# medical myths



## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 13, 2009)

in class the other day, we were talking about "medical facts" we were told as kids, that we now know are completely false. (i hope that i am not the only one on here who has been told these:unsure

-when unoxygenated, your blood is blue
- people say "god bless you" after a sneeze, because your heart stops when you sneeze
-your intestines are long enough to encircle the earth

So what else were you guys told as a small child in school,(or even things you've heard in your EMS education) that seems completely ridiculous now?


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## MrBrown (Dec 13, 2009)

that the lymphatic capillaries are green


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## WarDance (Dec 13, 2009)

You get colds from being in the cold.  Complete B.S.


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## VentMedic (Dec 13, 2009)

Drinking coffee will help to sober you up.

It is best to starve a fever and feed a cold.

You can determine the sex of your baby by the way you are "carrying."

Putting butter on a burn will ease the pain.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 13, 2009)

i also remember that i shouldn't swallow bubble gum, because it takes 7 years to digest!


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> in class the other day, we were talking about "medical facts" we were told as kids, that we now know are completely false. (i hope that i am not the only one on here who has been told these:unsure
> 
> -when unoxygenated, your blood is blue
> - people say "god bless you" after a sneeze, because your heart stops when you sneeze
> ...





WarDance said:


> You get colds from being in the cold.  Complete B.S.



All of these for me. Also the you get sick from having wet hair.


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Drinking coffee will help to sober you up.
> 
> It is best to starve a fever and feed a cold.
> 
> ...





Lifeguards For Life said:


> i also remember that i shouldn't swallow bubble gum, because it takes 7 years to digest!



Yes, yes!!

I was also told repeatedly if you lifted your arms over your head while pregnant you'd strangle the baby with its cord.


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## Seaglass (Dec 13, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> i also remember that i shouldn't swallow bubble gum, because it takes 7 years to digest!



I heard the same thing, except about fingernails and hair...


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## akflightmedic (Dec 13, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> people say "god bless you" after a sneeze, because your heart stops when you sneeze



Funny thread. Dig a little deeper and you will see this habit originated due to the belief that your soul exited your body when you sneezed and someone quickly blessed you until you took your next breath and inhaled your soul back in to prevent evil spirits from slipping in while your soul was temporarily out.

Kind of ironic and hypocritical that this still goes on today...


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 13, 2009)

oh, and you have to wait 30 minutes between eating and swimming, to avoid imminent cramps...


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

Seaglass said:


> I heard the same thing, except about fingernails and hair...



God.. I went through a phase when I was a child where I chewed on my hair. My granny used to tell me a monster in my stomach would grab my hair and pull me inside out if I didnt stop. h34r:


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## VentMedic (Dec 13, 2009)

Ear lobe creases are prevelant in people with coronary artery disease.

Patients with heat stroke do not sweat.

Better dead than Levophed.


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## Epi-do (Dec 13, 2009)

Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis.
Eating late at night causes weight gain.
You only use 10% of your brain.
Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
Chocolate and fried foods give you acne.
The rash you get from poison ivy is contagious.
Keep someone awake if they have a recent concussion.
Sugar makes kids hyperactive.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 13, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Patients with heat stroke do not sweat.
> 
> .



we were taught that one in EMT class as well<_<


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## Onceamedic (Dec 13, 2009)

If you look down the outhouse hole, you will get a sty in your eye

A bruise is worse than a cut because the bad blood can't get out..


(My mother is Finnish and doesn't speak english - so these are probably different from yours..  :glare


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## VentMedic (Dec 13, 2009)

Epi-do said:


> Chocolate and fried foods give you acne.


 
Sex cures acne.


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## WarDance (Dec 13, 2009)

bunkie said:


> All of these for me. Also the you get sick from having wet hair.



My parents still believe all of these myths especially this one!  Every time I return home for the holidays there is a battle over this one.  If you go outside with wet hair you WILL get pneumonia and die!


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## Seaglass (Dec 13, 2009)

Most of these are really familiar. The only one I can think to add is that acne is a sign of someone who doesn't bathe... 



bunkie said:


> God.. I went through a phase when I was a child where I chewed on my hair. My granny used to tell me a monster in my stomach would grab my hair and pull me inside out if I didnt stop. h34r:



It was nailbiting for me. Getting into animal rescue, which can get kinda nasty, stopped that real fast.


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## Epi-do (Dec 13, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Sex cures acne.



