Shortcut: 5 Secret Body Tricks

Body hacks. So simple, so ingenious. They're the shortcuts in life. We love them, the internet loves them. Back in 2008, somebody named Alicia Goh wrote a friendster blog post that has been passed along far and wide. Her tricks of the body include quick solutions for an itchy throat, a stuffy nose, a dire need to pee, and more. My favorites:

• Need to pee? Like, really, really badly? Just imagine your crush... you know, naked. "Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so you won't feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine."

• Stuffy nose and no tissue to be found? Try alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Then press between your eyebrows with one finger. "This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain."

• Toothache? Cure it without going anywhere near your mouth. Try rubbing ice on the back of your hand, on that V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. "A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands."

• Ice isn't always the best solution for burns. "When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natural method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less likely to blister."

• Eliminate a running cramp. You can unstitch your side by by exhaling as your left foot hits the ground. Exhaling as your right foot hits the ground "puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men."

Photo from Swagbucks.
VIA Alicia Goh's friendster.