medical myths

[bunkie]

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.

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

I have heard this.

 

[Seaglass]

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.

 

[Micro_87]

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

 

[Sasha]

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.

 

[JPINFV]

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.

 

[Thindian]

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.

- 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?

 

[VentMedic]

- 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?

 

[VentMedic]

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.

 

[mcdonl]

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.

 

[akflightmedic]

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

 

[akflightmedic]

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.

 

[mcdonl]

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.

 

[akflightmedic]

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.

 

[mcdonl]

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.

 

[Foxbat]

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.

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.

 

[Sasha]

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.)

 

[Epi-do]

- 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.

You do not need to keep awake a person with a recent concussion. This was recommended for years to observe a person for any changes after a concussion. People worried that the person may go into a coma and never wake up. This is no longer believed to be true. You can allow someone to sleep after a concussion. This should cut down on sleep deprivation for all involved.

People with concussion should be seen by a doctor if they were unconscious for more than 5 minutes or amnesia persists or if they do not appear to behave normally.

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.

You might get hit in the head, go to sleep and slip into a coma. But, Friedman says, if the head injury were serious enough, the coma would come if you stayed awake, too. His advice is to get all head injuries evaluated by a doctor, and never force someone who has been injured to stay awake -- healing requires sleep.

And, he says, always wear a helmet when there's a danger of hitting your head.

"I don't let my kids get out bed without a helmet," he says, laughing.

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

 

[NomadicMedic]

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.

 

[thatJeffguy]

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!

 

[RyanMidd]

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.