Now why haven't I ever heard that one?  Even if it isn't true, it sounds good to me!


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 13, 2009)

Epi-do said:


> Now why haven't I ever heard that one?  Even if it isn't true, it sounds good to me!



I know right, I wish someone told me that as a teenager


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## NomadicMedic (Dec 13, 2009)

A radial pulse equals a systolic BP of at least 90. 

still taught in many EMT classes as fact. Pure BS.


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

How about sex cures headaches. My husband tried that one.


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## Seaglass (Dec 13, 2009)

bunkie said:


> How about sex cures headaches. My husband tried that one.



I remember seeing that one in the news awhile ago, saying orgasms cure migraines. Makes me wonder how anyone with a migraine can get there in the first place...


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

Seaglass said:


> I remember seeing that one in the news awhile ago, saying orgasms cure migraines. Makes me wonder how anyone with a migraine can get there in the first place...



Right!?! 

To this day I'm told if I dont eat meat I'll be severely deficient in protein and die of starvation.


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## NomadicMedic (Dec 13, 2009)

bunkie said:


> How about sex cures headaches. My husband tried that one.



No, no! This one is true. Trust me. 

even if it's not, nobody tell my wife!


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## Sasha (Dec 13, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> i also remember that i shouldn't swallow bubble gum, because it takes 7 years to digest!



When I was little my mom used to tell me that you don't swallow gum because it will stick to your lungs and give you cancer. ( I guess it somehow jumps out of your digestive system and clings to your lungs!)

Can't get pregnant if they pull out.

Can't get pregnant while on your period. 

Can't get pregnant if you do jumping jacks afterwards. (Or are on top, do it from the back, do it upside down.)

Can't get STDs from oral/anal sex.
Putting your arms up when you choke helps you not choke. 

Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

Hair grows back faster and darker when you shave.

Put liquid soap on a tick to get rid of it.


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## Sasha (Dec 13, 2009)

bunkie said:


> Right!?!
> 
> To this day I'm told if I dont eat meat I'll be severely deficient in protein and die of starvation.



Planet Smoothie has great protein smoothies.


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## VentMedic (Dec 13, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Put liquid soap on a tick to get rid of it.


 
Put a hot match on a tick to remove it.


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

n7lxi said:


> No, no! This one is true. Trust me.
> 
> even if it's not, nobody tell my wife!



I'll keep your secret. 



Sasha said:


> Planet Smoothie has great protein smoothies.



Do they make them in veggie? Hold the ham?


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## bunkie (Dec 13, 2009)

put clear nail polish all over your entire body to smother the chiggers that are festering inside your skin.


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## Sasha (Dec 14, 2009)

> Putting butter on a burn will ease the pain.



Yellow mustard will take the sting out of burns.


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## Sasha (Dec 14, 2009)

Washing your hair with mayonnaise will kill lice. (It doesn't, but it does make your hair shiny.)

You can only get chickenpox once.


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## bunkie (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Washing your hair with mayonnaise will kill lice. (It doesn't, but it does make your hair shiny.)
> 
> You can only get chickenpox once.



*nods* Yes you only get chickenpox once. My poor sister had it 3 times as a kid. I'll never forget her pink calamine lotioned body. Each time she had it just as bad as the last.


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## Seaglass (Dec 14, 2009)

I got chicken pox twice. That sucked. 



Sasha said:


> Can't get pregnant if they pull out.
> 
> Can't get pregnant while on your period.
> 
> ...



Or if it's your first time, or if you do it standing up. When I respond to a call involving sex, especially for a first time, I work "oh by the way, you can get pregnant--get tested in a bit" in there somewhere, especially if we aren't transporting. 

Best "can't get pregnant" advice ever: can't get pregnant if you drink bleach first.


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## bunkie (Dec 14, 2009)

Seaglass said:


> I got chicken pox twice. That sucked.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



oh.my.


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## ZVNEMT (Dec 14, 2009)

frequent mastrubation give you hairy palms

looking at porn/vaginas makes you go blind

pillowpants


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## NomadicMedic (Dec 14, 2009)

ZVNEMT said:


> frequent mastrubation give you hairy palms
> 
> looking at porn/vaginas makes you go blind
> 
> pillowpants




On a call. I've seen a vagina that made me wish I was blind. LOL

"oh ma'am...I didn't need to see that!"


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## Sasha (Dec 14, 2009)

Seaglass said:


> I got chicken pox twice. That sucked.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I've also heard you "Can't get pregnant if you douche with soda afterwards".... yuck.


