1 Mosquito

These flying insects are all too familiar to most people. What’s little known, however, is that only the female mosquito drinks human blood, which is needed in order to make eggs. While mosquitoes are usually just annoying—the itchy bump left from a mosquito encounter is a reaction to its saliva—some unfortunate people find out that mosquitoes can transmit a number of serious diseases, including yellow fever, malaria, filariasis, and dengue. Which is why mosquitoes are considered one of the world’s deadliest animals.

 

 

 

 

2 Flea

This is another pesky but seemingly benign insect that is actually extremely deadly—as in Black Death deadly. These bloodsuckers are believed to have helped cause the bubonic plague that killed a quarter of Europe’s population during the Middle Ages. As infected rats began to die off, fleas turned to humans for blood, thereby transmitting the disease. And you probably thought fleas were just a problem for Fido.

3 Bed bug

Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. This nursery rhyme fails to convey the true nightmare of bedbugs. Sometimes called the “perfect parasite,” these tiny insects feed at night, often while their victim is asleep, and their bites are painless due to an anesthetizing agent. Later, however, the bite often becomes an itchy welt. Fortunately, bedbugs don’t transmit diseases. Unfortunately, they can be hard to eliminate.

4 Ox pecker

Why should insects have all the fun? These African birds—also known as tickbirds—perch on cattle and big-game animals while removing ticks, flies, and maggots from their hosts’ hides. This might seem almost nice, until you find out that the oxpeckers also feed on the blood from the host animals’ wounds—preventing the injuries from healing and sometimes creating the wounds themselves.

5 Vampire Fincher 

Another bloodthirsty bird, the vampire finch is found on the Galapagos Islands. Though often eating seeds and insects like other finch species, vampire finches also have a taste for blood. Their victim is the booby bird, which surprisingly doesn’t seem to mind being a meal. In fact, the booby often sits patiently as a long queue of vampire finches wait to take a drink.

6 leech

Although most people avoid these bloodsucking worms, leeches have long been used in the world of medicine. Into the 19th century, leeches were used to “treat” such conditions as mental illness, tumors, skin disease, gout, and whooping cough. While those treatments are now discontinued, leeches have found new—and proven—uses in modern medicine. Most notably, leeches are used to restore blood flow to damaged veins after an appendage is reattached or a tissue grafted. So, maybe more people should be on Team Leech.

7 lamprey

These primitive eel-like animals haven’t changed much over hundreds of millions of years. But, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Lampreys use their mouths—which are jawless and feature horny teeth—to attach themselves to fish. Once in place, the lampreys feed off their hosts’ blood and tissue. Sometimes a lamprey can stay attached to one fish for weeks. Fortunately, lampreys rarely attack humans.

8 Vampire bat

This type of bat, of which there are three species, is the only known mammal whose diet is solely based on blood. Although livestock, birds, and reptiles are its typical targets, humans are occasionally its prey. Vampire bats—which must feed at least every two days—use razor-sharp teeth to make tiny incisions in their victims and then lick the flowing blood. The satiated bats will often regurgitate blood to share with those who are hungry. Who said bloodsuckers were heartless?

1General Oral Health

Most bad breath is caused by poor oral hygiene. If you don’t clean your teeth and your whole mouth regularly, food particles can remain in your mouth and a sticky buildup of bacteria (also known as plaque) can form on your teeth. The uneven surface of your tongue as well as your tonsils can trap food particles and bacteria in the mouth which produce bad breath odor

2 Eating Flavorful Food & Drink

After eating certain foods—like onions, garlic, certain vegetables and spices—odor-causing food particles enter the bloodstream and are carried to the lungs, where they affect the odor of your breath each time you exhale.

3 Coffee

If you’re a big fan of a strong cup of coffee in the morning to start your day, you may have noticed that it can leave you feeling like you have bad breath. Coffee can be a cause of bad breath due its intense flavor as well as the effect it has on saliva production. After drinking coffee, the caffeine leads to a decline in saliva production. Less saliva means an increase in odor-causing bacteria.

4 Alcohol

Alcohol consumption is another culprit of bad breath, so the more often you drink - the more likely you are to experience it. Drinking alcohol, particularly in excess, causes a decrease in saliva production, which is the best environment for odor-causing bacteria to flourish.

5 High-Protein or Low-Carb Diets

Carbohydrates serve crucial functions in our bodies, and if your diet is low enough in carbs, it can lead to bad breath. When the body doesn’t get enough carbs due to an extreme diet, this can cause changes to your body’s metabolism which can lead to bad breath.

6 High-Protein or Low-Carb Diets

Carbohydrates serve crucial functions in our bodies, and if your diet is low enough in carbs, it can lead to bad breath. When the body doesn’t get enough carbs due to an extreme diet, this can cause changes to your body’s metabolism which can lead to bad breath.

High-protein foods are sometimes difficult for your body to digest and tend to release sulfurous gases when they don’t metabolize. Avoid this by eating a more balanced and nutritious diet including more vegetables and herbs.

7 Smoking

Tobacco products—whether it’s cigarettes, chew, or pipe—all cause bad breath and lead to much more serious oral health issues. Apart from leaving your mouth 

smelling like an ashtray, they damage the gum tissue and cause gum disease.

8 Digestive Issues

Poor digestion, constipation, or bowel disorders can all cause unfortunate odor on the breath. If you frequently experience acid reflux, the odors from recently consumed foods may easily make their way back up the esophagus and out the mouth, causing bad breath.

9 Dry Mouth

Saliva helps keep your mouth clean by removing food particles that lead to bad breath. When the production of saliva slackens or stops, a condition known as xerostomia, bad breath is likely to follow. This happens naturally while you sleep, which is why most people find their breath to be a bit stinky upon waking up. But if the problem persists throughout the day, treatment may be worth considering.

10 Prescription Medication

Hundreds of prescription medications come with the side effect of dry mouth. When your mouth is dry, when saliva production decreases, the environment for odor-causing bacteria thrives. Any extended period of time with cotton mouth can cause discomfort and lead to bad breath. Additionally, some medications, when broken down in the body, release chemicals that can be carried through your blood stream to your breath.