Common Medical Myths
MYTH: Colds are caused by getting wet or being out in cold weather.
TRUTH: Upper respiratory infections are caused by VIRUSES, regardless of weather. Colds are more common in the winter months because they survive longer in cold, dry weather.
MYTH: Drinking milk during a cold produces more phlegm.
TRUTH: Milk consumption has no impact on phlegm production, but it can produce a similar feel while swallowing it.
MYTH: The flu shot can cause a person to contract influenza.
TRUTH: The fly vaccine is a dead virus and cannot cause an active infection, just like a tetanus shot cannot cause tetanus. However, the necessary immune response that vaccines produce can cause flu-like symptoms including body aches and fever.
MYTH: If your mucous is green or yellow, you have a bacterial infection.
TRUTH: Viral infections are the most common cause of discolored mucous and phlegm for the first 1-2 weeks of a respiratory infection.
MYTH: Muscle turns to fat when you stop exercising.
TRUTH: Muscle and fat are composed of different tissues. Your heart cannot turn into a long. Stop exercising and your proportion of fat increases as muscle mass decreases.
MYTH: You need 8 glasses of water a day.
TRUTH: Adequate water intake is necessary for many health reasons, but there is no scientific basis for the 8 glass recommendation.
MYTH: Burns should be immediately treated by applying butter.
TRUTH: Burns should be treated with cold running water. Applying butter increases the risk of infection.
MYTH: Q-tips are effective in removing ear wax.
TRUTH: Q-tips push wax deeper into the ear canal, causing impaction.