling chemicals to get high, which is obviously really dangerous.

Huffing can cause almost instant death by cardiac arrest known as Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome, which is what happened to poor Aria. There are tons of short and long-term effects to huffing that include severe liver, kidney and brain damage.

Why did huffing keyboard cleaner kill Aria? Because it wasn’t just compressed air. Keyboard cleaners contain liquefied gas, which is poisonous.

Any method of inhaling chemicals is super, super dangerous y’all. I mean, it really can kill you any time you do it so stay away! Let’s all stick to breathing the nice, clean air outside.

Do you know anyone that’s huffing? Is it a problem among teens you know? Tell me in the comments!
 

And stop using ADHD drugs to study!

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Seriously, chewing gum makes you focus better. Before, gum was known to give you an edge when it came to memory-related tasks. Now a new study determined that gum gives you an advantage when focusing on hearing-related tasks too.

People who participated in the study were split into two groups. They all had to listen to numbers read out loud and then were scored on how well they could detect sequences of odd-even-odd numbers. One group chewed gum and one didn’t.

The group that chewed gum were more accurate and had quicker reaction times. Kate Morgan, of Cardiff University, explained in a news release, “Participants who didn’t chew gum performed slightly better at the beginning of the task but were overtaken by the end. This suggests that chewing gum helps us focus on tasks that require continuous monitoring over a longer amount of time.”

So when you’re studying for a test or cleaning your room, pop in a piece of gum because it will help you focus if it’s a task that will take you a while.

Even if it’s just a slight increase in concentration, this is good news! I’m a gum fanatic and was always getting in trouble with my teachers.

I just wish I knew this before because maybe I could have gotten out of detention.

Do you think chewing gum makes you focus better? Have you experienced better concentration while chewing gum? Tell me in the comments!
 

Showering can make you a genius!

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This is the worst news I’ve gotten all day. Ugh. Okay so let’s discuss this together. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, hosts of “Stuff You Should Know,” stopped by The Jeff Probst Show (that guy from Survivor) to chat about some stuff you should know.

Apparently, one of those things is that the 5-second rule is completely bogus and even if you drop something on the floor for one second, it’s accumulating a ton of bacteria. And not harmless bacteria. We’re talking like gross, makes-your-skin-crawl bacteria.

It makes sense, if you really think about it. Reflect on all the surfaces you walk across during the day. Now imagine all of the stuff you walked on is stuck to the bottom of your shoes, which you wear when you walk into your living space. And then you drop some food on all of that stuff. And then you eat it. EW.

Do you use the 5-second rule? Are you still going to use it after seeing this? Tell me in the comments!
 

Also, the common cold is more dangerous than you think

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Yikes! I know, I know. Gel manicures are beautiful and last forever, but this development makes sense. You’re repeatedly putting your hands under UV light to set the gel, and chances are you don’t have sunscreen on your hands. I know I don’t put SPF on my hands before hitting the salon.

UV lamps have the same dangers as tanning beds. There’s also “added worry that the machines aren’t regulated, meaning consumers don’t know how much exposure they are getting to the rays.” It’s pretty scary that these machines aren’t regulated, right?

Gel manicures are also dangerous if you have them for too long. Dr. Chris Adigun of the American Academy of Dermatology says “Any manicure left in place for an extended period of time is not a good idea because you are not seeing what is going on underneath the nail polish.” You have to let your nails breathe, girl!

And constantly getting gel manis, just like acrylics, can cause your nails to become weak and thin. Nobody wants that! So do yourself, your nails and your skin a favor and stick to regular polish.

Do you get gel manicures? How often? Do you worry about the exposure your hands get to UV rays? Tell me in the comments!
 

Your hair dye could be putting you at risk too

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She doesn’t just sleep, though. Lois does all kinds of things during these episodes, “The weirdest thing I’ve ever done in episode is get my ears pierced and dye my hair red. When I woke up and mum told me that, I thought she was joking.” How do you even process that? I would not be able to handle waking up and realizing I had dyed my hair.

