Your
trusty toothbrush most likely is coated with bacteria — as well as some
microscopic flecks of stuff you'd rather keep contained in the toilet
bowl.
This is no April Fools' joke. Unfortunately, and disgustingly, it's true.
Whether
they're old wives' tales passed down from Granny or modern-day medical
wisdom forwarded in an e-mail from a co-worker or found on the
Internet, undocumented and often unsubstantiated health claims
sometimes become accepted facts among patients.
Some are true. Some aren't.
When in doubt, consult your doctor, suggested Dr. Debbie Plate, a physician with the Akron General Center for Family Medicine.
Plate said patients frequently bring her copies of health-related articles and postings to ask whether they're true.
Plate
and the other doctors at Akron General's Center for Family Medicine
often give patients ''education prescriptions,'' which contain the name
of a condition or disease, along with reliable Web sites where patients
can learn more. Patients then can use computers in the waiting room,
which allow access only to approved, reliable Web sites.
Plate said she frequently refers her patients to the American Academy of Family Physicians Web site (http://www.aafp.org ) or WebMd ( http://www.webmd.com ) to check out health claims.
''I'm
actually one of those doctors who likes it when my patients look things
up and try to inform themselves about their health,'' said Dr. Donald
Albainy, an internal medicine physician with Summa Physicians Inc. ''I
think that's terrific. But there are a lot of sites out there that give
you very conflicting information.''
For
example, Albainy said, he often gets questions from patients who want
to know whether the newest herbal supplement will give the promised
results.
''People should be informed and they should always tell their doctor exactly what they're taking,'' he said.
As
for not-so-true health ''facts'' Albainy hears on a regular basis, the
most common is the misperception that every infection accompanied by
yellow or green mucus requires an antibiotic.
Most
nasal discharge-producing illnesses are caused by viruses and therefore
don't require antibiotics, Albainy said. In fact, antibiotic overuse
can cause the medicines not to work when a person really is sickened by
a bacterial infection.
''Just because you're coughing up green stuff doesn't mean you need an antibiotic,'' he said.
If
the infection lingers for a couple of weeks or is accompanied by a high
fever, swollen lymph glands or white patches on the throat, however, an
antibiotic might be warranted, he said.
In
honor of this traditional day of jokes and pranks, we decided to delve
into the truth — or falsehood — of a few other bits of health-related
folklore.
We'll set you straight. No fooling.
Your toothbrush likely contains bacteria spewed from your toilet.
True.
This
scary-but-true factoid comes courtesy of WebMd: ''According to Charles
Gerba, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona
in Tucson, flushing the toilet with the lid up is not wise.''
As
Gerba told WebMD: ''Polluted water vapor erupts out of the flushing
toilet bowl and it can take several hours for these particles to
finally settle — not to mention where. If you have your toothbrush too
close to the toilet, you are brushing your teeth with what's in your
toilet.''
Yuck.
If you swallow a wad of bubble gum, it'll stay in your belly for seven years.
False.
At some point in childhood, every gum-chewing youngster envisions a giant mound of Bubble Yum stuck in his stomach.
While
it's true that gum isn't digested because it's not really food, it
doesn't stick around inside the body for years, despite those warnings
from your mom.
''Although
chewing gum is designed to be chewed and not swallowed, it is not
harmful if swallowed,'' Dr. Michael Picco, a gastroenterologist, said
on the Mayo Clinic's Web site. ''It progresses relatively intact
through your digestive system and is excreted in your stool.''
Better yet, spit it out.
Though swallowed gum is almost always harmless, there are some rare reports of complications.
An
article published in 1998 in the medical journal Pediatrics documented
three cases in which young children developed intestinal tract and
esophageal obstructions after swallowing gum.
Eating a bunch of sugar makes kids hyperactive.
Maybe.
Processed sugars might have an effect on children's activity level, according to the National Institutes of Health.
''Because
refined sugars and carbohydrates enter the bloodstream quickly, they
produce rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels,'' the NIH states.
''This might trigger adrenaline in a child more active. Sometimes,
adrenaline levels bring on a period of decreased activity.''
Regardless,
the NIH said, sugar consumption definitely is linked to tooth decay.
And children who eat high-sugar, high-calorie foods probably aren't
getting the vitamins and minerals they need.
Try giving children plenty of fiber, such as grains and fresh fruits, to keep their energy levels more constant.
Men are more at risk than women for heart attacks.
False.
''In fact,'' Plate said, ''we are certainly at the same risk.''
Medical
school training used to gear doctors to think of heart disease as a
''man's disease.'' Now medical experts know that's not true, Plate said.
Women,
however, often have different symptoms from men, she said. Though chest
pain is common, women also can experience such symptoms as extreme
fatigue or shortness of breath.
Bottom line, Plate said: ''Anything different than your baseline is important to get checked out.''
You'll catch a cold if you let yourself get chilled.
False.
''That's one of the oldest wives' tales in the book,'' Albainy said.
''Really, if your immune system is intact and you go outside and it's
cold and you don't wear a coat, you're not going to automatically get
sick.''
The common cold, for example, is caused by exposure to a virus, he said.
Exposure
to cold weather doesn't cause colds or other illnesses, Albainy said,
but ''prolonged exposure can decrease your immunity.''
If you touch a toad, you'll get warts.
False.
Warts
are noncancerous growths caused by a virus in the human papillomavirus
family, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
According
to the American Academy of Family Physicians, warts on the skin can be
passed from person to person. It's also possible to get warts by using
towels or other objects that were used by a person with warts.
But don't blame amphibians for those warts. They're ''toad-ally'' innocent.
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/health/17180406.html?page=4&c=y
Fun Facts :Things to Know 