Everyone has heard them. It may have been
your grandmother, an uncle or one of the kids on your block. They are medical
myths, beliefs that for one reason or another have been trusted for years. Some
are actually based on fact, but most are simply misunderstood concepts about
health and the body. Below are some of the more popular myths, and the truth
behind them.
1.
Eating late causes weight gain. The idea is that you cannot burn off the
calories if you are asleep. This, however, is not supported by evidence.
Numerous studies have found that eating at night was not associated with weight
gain. The Bottom Line: Taking in more calories than you burn makes you
gain weight no matter what time of day you eat.
2.
Wear a hat when you go out in the cold. We’ve
all been told to put a hat on in winter because of the long held belief that
50% of body heart is lost through the head. While the U.S. Army Field Manual
for Survival recommends covering your head in cold weather, most concrete
evidence shows that any uncovered part of the body causes heat loss, not just
the head. The Bottom Line: Dress for maximum warmth in the cold which
may include wearing a hat.
3.
Feeding a child a lot of candy or food with a lot of sugar will make them
hyperactive.
No evidence exists to support this claim, according
to Dr. Bryan Burke, an associate professor of General Pediatrics and
Neonatology at University
of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences. Despite the claim being wrong, Dr. Burke actually likes the myth
because a high-sugar diet has its own problems even if you discount
hyperactivity. The number of children who are obese has tripled over the last
decade and there is no sign that the trend is reversing. The Bottom Line:
Moderation in all things is the best advice.
4.
Putting butter on a burn will ease the pain and aid in healing. While it’s true
that immediately after receiving a burn, it is important to cool the skin in
order to stop the burning process. But putting butter or other greasy ointments
on a burn may actually make things worse, since the grease will slow the
release of heat from the skin, allowing damage to the skin from the burn to
continue. The best way to cool the skin after a burn is with cool water (not
ice or ice water). An antibiotic ointment and a bandage will aid the healing
process. The Bottom Line: Leave the butter for your toast.
5.
Reading in dim
light ruins your eyesight. As
a rule, you cannot damage your eyes by using them. There are a few exceptions,
like damage to your eyes from too much sun exposure, but other than this,
reading in dim or bright light will not change the health or function of your
eyes. It may feel more difficult to focus if the lighting is not adequate, but
this has no permanent effect on the structure of your eyes. In addition, any
challenging visual activity will generally decrease a person’s blink rate and
lead to discomfort from drying. This is temporary and easily treated with
lubricating eyedrops. Likewise, sitting too close or too far from the TV also
has no permanent effect on your vision. The Bottom Line: Read with the
level of light that feels comfortable for your eyes.
6. Your heart stops for an instant whenever you
sneeze. When
a person sneezes, they increase their intrathoracic pressure and can decrease
venous blood flow back to the heart. The heart can compensate for this by a
slight change in its beating rate, but the heart and its electrical activity
should not stop during a sneeze. The
Bottom Line: Don’t worry about it.
7. Feed a cold and starve a fever. A common cold is an illness caused by a virus
infection located in the nose. The symptoms of a common cold include sneezing,
runny nose, nasal congestion, a sore or scratchy throat, coughing, hoarseness,
often accompanied by headache, feverishness, chilliness and a general sense of
not feeling well. Not only is it a bad idea to starve a fever, it will hinder
your ability to recover from the cold. Drinking plenty of fluids is important
since fever promotes fluid loss from the body and dehydration can result. While
drinking or eating hot or cold foods affects the temperature of the mouth, it
will have no effect on a person’s overall body temperature. Another popular
belief, that chicken soup is good for a cold, is actually true to a certain
extent, as drinking warm liquids such as soup helps open up the nasal passages.
This allows the patients to breathe easier and get the rest needed to fully
recuperate. The Bottom Line: Proper nutrition including plenty of
fluids will help both a cold and the flu.
8. You can get
the flu by getting a flu shot. The best way to avoid getting the flu is to
get the influenza vaccine, available by shot or by nasal spray, each fall
before the flu season starts. The vaccines work by exposing your immune system
to the flu virus. Your body will build up antibodies to the virus to protect
you from getting the flu. The flu shot contains dead viruses while the
nasal-spray vaccine contains live but weakened viruses. You cannot get the flu
from a flu shot or the nasal-spray vaccine. Some people who get the vaccine
will still get the flu, but they will usually get a milder case than people who
aren't vaccinated. The vaccine is especially recommended for people who are
more likely to get really sick from flu-related complications. The Bottom Line: Get vaccinated.
9. Cold, wet
weather causes colds and flu. Colds are really upper respiratory infections
and can result from more than 200 different viruses. These include the
rhinoviruses, the group most often associated with the common cold, which
primarily affects the nose and throat.
Cold weather usually makes people stay indoors, which might increase the
person-to-person transmission of respiratory viruses. These viruses, including
influenza, are very infectious and are transmitted from one person to the next
by touching something that has had the respiratory virus on it and then
touching your eye or nose or mouth. Some believe that the lower humidity during
the winter allows these viruses to persist longer in the environment. Washing
your hands or using an alcohol-based hand washing solution is a good way to
avoid getting a cold. The Bottom Line: Doing what you can to stop the spread of
viruses is your best defense against getting a cold.
10. Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. There's no evidence that knuckle cracking
causes arthritis but it may cause temporary soreness of the joint. Knuckles are
the joints that connect your fingers to your hand. These joints are surrounded
and lubricated by synovial fluid, a thick, clear liquid. When you crack your
knuckles, you're causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. This causes a
gas bubble to form in the joint. The cracking or popping sound you hear is the
breaking of the adhesive seal in the joint. It may take awhile for the joint to
reseal before you can crack your knuckles again. The repetitive motion of
cracking wears down the joints and their protective cushioning, so the habit
could worsen osteoarthritis, but plays no role in rheumatoid arthritis, which
is caused when a person's own immune system attacks the joints. The Bottom Line: If you’re not already
in the habit of cracking your knuckles, don’t start.
