Top Seven Health Myths

It is recommended that a person drinks 8-8oz. glasses of water a day for their HEALTH, drinking water gives a person that full feeling so they will not eat as much (this came from a nutritionist that I had gone to). Not only does using cell phones in a hospital been known to shut down or interfer with certain machines, it is disrespectful for those who are there and need their rest. And last but not least, halloween candy has been known to have razor blades and pins in it; I also know of a young punk kid who injected candy with that liquid laxative stuff just to see what would happen and for a prank on halloween. I feel more research needs to be done when doing articles like this.

This article is wrong about reading in dim light. Reading in dim light will strain the eyes to focus and cause a tendency towards myopia in the same manner that holding reading material too close to your eyes or doing an excessive amount of close up work will cause a tendency towards myopia.

The eyes are very adaptable and will conform to whatever their predominant usage is over time. It is even possible to reverse the situation to an extent, once it has occurred. I have done this with my own eyes simply by sitting farther away from my computer monitor.

The article says there is no proof of this. Having no proof does not invalidate it. Prehistoric people had no proof that the earth is round, but nevertheless it is true.

However, there is proof. The fact that we have beter lighting is a nonissue. The relevant issue is that we read and use electronic visual devices far more now than in the past. A study was done on a Indian tribe in Alaska. The older nonliterate generation had an extremely low incidence of myopia, while the younger literate generation had a typical incidence of myopia.

Further evidence is the fact that people who do a lot of close work like diamond cutting frequently suffer failing eyesight.

Our mothers were right all along.

You are doing a disservice in your reporting of #2 about the cell phones. I am a Neonatal Nurse in an Intensive Care Nursery and cellular phone use does cause interference in some of our more specialized equipment used for some of our more critical babies. Much as when you place your cell phone next to your computer and can get interference when a call comes in, the cell phone DOES, I repeat DOES cause an effect on specialized equipment in Intensive care units. You should actually check with experts in the specific fields of study on this before you publish.

It is recommended that a person drinks 8-8oz glasses of water a day for their HEALTH and as far as the halloween candy, I have seen razor blades and pins in candy along with a liquid laxative being injected into a childs candy by someone who just wanted to see what would happen for a halloween prank. I think that the "professional" who the author interviewed needs to do more research.

The last one is true. My husband received a piece of Halloween candy when he was 8 or 9 that had a pin shoved in it. He got it from a man who lived across the street from my husband's grandmother, and the man was arrested for it. (My husband was not the only recipient, it wasn't targeted at him). I know of other people to whom this has happened but this is the only one I know for certain is 100 percent true, as I have spoken to the daughter of the man who was arrested for doing it.

The last one is actually true. My husband received a piece of candy with a pin shoved in it when he was 8 or 9. It was a person who lived across the street from my husband's grandmother and he was arrested for it. This is not the only instance I know of, but the only one I can tell you I know for a fact is true.

I was told that if one drinks water until their urine is somewhat clear, then they are fully hydrated and have met their needed limit.

5. What are the benefits of drinking 8 glasses of water? I am not sure that this myth doesn't have some great folk lure behind it.

I agreee with one of first comments that author did not need to include the 7th 'myth'. Since she did, either she misquoted or did not provide context of Dr. Carroll's commment since she only mentions poisoning of candy along with x-ray stations - not foreign bodies such as pins, blades, etc. X-ray will not pick up poisons. I am also going to be worried if doctors believe the myth about hair and nails grwing after death. One more off topic - but tangent to the possibility the author misquoted or didn't understand her lapse with myth 7; our public education has gone so down the sewer. There are many times that I must read a news article 2-3 times to get the correct context of who did what to who and where or when. Sentences at times seem as though several phrases have been strung together without considerations to subject and verb. And finally, while spell check is a wonderful tool, it lends to editors or others not doing a thorough job of proof-reading and results in reporters noting such things as after the Dec 2006 attack by tiger at zoo, they stopped feeding by hand and use a 'shoot' (instead of a chute).