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## ZVNEMT (Dec 14, 2009)

n7lxi said:


> On a call. I've seen a vagina that made me wish I was blind. LOL
> 
> "oh ma'am...I didn't need to see that!"



touche


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## PhilipM3 (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Washing your hair with mayonnaise will kill lice. (It doesn't, but it does make your hair shiny.)
> 
> You can only get chickenpox once.



I got it twice.  <_<


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## bunkie (Dec 14, 2009)

n7lxi said:


> On a call. I've seen a vagina that made me wish I was blind. LOL
> 
> "oh ma'am...I didn't need to see that!"



I can't stop laughing. 



Sasha said:


> I've also heard you "Can't get pregnant if you douche with soda afterwards".... yuck.



I have heard this.


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## Seaglass (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> I've also heard you "Can't get pregnant if you douche with soda afterwards".... yuck.



That one's new to me. Ew. Talk about a way to get an infection...

Come to think of it, I have heard of using lemon juice before, though.


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## Micro_87 (Dec 14, 2009)

i remember hearing if you put butter on a burn it will relieve the pain.


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## Sasha (Dec 14, 2009)

Seaglass said:


> That one's new to me. Ew. Talk about a way to get an infection...
> 
> Come to think of it, I have heard of using lemon juice before, though.



Yeahhh I don't want to know how that idea even popped into someone's head... It seems like it would be rather sticky and fizzy.


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## JPINFV (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Yeahhh I don't want to know how that idea even popped into someone's head... It seems like it would be rather _sticky _and fizzy.



Depends on if it's cola or just plain soda water.


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## Thindian (Dec 14, 2009)

Epi-do said:


> Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis.
> *Eating late at night causes weight gain.*
> You only use 10% of your brain.
> Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
> ...


- When you're sleeping, your body uses stores as energy. If you don't let your body use it's stores (by eating right before you sleep), you will just keep building up stores.
- Subdural bleeds, come on.
- Sugar... kids...

Who told you these things aren't true?


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## VentMedic (Dec 14, 2009)

Thindian said:


> - When you're sleeping, your body uses stores as energy. If you don't let your body use it's stores (by eating right before you sleep), you will just keep building up stores.
> - *Subdural bleeds, come on.*
> - Sugar... kids...
> 
> Who told you these things aren't true?


 
Science and research studies...

I guess we should not sedate or RSI the TBI?


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## VentMedic (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> I've also heard you "Can't get pregnant if you douche with soda afterwards".... yuck.


 
Unfortunately, in the ED I have seen a few small Coke bottles stuck in young patients.


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## mcdonl (Dec 14, 2009)

*I may have to dispute this one....*



> Washing your hair with mayonnaise will kill lice. (It doesn't, but it does make your hair shiny.)



I have done this, and it did work. The oil in the mayo smothered the lice. Maybe I got lucky, but I have had the pleasure of dealing with 3 bouts of lice before my kids were old enough to protect themselves.


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## akflightmedic (Dec 14, 2009)

Thindian said:


> Sugar... kids...



The mere fact that you equate this ONLY to children indicates your lack of understanding of anatomy and physiology and how sugar has absolutely no effect on kids. As a father of three, I can attest to the fact that it has absolutely zero effect on my kids.

It is simply an old wives tale which it seems you wish to continue with.

I like this one: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2747/does-giving-sweets-to-kids-produce-a-sugar-rush

This one also addresses your "eating at night" issue:http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/12/18/44422.aspx

To paraphrase: eating at night does not make one fat. consuming more calories than calories burned makes you fat. Every scientific study has showed this over and over, it is eating too much and too low of an activity level.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/kids/hyperactivity.shtml

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6387517


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## akflightmedic (Dec 14, 2009)

mcdonl said:


> I have done this, and it did work. The oil in the mayo smothered the lice. Maybe I got lucky, but I have had the pleasure of dealing with 3 bouts of lice before my kids were old enough to protect themselves.



May wish to consider something else eh?

Can you use mayonnaise, butter or vaseline to smother head lice?

Like olive oil, mayonnaise, butter and vaseline are smothering agents. However, unlike olive oil, these substances are difficult to get out of the hair, particularly in the case of vaseline. Children are often repelled by the smell of butter and mayonnaise and both these substances can turn rancid, and cause problems if children suck on their hair.

Mineral oil (including baby oil) is not recommended because it can be harmful to mucous membranes.

