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7 Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe
Popular culture is loaded with myths and half-truths.
Most are harmless.
But when doctors start believing medical myths,
perhaps it's time to worry.
In the British Medical Journal this week, researchers
looked into several
common misconceptions, from the belief that a
person should drink eight
glasses of water per day to the notion that reading
in low light ruins your eyesight.
And so here they are, so that you can inform your doctor:
Myth: We use only 10 percent of our brains.
Fact: Physicians and comedians alike, including
Jerry Seinfeld, love to cite this one. It's sometimes
erroneously credited to Albert Einstein. But
MRI scans, PET scans and other imaging studies show
no dormant areas of the brain, and even viewing
individual neurons or cells reveals no inactive areas,
the new paper points out. Metabolic studies of
how brain cells process chemicals show no nonfunctioning areas.
The myth probably originated with self-improvement
hucksters in the early 1900s who wanted to convince
people that they had yet not reached their full
potential, Carroll figures. It also doesn't jibe with the fact that
our other organs run at full tilt.
Myth: You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
Fact: "There is no medical evidence to suggest
that you need that much water," said Dr. Rachel Vreeman,
a pediatrics research fellow at the university
and co-author of the journal article. Vreeman thinks this myth
can be traced back to a 1945 recommendation from
the Nutrition Council that a person consume the
equivalent of 8 glasses (64 ounces) of fluid
a day. Over the years, "fluid" turned to water. But fruits and
vegetables, plus coffee and other liquids, count.
Myth: Fingernails and hair grow after death.
Fact: Most physicians queried on this one initially
thought it was true. Upon further reflection, they realized
it's impossible. Here's what happens: "As the
body’s skin is drying out, soft tissue, especially skin, is retracting,"
Vreeman said. "The nails appear much more prominent
as the skin dries out. The same is true, but less obvious,
with hair. As the skin is shrinking back, the
hair looks more prominent or sticks up a bit."
Myth: Shaved hair grows back faster, coarser and darker.
Fact: A 1928 clinical trial compared hair growth
in shaved patches to growth in non-shaved patches.
The hair which replaced the shaved hair was no
darker or thicker, and did not grow in faster. More
recent studies have confirmed that one. Here's
the deal: When hair first comes in after being shaved,
it grows with a blunt edge on top, Carroll and
Vreeman explain. Over time, the blunt edge gets worn
so it may seem thicker than it actually is. Hair
that's just emerging can be darker too, because it hasn't
been bleached by the sun.
Myth: Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
Fact: The researchers found no evidence that reading
in dim light causes permanent eye damage.
It can cause eye strain and temporarily decreased
acuity, which subsides after rest.
Myth: Eating turkey makes you drowsy.
Fact: Even Carroll and Vreeman believed this one
until they researched it. The thing is, a chemical
in turkey called tryptophan is known to cause
drowsiness. But turkey doesn't contain any more of it
than does chicken or beef. This myth is fueled
by the fact that turkey is often eaten with a colossal
holiday meal, often accompanied by alcohol —
both things that will make you sleepy.
Myth: Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals.
Fact: There are no known cases of death related
to this one. Cases of less-serious interference with
hospital devices seem to be largely anecdotal,
the researchers found. In one real study, mobile phones
were found to interfere with 4 percent of devices,
but only when the phone was within 3 feet of the device.
A more recent study, this year, found no interference
in 300 tests in 75 treatment rooms. To the contrary,
when doctors use mobile phones, the improved
communication means they make fewer mistakes.
"Whenever we talk about this work, doctors at
first express disbelief that these things are not true," said Vreeman said.
"But after we carefully lay out medical evidence,
they are very willing to accept that these beliefs are actually false."
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