I agreee with one of first comments that author did not need to include the 7th 'myth'. Since she did, either she misquoted or did not provide context of Dr. Carroll's commment since she only mentions poisoning of candy along with x-ray stations - not foreign bodies such as pins, blades, etc. X-ray will not pick up poisons. I am also going to be worried if doctors believe the myth about hair and nails grwing after death. One more off topic - but tangent to the possibility the author misquoted or didn't understand her lapse with myth 7; our public education has gone so down the sewer. There are many times that I must read a news article 2-3 times to get the correct context of who did what to who and where or when. Sentences at times seem as though several phrases have been strung together without considerations to subject and verb. And finally, while spell check is a wonderful tool, it lends to editors or others not doing a thorough job of proof-reading and results in reporters noting such things as after the Dec 2006 attack by tiger at zoo, they stopped feeding by hand and use a 'shoot' (instead of a chute).

to omigosh:
sorry, your "facts" about the myths you say aren't totally correct- polyunsaturated fats are more liquid, which decreases their chance of clogging the arteries, whereas saturated fats are easier to cause this blocakage, therefore increasing one's chances for heart disaease and stroke, among other medical conditions realted to arterial blockages; vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients are being found to have more benefits than before found through new research; LDL cholesterol IS more dangerous than HDL levels in the body; organically grown foods have been tested in various studies to have more nutrient levels, one reason being that the use of organic fertilizers especially from compost does have more minerals than the convential fertilizers which usually are only based on 3 minerals, potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus, and this affects the produce in which it is grown in; mercury-based amalgam fillings HAVE been found to be more dangerous than other types of tooth fillings - mercury is a deadly heavy poison that has been shown on numerous occasions to cause certain medical problems. You may be a doctor but you need to do more research on what is really true, not just believe the media and medical industry promoting hogwash that is promulgated enough to unwary gullible minds in order to continue to spread lies that can hurt the general populace. (And yes, I am a medical researcher so I am not making my counterstatements up!)

I agree with spacecadet. My wife is a cardiac nurse and I'm a respiratory therapist. We have worked at many hospitals in several east coast states. We have both noted interference with telemetry equipment when cell phones are used. Also, there have been documented cases where the Puritan Bennett 840 shut off when someone used a cell phone. Puritan Bennett has since fixed the problem and the 840 is my favorite vent to use, but this could be prevented and could easily cost someone their life. The author uses 1.2%...I thought this was myths? Also, this is 1.2% error than can be prevented. Side note...hospital floors are nasty...moms PLEASE keep your babies and kids off the floor!!!!!!!!

The implication that the only documented cases of tainted Halloween candy have been perpetrated by relatives of the victims is not entirely true. An infamous case in Houston in the 1970's invloved a father mudering his son by poisonong his son's candy The father became known as the "candyman" and was later executed.for his crime. Although this case did involve a relative, another boy who was the victim's neighbor and not a relative of the culprit also received some of the deadly candy. Fortunately, he did not eat the candy.

I have worked in many hospitals and haft to disagree with the cell phone myth. I have noticed cell phones interfering with cardiac monitoring equipment. There have also been documented instances with the Puritan Bennett 840 ventilator where a cell phone shut it off. Puritan Bennett states they have since corrected the error. Even with only a 1.2% chance of a cell phone causing a problem...its 1.2% that we can prevent. One medical thing I would like to point out to parents...hospital floors are nasty. Please keep your kids and babies off the floor. No matter how many times you clean a floor it will soon have someone walking on it.

"Baldness is passed from the mother's side of the family. If your mom's dad is bald, then you will be too." BUSTED! Baldness is a sex-influenced gene, that is, it is different depending on your gender. But you still get 2 copies, one from mom and one from dad. Women MUST get 2 copies of "bald" to show any thinning or baldness, but men with one or two copies of "bald" will show thinning or total baldness. Men just have to be lucky enough to get 2 copies of "not bald" to not lose any hair at all. So, dad can have all his hair (nb,nb) but mom is a carrier (b,nb) and by luck their son ends up with balding (b,nb) or not (nb,nb). Simple, no?

You missed a biggie: the old wives' tale that one "catches" a cold from the cold air outside. Usually the moms forcing their kids to put on a hat are not wearing one themselves. And then they're so concerned about the darned hats/coats that they don't have them wash their hands before they head into school or for lunch to avoid the real threat of MRSA. ARRRGH it's enough to make a parent scream!

These things drive me mad too! And yet everyone still believes them. One biggie you missed was that moms and lunch ladies everywhere force their kids to wear coats and hats to prevent them from "catching" a cold. Those same ladies aren't wearing a hat themselves. Why do people still believe that nonsense!