Olive Oil is the best smothering agent. It has been lab-tested and found to be effective in killing head lice. Olive oil has few, if any, allergic properties and is relatively inexpensive. The least expensive grade - pumace or restaurant grade - is best. And olive oil can be purchased with food stamps.

Smothering head lice is a safe and effective treatment option, but it can be somewhat complicated. To smother successfully, you have to be persistent and know when and how to apply the smothering agent.


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## mcdonl (Dec 14, 2009)

akflightmedic said:


> May wish to consider something else eh?



I did but, home schooling was out of the question....



> Smothering head lice is a safe and effective treatment option, but it can be somewhat complicated. To smother successfully, you have to be persistent and know when and how to apply the smothering agent.



Having 7 and 10 year old daughters with head lice is complicated. Washing out mayo is a mere inconvenience. They are now 13 and 10 and know enough about it to protect themselves when an outbreak occurs.


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## akflightmedic (Dec 14, 2009)

I meant the olive oil which is just as effective yet easier to remove...since you are using mayo only for the oil anyways.

And the part after my first sentence is not mine, it was a cut and paste but did not bold like I had intended.


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## mcdonl (Dec 14, 2009)

akflightmedic said:


> I meant the olive oil which is just as effective yet easier to remove...since you are using mayo only for the oil anyways.
> 
> And the part after my first sentence is not mine, it was a cut and paste but did not bold like I had intended.



Got it. Although, the cost of olive oil makes it out of the question for a lot of families. Mine included. Mayo is much cheaper, and happened to be available in buckets at the school. The last one was a BAD outbreak that did result in complications for some kids who's parents let it go.


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## Foxbat (Dec 14, 2009)

n7lxi said:


> A radial pulse equals a systolic BP of at least 90.
> still taught in many EMT classes as fact. Pure BS.


I was taught it was 70. I think it was in my EMT or ITLS book.



			
				Sasha said:
			
		

> I've also heard you "Can't get pregnant if you douche with soda afterwards".... yuck.


The explanation I heard is that pH too low, as in coke, decreases chance of pregnancy significantly. Not that I would recommend it.

P.S. an old Soviet joke.
A college professor is giving a biology lesson. Half of the class is asleep, the rest are semi-awake. So to attract everybody's attention, professor changes topic and says:
"And to prevent pregnancy, you should..."
(everybody wakes up and starts listening)
"...you should drink tea."
"Before or after?" asks a student.
"Instead of", answers the professor.


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## Sasha (Dec 14, 2009)

mcdonl said:


> I have done this, and it did work. The oil in the mayo smothered the lice. Maybe I got lucky, but I have had the pleasure of dealing with 3 bouts of lice before my kids were old enough to protect themselves.



Ahhh, it didn't work for me. I only had lice once as a kid, but they were super lice and were nearly impossible to get rid of. We had to get Rx shampoo after trying the OTC shampoo FOUR times, mayo, hot oil (that left burns on my scalp.) and plain combing them out.. (since I refused to cut my hair.)

I notice there are a lot of medical myths about sex and pregnancy. It is a shame that there is so many misconceptions about sex and speaks volumes to the failure of our sex ed programs (Which still widely rely on "Don't have sex before marriage!" instead of informing kids how to be safe and protected. See how well abstinence only education worked for Sarah Palin's family.)


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## Epi-do (Dec 14, 2009)

Thindian said:


> - When you're sleeping, your body uses stores as energy. If you don't let your body use it's stores (by eating right before you sleep), you will just keep building up stores.
> - Subdural bleeds, come on.
> - Sugar... kids...
> 
> Who told you these things aren't true?



I'm not going to post every source I found for each of these, but here's a couple for each of them.  (Just google "medical myths" if you want to find more.)

*Eating Late*



> Scientists Dispel Late-Night Eating/Weight Gain Myth
> 
> ScienceDaily (Feb. 2, 2006) — Scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University believe they have helped dispel the myth that late-night eating causes weight gain. The research is published in the current edition of the journal Obesity Research.



Found Here



> Diet Myth #4: Food eaten after 8 p.m. is more likely to be converted into fat.
> 
> Fact: Food can’t tell time. It’s the total amount of calories you eat that matters.
> 
> Although the reasoning may seem sound – calories consumed late at night are not burned as quickly because you are less active – it doesn’t play out that way. It’s the total amount of calories that you eat during a day, and not the time of day you eat them, that matters. A cookie eaten at noon has the same amount of calories as one eaten at 10 p.m. However, there are other reasons to avoid eating at night. You may be more likely to eat several cookies late at night, especially if you’re munching in front of the television or you tend to lose willpower in the evening. Also, many people experience indigestion when they eat late at night.



