RIDING a motorbike, smoking and going to a chiropractor should all be avoided, according to an ICU doctor.
Dr Dave, a TikTok star based in California, listed them among the things he would never do, based on horror stories he has seen on hospital wards.
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Some patients’ experiences have left him “scarred for life” after doing them, he said.
Many have been left suffering strokes, paralysis or dead because of the habits.
In a video, he said: “I gotta say, number one, I would not ride a motorbike.
“The number of patients that have gone into severe accidents from their motorbikes and have been left paralysed in a coma, completely in a vegetative state is unreal.”
He said the “sheer damage” it causes to people’s families, particularly young patients in their 20s and 30s, has put him off the mode of transport forever.
Dr Dave said: “I’ve had a handful of these patients pass away on a ventilator, on a machine, and so for me the risk and benefit of that just doesn’t add up.
“As much as I’m an adrenaline junky, the risk is just not worth it. I like my life.”
Around 334 Brits died in motorbike accidents in 2022, up from 336 in 2019, according to the Department of Transport.
The second thing to avoid doing is chiropractors, Dr Dave said.
He said: “Again, same reason, the risk to benefit is not worth it.
“The number of patients I’ve seen who, after a chiropractic neck manipulation, have a vertebral artery dissection and have been left with a massive stroke or paralysis.”
He said chiropractors can leave you feeling better “for a little while” but said he would rather get a massage or “go lie in a pool” to relieve back pain.
Chiropractic treatment is not widely available on the NHS but can be offered in some areas at a GP’s discretion.
Practitioners can help relieve back, neck, shoulder and elbow pain, with some claiming they are able to treat other conditions like asthma, allergies or mental health problems — despite there being little evidence to support this.
One study has shown more than half of all patients suffer mild to moderate adverse effects after seeing a chiropractor.
Finally, Dr Dave says he would never smoke cigarettes.
He said: “I think everyone knows this but cigarettes are one of the deadliest substances out there.
“I’ve seen more patients than I can count coming in with complications from their smoking, including lung-related cancer.
“Again the risks and benefits are just not worth it for me. So at the end of the day, the actions that don’t provide enough benefit to my life and have too much risk, I don’t pursue at all.”
Smoking is the number one cause of preventable illness and premature death, according to Action on Smoking and Health.
It is responsible for around 74,600 deaths a year in England.