Remedy Myths:
**This part of our site gives information about remedy myths or old wives tales that have no effect on conditions, ailments, or illnesses of the human body. If you try any of these myths, you may run the risk of having an adverse reaction or the opposite result of what you would like to happen. So please only read these for fun, not as measures to take to cure any ailments. Thanks!
A table has been provided for your ease in navigating this site. If you are looking for a particular myth, click on the following links to navigate to that section of the page. Once you read the myth, you can click on index to navigate back to the myth index:
| Acne | Blackeye | Sunburn | ||
| Bad Breath | Motion Sickness | |||
| Beesting | Cuts | Nail Biting |
When you slap butter on a burn, you are basically adding unclean, foreign
proteins to your body because butter isn't sterile. It will also insulate the area and keep the heat in. The salted kind will irritate broken skin.
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Myth: Throw Your Head Back to Stop a Nosebleed
You should not put your head between your knees or tilt your head back when
you have a nose bleed. Doing the latter is particularly bad because there
is a good chance that you will breathe the blood into your lungs. Also, the blood could get into your stomach and cause you to vomit.
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Myth: Apply peroxide to cuts and scrapes and leave open to air.
Clean the cut or scrape, then apply antibiotic ointment, and bandage it.
Some people leave the wound open; however it has been found that the wound
heals faster if it is protected. Small children tend to take better care
of wounds when they are bandaged, because the bandage serves as a reminder
to them to be careful with the area. Bandaging makes it less likely the
wound will be reopened. Any cut that goes beyond
the
top layer of skin might
need stitches to help reduce the risk of infection. A doctor should be
seen if stitches are necessary.
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Myth: Rub shin splints to ease them.
This is called medial tibial stress
syndrome. The muscle attached to the shinbone is acctually tearing loose.
The inflammation/pain is a response that occurs during healing.
If you are too active during the injury it
will not heal. You should have them evaluated because it means your muscles
are out of balance. If you simply rub the shin splints, and then run again when the pain lessens, you could end up with a stress fracture.
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Myth: Use vinegar compresses on sunburn.
Apply
cool compresses instead.
Ibuprofen is great for sunburn pain and inflammation.
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Myth: When stung by a bee, squeeze out the stinger.
Squeezing the stinger may cause venom in the sac to
get into your body. Instead you should scrape the stinger out with a credit
card, or something similar that is flat. If
the person is getting red or having trouble breathing, dial 911. This can
be
serious or even fatal.
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Myth: When bit by a snake, you need to get the venom out quick!
Do not use suction, doing so can introduce more germs and bacteria into the bite. Also don't allow the victim to run for help, this speeds the blood flow and causes the venom's effect to course through the body quicker. Remove tight clothing and jewelry from the victim and get to the ER immediately. Make sure the wound is immobile.
Myth: Stop motion sickness by looking at a point on the horizon.
If you already have motion sickness, staring at a point will not help you get rid of the dizzy feeling you have. Instead try to get to the most motion-free area of the vehicle and don't drink anything. The liquid on your stomach may not stay down. If you have motion sickness often, take Dramamine before any travel but remember, it may make you drowsy.
Myth: Put a raw steak on that black eye!
In the movies, you always see someone put a raw steak over their black eye. While it may feel good, the grease from the steak might get into the eye, causing more inflamation. A bag
of frozen vegetables is better but any cold compress will reduce the swelling of the eye. Remember, you will still end up with bruising.
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Myth: Eating candy causes acne outbreaks.
Acne sufferers shouldn’t worry about what they eat. Their focus should instead be on foods that can help their skin. It has been shown that dark green vegetables, such as spinach, are dietary musts for people inflicted with pimples and blackheads. Green veggies are full of antioxidants that reduce inflammation and neutralise cell-damaging agents. Try to get five or six servings of these vegetables per week plus a daily serving of orange vegetables such as carrots. Orange veggies are rich in beta-carotene. This compound helps to convert the digested vegetable into vitamin A within the body and helps to heal damaged skin tissue.
Myth: Mouthwash takes away bad breath
Mouthwash will cover your bad breath but the effect is short-lived. Dental researchers agree that commercial mouthwashes mask odors temporarily, from about 20 minutes to 2 hours. Mouthwash doesn't prevent bad breath either. While they may help to kill bacteria, a new batch of bacteria can crop up fairly quickly.
Myth: Painting fingernails with medicine can cure nailbiting.
Rarely can a parent win the battle against nail-biting in their child. Putting nasty tasting medicine on their nails rarely works because eventually the child will just learn to like the taste and keep biting their nails. Hopefully your child will eventually give up this nasty habit through peer pressure or just plain old growing up. Until then, have your child limit their nail biting to the privacy of their bedroom or bathroom. That way you don't have to disapprove and your child doesn't have to keep fighting this battle with you.
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Myth: You are more subsceptible to the flu when you are chilled or cold.
Scientific studies have shown that those exposed to severe temperatures for several hours fare no worse as far as becoming ill than those who stay warm and dry. Most people first get the chills, which leads us to believe that they caught a chill, which led to the flu.
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