Found Here

*Concussions*



> Myth: Keep someone awake who has had a recent concussion.
> 
> Fact: A person who has had a concussion may sleep through the night.
> 
> ...



Found Here



> Myth: You need to stay awake if you have a concussion
> 
> Dr. Norm Friedman, neurologist at Akron General Medical Center, says this one probably stems from the fact that head injuries like concussions can cause late-appearing effects.
> 
> ...



Found Here

*Kids & Sugar*



> 5: Too Much Sugar Makes Kids Hyperactive
> 
> Many parents limit sugary foods, thinking they cause hyperactivity. It's right to restrict these treats, but the reasoning is wrong. These high-calorie foods offer little nutrition and can lead to obesity and other problems, but no scientific evidence says sugar causes hyperactivity. *Sugar can provide a short-term energy boost, but that isn't the same as hyperactivity.* The children at a birthday party acting like little tornadoes probably has more to do with the excitement of being around other kids, rather than the cake. And that unruly child in the grocery store throwing a fit with a sucker in his mouth and candy clutched in each fist? His parents probably haven't set appropriate behavior limits, and they most likely give him what he wants -- which is more candy.



Found here



> Sugar makes kids hyper.  Parents insist this one is true, even though 12 studies have shown no effect between children's behavior and the sugar in their foods.



 Found here


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## NomadicMedic (Dec 14, 2009)

Foxbat said:


> I was taught it was 70. I think it was in my EMT or ITLS book.



I'd heard it a couple of different ways. 80, 90... whatever. It's been floating around since ITLS in the mid 80's.

HERE is an abstract of a paper from the British Medical Journal that has a different take.


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## thatJeffguy (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> I notice there are a lot of medical myths about sex and pregnancy. It is a shame that there is so many misconceptions about sex and speaks volumes to the failure of our sex ed programs (Which still widely rely on "Don't have sex before marriage!" instead of informing kids how to be safe and protected. See how well abstinence only education worked for Sarah Palin's family.)



Well now that we've got a "Department of Child Safety" pervert that teaches kids to fist each other, we've solved the worlds problems!


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## RyanMidd (Dec 14, 2009)

thatJeffguy said:


> Well now that we've got a "Department of Child Safety" pervert that teaches kids to fist each other, we've solved the worlds problems!



I lol'd at that, and I sincerely hope it was meant in jest =)

I agree that there are too many sex-ed myths, though. I was just helping my girlfriend with a research project the other night and discovered the actual chances of passing STDs like HIV, and the numbers are ridiculously lower than public attitude and stigma would have you believe. In the spirit of the thread I won't elaborate.

As for a good myth or two; 

-You get warts from walking around barefoot (too generalized, and not specific to the strain of warts involved),

-You get hemorrhoids from sitting on cold surfaces.


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## gicts (Dec 14, 2009)

Epi-do said:


> I'm not going to post every source I found for each of these, but here's a couple for each of them.  (Just google "medical myths" if you want to find more.)
> 
> *Eating Late*
> 
> ...


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## R.O.P. (Dec 14, 2009)

That you're safer not wearing a seatbelt, so that you don't get trapped in a bad TC.  People around here still believe that one with some regularity, even as the evening news tells us about another weekly set of vehicle ejection fatalities.
Go figure.


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## R.O.P. (Dec 14, 2009)

Oh, and that the Zombie Virus is real, and to be feared.
Superstitious folk down here in the Borderland.


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## ptemt (Dec 14, 2009)

Step on a crack and break your mother's back!


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## JPINFV (Dec 14, 2009)

ptemt said:


> Step on a crack and break your mother's back!



Does jumping on cracks work? h34r:


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## WolfmanHarris (Dec 14, 2009)

All my favorite medical myths have some variation of:
"I don't care what the research says, I've seen _____ work."

Nothing like folksy wisdom and anecdotal "evidence" trumping EBM to hold a profession back.


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## VentMedic (Dec 14, 2009)

WolfmanHarris said:


> All my favorite medical myths have some variation of:
> "I don't care what the research says, I've seen _____ work."
> 
> Nothing like folksy wisdom and anecdotal "evidence" trumping EBM to hold a profession back.


