Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe

[SoylentGreen]

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine made a list of common medical beliefs espoused by physicians and the general public. They included statements they had heard endorsed by doctors on multiple occasions. The result is a seven-item list of medical and health myths that are widely repeated by doctors and in the media, all of which either aren’t true or lack scientific evidence to support them. 1. People should drink at least eight glasses of water a day. 2. We use only 10 percent of our brains. 3. Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death. 4. Shaving hair causes it to grow back faster, darker or coarser. 5. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight. 6. Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy. 7. Cellphones create considerable electromagnetic interference in hospitals. The study authors, Dr. Rachel C. Vreeman and Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, said that while doctors realize good medicine requires them to constantly learn new things, they often forget to reexamine their existing medical beliefs. “These medical myths are a lighthearted reminder that we can be wrong and need to question what other falsehoods we unwittingly propagate as we practice medicine,'’ wrote Dr. Vreeman and Dr. Carroll.

Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog

These are things that I have been told are true time and time again, by health professionals and others. But if they aren't true then how much of what the professionals tell us is?

[JLrep]

I've heard some say that though 2 is false as written, it's true if you amend it with "...at a time." I'm not sure about that, though.

5 is something I've questioned before, and not gotten a particularly solid answer. Although I do know that reading itself is not the best for your eyes.

[Chaossaber314]

3. Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

They continue to grow for the short period that there is still blood present to essentially "power" the follicles. Of course, this isn't for a very long time and is essentially accented by the skin retracting from the nails postmortem making them appear much more significant.

[ruksak]

Very interesting and original thread, Soylent.