Gum Chewing

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What's everyone's opinions on chewing gum while on the job?

Just curious because I love to chew gum but I feel as though no one in my hospital does it. :eek:

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Coop 696 Well, first of all, I was never a neuroscience major so I may be deficient in my ability to evaluate stuff, and I didn't see anything in there about formaldehyde or gum absorbing toxic vapors from the air, but I did read all your links. Here are my thoughts on them. Preface by: I wasn't looking for opinion or speculation. So in no particular order. .

http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_chewing_gum.htm Dr. Bowen- You see a left wing article, I see a guy who is bat--- crazy. Unless you agree with him that aspartame is a potent toxin deliberately slipped into gum as a "brainwashing agent designed to keep us from questioning or objecting to what 'they' are doing to our country and our world". :uhoh21:

http://www.dorway.com/doctors.txt It's not a compilation of links, really. It's a list of articles written by doctors within the website of Dorway.com. itself, and who bills itself as info on "aspartame poisoning" I think maybe that might be called a false premise. Dr. Bowen appears in this list, too with "Sperm Warfare - Aspartame vs. the Fire Ant" If they are OK with Bowen not sure I care about what the others say. Learned a new word, though. . ."excitotoxins"

http://smallbitesnutrition.blogspot.com/2009/02/you-ask-i-answer-aspartamechewing-gum.html It is interesting, but this blogger accepts at face value the guideline of 50mg per Kg per day (not 50mg per day) or 4-6 pieces of gum. He also provides his commenter with a link to the the EFSA study which criticizes the methodology of the 2006 Italian study. Finally, he seems to view sorbitol as a greater danger than aspartame!

http://dorway.com/dorwblog/efsas-review-of-ramazzinis-second-aspartame-study-shows-sellout/ I can't agree that this is an interpretation of the 2006 PubMed abstract for those not used to reading scientific journals. I believe it is a blog entry by Dorway.com debunking the debunker so to speak. It was written after the EFSA came out with their revised opinion of the 2006 study, which btw was a rat study, not a human study. Dorway.com had their credibility on the line, and they were calling the EFSA "sellouts"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507461 The results of this mega-experiment indicate that APM is a multipotential carcinogenic agent, even at a daily dose of 20 mg/kg body weight, much less than the current acceptable daily intake. This is the one that later cast doubt on by those who published the study in the first place. Upon further review, they believed the study flawed for several reasons. That link is in the comment section of the smallbitesnutrition blog.

My whole point in doing this is to say that, it's fine if someone believes aspartame causes a variety of common symptoms, it just doesn't mean it does. I'm totally open to the possibility that some day in the future they will prove it with a reputable study, not anecdotal stories. .002 :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ICU, ED.

I categorize gum chewing with smoking. Both are habits with smoking of course being the worse one.

IMHO it's unprofessional for someone to chew gum while working on the job (not on break or lunchtime). It's discracting, annoying, disrespectful, and plain RUDE!

Its not to say that I don't chew gum. I chew Zylitol gum because, it it known to reduce tartar buildup of teeth. I usually chew gum immediately after a meal to cleanse my mouth and then when the taste is gone (usually around 5-10 minutes), I dispose of it.

And if I were at a workplace setting, I would solely designate gum chewing for breaks and lunchtime.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Uh... my guess would be that as far as role model stuff goes, chewing gum does not make the list of activities that might push the young and innocent to the very edge of that perilous cliff that juts out over a certain abyss of doom and despair. :uhoh3:

Ha! You have a great (and entertaining) way with words, 2nd!! :lol2:

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Research has found that chewing gum stimulates certain areas of the brain (as measured by EEG), which may have a relationship to reducing tension. In addition, one study conducted in 2002 showed that chewing gum appeared to improve people's ability to retain and retrieve information.

Who is the author of the study? I'd like to read more about the research behind gum chewing.

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Perhaps some readers haven't taken Statistics classes, or haven't heard that in order for any study to be valid. it has to involve at least 1,000 people/samples and have a concurrent double blind study of others, to compare results. Then it should be replicated with the same result obtained.

Well, I guess you have no children, and no one in your family has any....... so what the hey, you don't have to be anyone's role model, or do you?, as a nurse/health educator.

Young children chew gum in great quantities, having been given it by dentists, parents, etc. They chew as many pieces as they can get into their mouths at once, take it out, manipulate it with dirty hands after it's dropped on the floor, sometimes drooling.......

s:

I don't need a statistics class to know when and where and how to chew gum.

And what kids do with gum is what kids do with gum.

They are CHILDREN.

We are talking about ADULTS.

They have the ability to chew gum without rolling it in their hands and drooling!

If an adult has no sense of when to do something or not then that is a basic fault in that individual that goes beyond gum chewing.

Sheesh! Is there no joy in your life?

Ever take an Oreo apart and licked the cream out first?

Ever lick the bowl after mixing brownies?

What?

You got some research on Oreo picking now?

lol

Have some fun, will ya!?

I'm sorry. I can't live my life wherein everything I do is based on research.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, ED, Psych.

I need to put my boots on...there is too much poop in this thread

Call me what you want - Lets all be realistic here.

At some point or another - ALL of us have chewed gum at work.

To imply that you never have or never will chew gum at work is like saying you have never farted at work, gave your boss the finger (behind there back), cried, yelled at familes from hell or intentionally pissed off the arrogant MD with a 0300 tylenol order.

Be it professional or not, WHO CARES!!!!!

HONESTLY WHO CARES.

Of all the issues in nursing - This would be at the bottom of the barrel.

Moderators please close this thread - it is nit-picking at its worst

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

((( picture of beating a dead horse goes here)))

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
i need to put my boots on...there is too much poop in this thread

call me what you want - lets all be realistic here.

at some point or another - all of us have chewed gum at work.

sorry abbaking, but i have never ever chewed gum at work. not ever. mints...tic tacs... lifesavers...

yes, but never gum.

my parents were older than average and had a very strong aversion to gum chewing which, for better or for worse, they passed along to me.

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

I was responding to the point someone made regarding gum chewing being "harmless". There is better evidence that it is harmful, than any pleading the opposite (funded by manufacturers of gum).

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I need to put my boots on...there is too much poop in this thread

Call me what you want - Lets all be realistic here.

At some point or another - ALL of us have chewed gum at work.

To imply that you never have or never will chew gum at work is like saying you have never farted at work, gave your boss the finger (behind there back), cried, yelled at familes from hell or intentionally pissed off the arrogant MD with a 0300 tylenol order.

Be it professional or not, WHO CARES!!!!!

HONESTLY WHO CARES.

Of all the issues in nursing - This would be at the bottom of the barrel.

Moderators please close this thread - it is nit-picking at its worst

True, but it's also one of the most entertaining threads I've read in a long time. . . who knew an innocent title like "gum chewing" could get people just as riled up as a thread about medical assistants calling themselves nurses? : )

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I thought it was kinda funny...

Especially when I imagine a crazed nurse rolling dirty gum in her hands and drooling... lol

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I thought it was kinda funny...

Especially when I imagine a crazed nurse rolling dirty gum in her hands and drooling... lol

heh.

i was just imagining a 6yo boy, sticking a wad of gum up his nose...

then to impress mom, he takes it out and 'shares' with his unsuspecting, 3yo little sister.:lol2:

leslie

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