 
"Because we've always done it this way".


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## WolfmanHarris (Dec 14, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> "Because we've always done it this way".



Ahhh the co-dependent partner to "I've seen it work."


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## downunderwunda (Dec 14, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Sex cures acne.



You mean it doesnt. Damn. 

Does that mean masterbation doesnt make you blind?


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## downunderwunda (Dec 14, 2009)

I think the biggest Medical Myth is perpetrated by Medic who like to think they are Doctors & can Diagnose & cure pre hospital


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## lightsandsirens5 (Dec 14, 2009)

WarDance said:


> You get colds from being in the cold. Complete B.S.


 
That is my all time favorite.


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## Sasha (Dec 14, 2009)

A big medical myth that I was reminded of thanks to the forum...

Driving really really fast saves lives!


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## nicolel3440 (Dec 14, 2009)

I tell my daughter all the time that if she dont brush her hair that the knots will turn to spider webs and the spiders will come live in her hair.
Works every time.


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## firetender (Dec 14, 2009)

Without getting too far out there, consider this. "Standard medical procedure" is always changing, evolving, and in some cases devolving when we don't even know it. So many of these changes are determined by political and economic forces; You gotta wonder.

Back around the early 1900's there were a few competing "philosophies" of medical care, including Chiropractic, Osteopathic, Homeopathic and Allopathic. Chiropractic/Osteopathic deals with the nervous system, more specifically the spinal column and it's alignment and relationship to nerve pathways. Homeopathic deals with the body's own immune system. Allopathic modalities use drugs and surgery as intervention.

There were wars for domination. The AMA had superior organization, developed an advertising arm to attract more practitioners (the Journal of the AMA) and had tremendous financial backing through accepting that advertising from any Quack with a buck!

They won and then began what some people would consider vicious smear campaigns against their competitors. One example here from the AMA itself:

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]_JAMA._ 1961;177(11):779. [/FONT](http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/summary/177/11/779)
[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]"Heretofore, in resolving problems concerning relations between doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy, the Judicial Council and the House of Delegates have maintained that osteopathy as promulgated and originally practiced was a cult system of healing."[/FONT]

That was an admission in 1961.

If you want to read how that system assaulted a series of cancer treatments that literally saved THOUSANDS of lives, check this out; it gives a great early history of the AMA and how it ascended.

Ausubel, Kenny (2000). _When Healing Becomes a Crime_. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press. p. 480 pages. ISBN 978-0892819256.

(Wikipedia, from today's vantage point, lists a litany of studies debunking the treatment. The book's real value is in showing how the AMA, at the time, suppressed any attempts at real study and literally hounded the opposition to death.)

If you listed the litany of "cures" that cured thousands, then were debunked, you'd fill up a Bible-sized book. So many things have been described as "placebo effect" but it doesn't matter, they worked. Perhaps the biggest variable that the scientific community is ignoring is the individual's belief system and connection with the individual providing the treatment. Scientifically this stuff doesn't work, but that doesn't stop a lot of it from working.

We are beings created from fuzzy thinking as well as scientific principles.

A significant number of therapies I used back in the 1980's in the field have been debunked. I've seen all the flak MAST gets here and you know what? I feel confident that it "helped" to stabilize blood pressure on people bleeding out. I can't verify that scientifically, but my patients were functionally dead when I got there and alive by the time they got to the hospital and it wasn't the IVs because I couldn't get anything larger than 20 gauge needles in due to vascular collapse. In one case, a young man with a traumatic leg amputation, negligible BP on arrival was trwsted with small bore IV and MAST, had a pressure of about 80/50 on arrival and the receiving orthopod ripped the trousers off the patient to see the wound. End of story for the kid and my rant.


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## JPINFV (Dec 14, 2009)

firetender said:


> Back around the early 1900's there were a few competing "philosophies" of medical care, including Chiropractic, Osteopathic, Homeopathic and Allopathic. Chiropractic/Osteopathic deals with the nervous system, more specifically the spinal column and it's alignment and relationship to nerve pathways.



Quick note of clarification, osteopathy deals with the interplay of the nerves, muscles, and skeletal system, not just the spinal column and spinal nerves, like chiropractors. 

Also, just to put people in the right mind set when looking at different healing systems in the late 1800s, early 1900s, all were just as likely to kill you as to cure you. The medicine of today (heck, medicine post-Flexner report) can't be compared to the medicine back then.


