In this article we will focus on 15 Medical Myths: Truth no one told us since it’s hard to avoid misinformation sometimes since it’s circulating and being practiced by a mass population & sometimes true news & facts is hard to deal with, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider you trust before believing such myths.
Medical Myth 1: The 5 second rule- it’s safe to eat food that’s been on the floor for five seconds or less.
No matter how clean the floor is, there is always some kind of germs on it and unfortunately we can’t sanitize our food hence this myth should never be followed unless you want to get sick.
Myth 2: Wait at least 30 minutes to go for a swim after eating.
It is a myth that after eating the blood circulation gets more concentrated towards our gut leaving behind arms and legs and hence swimming immediately may drown u due to poor functioning of the limbs.
Though it’s true that the blood do get concentrated to gut but not that much, it won’t affect the function of limbs.
You might get little cramp if u swim immediately after your stomach is full, but nothing serious.
Myth 3: Don’t go outside with Wet hair, you will catch cold.
It’s simply not true.
Since cold is caused by viruses which often spreads through sick person sneezing, coughing, contact with bodily fluids, or by touching or having contact with surfaces which are already infected by these viruses.
Though going out with wet hair can damage hair since it is more sensitive when it is wet and hence more fragile.
Myth 4: You need to drink 8 glass of water a day.
Though being hydrated is essential especially in summer, but most of our drinks including tea, coffee, juices contains water. The best indicator for drinking water is our body itself, whenever we feel thirsty just grab a glass of water. Water requirement also depends upon your body size, your activeness.
Myth 5: Cracking you knuckles causes arthritis.
There is no evidence supporting that cracking your joint causes any disease. Though the sound that comes is due to the burst of air pockets.
Arthritis is a condition which occurs over time so whether u crack your knuckles or not there are same chances for you to develop arthritis at old age.
Myth 6: Rubbing Alcohol on a fresh wound as a first aid.
No, that would be an ouch ouch (quite painful) moment for the patient, besides it’s better to use simply water and soap to clean the wound, having an antibacterial soap would be a win win.
Myth 7: Tilting your head back will stop a nosebleed.
Most people think when they have a nosebleed that tilting back will prevent the bleeding, but instead the bleed can enter into the back part of your nose, nasal pharynx & that directly connects to your Airways. If the bleeding is profuse it can compromise your breathing, that’s dangerous. Hence we ask patient to lean forward &pinch their nose really hard. With most bleeding the goal is to apply pressure to direct site of bleeding, but due to the anatomy of nose we can’t reach the bleeding vessel and hence it is recommendes to pinch the cartilaginous portion of the nose (ant part of nose).
And go to the hospital ASAP.
Myth 8: Carrots can cure night blindness.
False.
Though carrots are rich in vitamin A and a helpful in our eyesight but they don’t correct night vision per se.
Myth 9: Chocolate is bad for you.
False, obviously too much chocolate just like any other thing can be harmful
But little bit might be good for you, but only the Dark Chocolate. Various health benefits of Dark chocolate include:
- It’s nutritious,
- May protect your skin from the sun,
- Could improve brain function,
- Raises HDL and protects LDL from oxidation,
- Powerful source of antioxidants,
- May improve blood flow and lower blood pressure,
- May reduce heart disease risk,
- It is Good for Your Gut and May Help With obesity-major-health-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Weight Loss.
Myth 10: Migraine is just a bad headache.
Migraine and headache are two different entity and the approach to treat it is different too. Headache is like a tension building up in your head which can be throbbing or pulsatile while the Migraine is something which is chronic and can last up to days and is debilitating, meaning it can actually affect your day to day activities and hence we treat it aggressively. It can be of two types, simple and complex. It is usually associated with aura and other symptoms like dizziness, ringing in ears, blurry vision, photo-phobia.
Myth 11: You can stop taking Antibiotics when you start feeling better.
It is really important that if you have been prescribed 5days of medication & you feel better on day 3 or 4, you must complete the course of medicine in order to avoid bacterial resistance.
Myth 12: Flu shot can lead to flu.
Big fat myth, though flu shot can make you achy and feverish but it’s just how our immune system responds to the dead virus and it can not lead you to flu.
Vaccines are safe and doesn’t cause autism.
Myth 13: Head lice prefer dirty hair.
Lice has nothing to do with the cleanliness of hair, it just wants hair to hand on no matter what’s the condition of hair. Head lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Head lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Anyone who comes in head-to-head contact with someone who already has head lice is at greatest risk.
Myth 14: We use only 10% of our brains.
Most of the brain isn’t loafing. Detailed brain studies haven’t found the “non-functioning” 90% of the brain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans show that even simple activities require almost all of the brain to be active. While there is still a lot to learn about the brain, researchers continue to fill in the gaps between fact and fiction.
Myth 15: Patients cared by a female doctor live longer.
It is TRUE.
There are Number of studies stating that the patient live longer, do better, less likely to be readmitted when they are attended by a female doctor. But at the same time women doctors face a lot of discrimination & get paid less than their male counterparts, though the rates are decreasing as the awareness is hiking.
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