When I was in high school, I had knee surgery and was on sleep medication for a few weeks since I couldn’t sleep through the pain. I ended up sleep walking a few times and woke up on the floor of my bathroom. I even tried to go down the stairs. That was scary enough, but what happens to Lois is absolutely terrifying.

She also gets violent and ends up harming herself or her family, “I’ve woken up before and my hands have been covered in blood and my knuckles have been all bruised.” This is so scary for Lois and for her family. You can’t wake up someone in a sleep trance, so they just have to wait it out.

Lois is terrified to go to bed because she fears she won’t wake up from an episode. Now she can fall asleep anywhere, even on the basketball court. Most doctors haven’t been able to diagnose Lois, but she saw a documentary that featured a condition very similar to what she was dealing with.

Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is scientifically known as Kleine-Levin Syndrome, which affects only about 1,000 people in the world. There’s no known cure for it and sufferers can fall into sleep trances lasting from 20 hours to months.

Lois now needs full-time care when she falls into an episode. She was an A-student before and now is struggling to keep up with her classes.

Here’s hoping Lois isn’t Sleeping Beauty forever and doctors find a cure for this!

What do you think about Sleeping Beauty Syndrome? Have you ever heard of it? Does it scare you? Tell me in the comments!
 

Are you a sleep-texter?

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The first time I dyed my hair, I was about fourteen and got some pretty hideous blonde highlights in my dark brown hair. I looked like Tony the Tiger. It wasn’t cute so I dyed it back to dark brown a few weeks later.

Since then, I’ve dyed my hair countless times. I get bored very easily and rarely have the nerve to chop it off so I switch colors. I’m currently rocking the ombre trend, which I absolutely love. I’ve always reached for dye without a second thought.

The scientists are saying that “chemicals in permanent hair dyes can react with tobacco smoke and other pollutants in the air to form one of the most powerful cancer-causing compounds known to man.” That sounds really ominous, but to me that’s like saying “Lipstick when combined with air pollutants causes cancer.” Like, if you combine anything with something toxic, it could cause cancer.

According to the study, secondary amines are components of all hair dyes and can stay in your hair and skin for a very long time. They could eventually react with fumes and tobacco smoke to form N-nitrosamines, which are known to cause cancer.

I admit this really made me nervous when I was reading it, but this is just one study. It doesn’t link out to research and says the scientists are writing in a “respected scientific journal,” which tells me absolutely nothing.

So I don’t want you to freak out like I did for a hot minute, I think our hair dye is just fine. Just remember to use caution when dying your hair and always do a skin test to see how you’ll react.

Do you dye your hair? Are you nervous about hair dye? What do you think about this study? Tell me in the comments!
 

Make sure you’re ready to get bangs before you cut them

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I was still texting but wasn’t fully aware of what I was saying until I reread the conversation this morning. I was basically sleep texting, which is now on the rise according to experts.

Professor of nursing at Villanova University, Dr. Elizabeth Dowdell says that this is new, “We’re just starting to get a handle on it.” Though she hasn’t done research on it yet, a lot of her students have shared their sleep-texting stories.

Dowdell says a cellphone beeping in the middle of the night is enough to lightly wake someone up, but they respond without being fully awake and have no recollection of it. She believes that sleep deprivation and the ties teens have to technology may be the culprits.

Clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, Dr. Michael Breus, says “With the advent of texting, I would absolutely say there’s a significant uptick in this type of thing,” in teens and adults too.

Sleep texting is what Breus calls an “arousal disorder,” which is really common in shift workers, on-call doctors and anyone else who may be lacking sleep. He explains that this behavior has been around for a while, but texting is another activity that people are doing.

What’s the solution? Get more sleep! And maybe put your phone on the opposite side of the room so you don’t roll over and start texting your crush in the middle of the night.

Have you ever sleep texted? Did you remember doing it? Did you say anything crazy? Tell me in the comments!
 

Stress can cause sleep deprivation, so make sure you know how to deal!

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