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## Shishkabob (Dec 14, 2009)

downunderwunda said:


> I think the biggest Medical Myth is perpetrated by Medic who like to think they are Doctors & can Diagnose & cure pre hospital



Um... you believe we CAN'T diagnose something pre-hospital? 


You see a bone sticking out of a leg after a fall.  Don't call it a fracture!  That would be a diagnosis!


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## firetender (Dec 14, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> Quick note of clarification, osteopathy deals with the interplay of the nerves, muscles, and skeletal system, not just the spinal column and spinal nerves, like chiropractors.
> 
> Also, just to put people in the right mind set when looking at different healing systems in the late 1800s, early 1900s, all were just as likely to kill you as to cure you. The medicine of today (heck, medicine post-Flexner report) can't be compared to the medicine back then.



Thanks for the clarification!

Come the year 2100, I betcha a buck the same proportion that killed rather than cured will be in evidence with what is used today. Look at deaths IN HOSPITALS from pathogens transmitted within the facility. 100 years from now, will we even have hospitals?


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## JPINFV (Dec 14, 2009)

That's probably very true, and I hope the commentators of the future show some understanding that we did the best with what we knew at the time, which was a hell of a lot less than what we will know a 100 years from now.


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## Epi-do (Dec 14, 2009)

gicts said:


> *Eating Late*
> 
> 
> But after 6 or so hours your food has been absorbed, converting it into additional nutrients and fat, correct? And if you eat at night you ensure 8+ hours (if your lucky) of inactivity and because you have an overabundance of calories, won't it be stored? Therefore after breakfast you would need to burn your caloric breakfast intake in order to reach your dinner, which has become absorbed?
> ...



So all of the studies that say weight gain is caused by taking in more calories than you burn over the course of the day are wrong.  Yes, I understand how the body stores excess calories.  However, you won't convince me that the calories from a cookie at 8 am are significantly different than the calories from a cookie at 8 pm.

To use your example, if you are wanting to maintain weight, and not gain or loose, if you haven't taken in many calories during the course of the day, and have done some sort of strenuous activity, isn't it possible that your total calories for the day are "in the negative" (as in, you have burned more than you have consumed)?  Therefore, if you eat a snack later in the evening, those calories would just help to "even things out" so to speak.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.


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## JPINFV (Dec 14, 2009)

I think a thing to look at with weight gain and eating also is appetite. Yea, a cookie isn't going to make a difference between 9am and 9pm. However, if you eat a large meal right before going to bed, then the period of feeling full is going to be mostly while you sleep instead of why you're awake. Unless you're starving (and when I say "starving," I mean like going 2 days without eating type starving), you shouldn't be constantly waking up in the middle of the night hungry. Sure, you will be in a fasting state when you wake up after a full nights sleep, but you don't wake up as your body enters the fasting state. 

As such, eating right before you go to bed (again. meals, not snacks) won't change the basics of calories in vs calories out issue of weight gain, it could end up changing what your body preceives as meal time, thus affecting the calories in part of the equation.


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## Tincanfireman (Dec 14, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Washing your hair with mayonnaise will kill lice. (It doesn't, but it does make your hair shiny.)


 
I dunno, Sash; we used the mayo on my three sons several times and it always worked. Our pediatrician recommended it to us, and it was hella cheaper than Rid (the medicine, not the Ryder...lol)


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## downunderwunda (Dec 15, 2009)

Linuss said:


> Um... you believe we CAN'T diagnose something pre-hospital?
> 
> 
> You see a bone sticking out of a leg after a fall.  Don't call it a fracture!  That would be a diagnosis!





Linus, 

misquoting is a sin. -10 for you. I have requoted for you to reread what I actually said, in its entirity, the second part of what I said is just as important as the _part_ you have decided to quote



> I think the biggest Medical Myth is perpetrated by Medic who like to think they are Doctors & can Diagnose _& cure _pre hospital



thoose 2 words make all the difference to what I said, we can make a provisional diagnosis, we need to leave the difinitive diagnosis & treatment (& ongoing care) to a Doctor who has trained for many many more years than any medic.


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## eveningsky339 (Dec 16, 2009)

The average person needs to drink eight glasses of water a day to avoid being chronically dehydrated.

Drinking coffee/tea brings about dehydration.


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## Silver_Star (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> oh, and you have to wait 30 minutes between eating and swimming, to avoid imminent cramps...



back in high school i was on the swim team. 
on occasion girls would eat before a meet, well usually right after their race they would end up puking.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

Silver_Star said:


> back in high school i was on the swim team.
> on occasion girls would eat before a meet, well usually right after their race they would end up puking.



lol i was on my high school swim team as well. I saw many a kid pukin in the trash can, but i didn't think it was because they had just eaten


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## Silver_Star (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> lol i was on my high school swim team as well. I saw many a kid pukin in the trash can, but i didn't think it was because they had just eaten


i always assumed that it was. i never ate before a meet, never puked after one either.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

Silver_Star said:


> i always assumed that it was. i never ate before a meet, never puked after one either.



our coach was also a little overboard. we could be pukin in the trash and he would yell for us to hurry up and get back in the pool. we also practiced 4-6 hours a day 6 days a week<_<


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## Silver_Star (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> our coach was also a little overboard. we could be pukin in the trash and he would yell for us to hurry up and get back in the pool. we also practiced 4-6 hours a day 6 days a week<_<



ours was not that intense. 6 days a week, for maybe 3-4 hours? i ended up transferring schools. didnt join their swim team because they started at 5am. before school every morning.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

Silver_Star said:


> ours was not that intense. 6 days a week, for maybe 3-4 hours? i ended up transferring schools. didnt join their swim team because they started at 5am. before school every morning.



that's smart. i hated morning practice, especially in the winter


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## Sasha (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> our coach was also a little overboard. we could be pukin in the trash and he would yell for us to hurry up and get back in the pool. we also practiced 4-6 hours a day 6 days a week<_<



What high school you go to? Seminole? Sounds like my swim/waterpolo coach!


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## bunkie (Dec 17, 2009)

So is the "myth" that male swimmers shave their entire bodies to be faster in the water true?


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

bunkie said:


> So is the "myth" that male swimmers shave their entire bodies to be faster in the water true?



thats no myth. if you really consider .02 seconds off a swim "faster"


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> What high school you go to? Seminole? Sounds like my swim/waterpolo coach!



you went to seminole? i'm sorry to hear that were you in their health academy?


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## bunkie (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> thats no myth. if you really consider .02 seconds off a swim "faster"



I'm not the swimmer. :lol:


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## Sasha (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> you went to seminole? i'm sorry to hear that were you in their health academy?



Yeah. Where did you go?? Oviedo? Lake Mary? Lake Howell? We at Criminal High kicked their butts every season... in swimming.. god our waterpolo team sucked.


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## Sasha (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> thats no myth. if you really consider .02 seconds off a swim "faster"



I loved shaving parties. Hated wearing jeans every day because we were drag training.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> I loved shaving parties. Hated wearing jeans every day because we were drag training.



I hated when all the swim girls had hairy legs for "training"


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## Sasha (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> I hated when all the swim girls had hairy legs for "training"



The only thing I hated more then hairy legs was when my cap would break, and my hair would get all tangled during practice like a rat's nest.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> The only thing I hated more then hairy legs was when my cap would break, and my hair would get all tangled during practice like a rat's nest.



haha. my brown hair turned bleached blond/white and most of my arm leg hair etc "fell out" due to the Cl


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## bunkie (Dec 17, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> haha. my brown hair turned bleached blond/white and most of my arm leg hair etc "fell out" due to the Cl



IS it still blonde?


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## medichopeful (Dec 18, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> thats no myth. if you really consider .02 seconds off a swim "faster"



In the Olympics, they do h34r:


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## Sasha (Dec 18, 2009)

medichopeful said:


> In the Olympics, they do h34r:



They do at the high school level too I've seen people shave their toe hair to try and get that .02 seconds!


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 18, 2009)

Sasha said:


> They do at the high school level too I've seen people shave their toe hair to try and get that .02 seconds!



my sophmore year, all the seniors shaved everything, including their eyebrows....


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## Sasha (Dec 18, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> my sophmore year, all the seniors shaved everything, including their eyebrows....



Eyebrows are where i drew the line! Pencil eyebrows are so tacky! And I was in regionals every year, states two years.


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## Lifeguards For Life (Dec 18, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Eyebrows are where i drew the line! Pencil eyebrows are so tacky!



haha agreed. we still haven't gone out to panera sasha


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## Sasha (Dec 18, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> haha agreed. we still haven't gone out to panera sasha



Sorry, I've been busy. I'll figure out a date and we'll go, probably after New Years.


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