MEDICAL MYTHS
 

THE TOP 10 MEDICAL MYTHS

  • Lowering your blood cholesterol levels will prevent heart disease - Science has never been able to link cholesterol with heart disease. Population studies show that many groups with high levels of heart disease don't have high levels of blood fats. Careful examination of the studies supposedly demonstrating that cholesterol-lowering drugs work show as they fail to translate into a significant number of lives saved (WDDTY, the book).

  • Screening for cancer can catch it early and save lives -  Mammograms, cervical cancer screening and the latest PSA screening have never been shown to save lives. All screening tests are highly inaccurate. The latest study of the PSA test shows screened men are more likely to die .

  • The mercury in your fillings is permanently locked in and therefore harmless - Numerous studies in animals and humans demonstrate that mercury particles and vapour's are a timed-release poison, which migrate to various parts of the body, including the brain, and cross the placenta in pregnant women. We still don't know the extent of the damage (The Dental Handbook).

  • Fluoridating the water and dental products is good for your teeth and stops tooth decay in children - Rather than strengthening bone tissue, fluoride causes osteoporosis. New evidence shows fluoride can also damage the central nervous system, causing brain dysfunction, lower IQ and possibly even Alzheimers disease (WDDTY vol 3 no 9 and vol 9 no 3).

  • Vaccination has conquered infectious disease - Careful examination of polio and smallpox casualties shows that the disease had a higher incidence in many areas that were highly vaccinated. The incidence of all infectious diseases were plummeting long before the onset of vaccination, which took the credit (WDDTY, the book).

  • Women need hormone replacement after the menopause to protect them from osteoporosis and heart disease -  All the major studies supposedly demonstrating a survival benefit with HRT have been criticised as biased or flawed. Virtually every major study of HRT also shows it causes at least a 30 per cent increase in breast cancer (The Guide to Menopause).

  • Modern drugs have conquered many diseases - The only drug capable of curing anything is antibiotics. No other drug out there cures it simply suppresses symptoms, usually at the risk of causing a load of other ones (WDDTY, the book).

  • Routine X-rays aren't dangerous - The UK National Academy of Science believes that x-rays could be responsible for 4 per cent of leukaemias and up to 8 per cent of all other cancers (WDDTY vol 4 no 6).

  • Mental health has nothing to do with diet - Work in Princeton and now the UK shows links with schizophrenia and depression and allergies or nutritional deficiencies. Virtually every case of depression seen by the Institute of Optimum Nutrition relates to an allergy to wheat (The Guide to Mental Health).

  • Cancer survival statistics are improving, thanks to chemotherapy - Chemotherapy has an all over cure rate of at best 9 per cent, usually for rare cancers. It doesn't affect in any way the solid tumours which make up some 90 per cent of all cancers (The Cancer Handbook).

Most of us have heard lots of health advice. Unfortunately, some of it, however well-intentioned, was medically incorrect. See if you’ve ever heard or believed any of these common health myths:

  • Myth: Rapid decompression of the bladder in patients with urinary retention can be harmful. 

Truth: Quick, complete emptying of the obstructed bladder is safe, simple and effective and is recommended as the optimal method for decompressing the obstructed urinary bladder. [Nyman MA et al, Management of urinary retention: rapid versus gradual decompression and risk of complications. Mayo Clin Proc 1997 Oct;72(10):951-6]

  • Myth: Propoxyphene plus acetaminophen (Darvocet) is a more powerful pain reliever than acetaminophen (paracetamol, Tylenol) alone.

    Truth: In both head to head and indirect comparisons of paracetamol and the combination (of paracetamol plus proposyphene), the combination was no better than paracetamol on its own. [Li Wan Po A, Zhang WY, Systematic overview of co-proxamol to assess analgesic effects of addition of dextropropoxyphene to paracetamol, BMJ 1997, 315: 1565-71]

     

  • Myth: Patients with musculoskeletal back pain respond best to bedrest followed by a specialized back exercise program. 

Truth: Bed rest is not an effective treatment for acute low back pain and may delay recovery. Advice to stay active and to continue ordinary activities results in a faster return to work, less chronic disability, and fewer recurrent problems [Waddell G et al, Systematic reviews of bed rest and advice to stay active for acute low back pain. Br J Gen Pract 1997 Oct;47(423):647-52 - From PubMed]; Among patients with acute low back pain, continuing ordinary activities within the limits permitted by the pain leads to more rapid recovery than either bed rest or back-mobilizing exercises [Malmivaara A et al, The treatment of acute low back pain--bed rest, exercises, or ordinaryactivity?N Engl J Med 1995 Feb 9;332(6):351-5 - From PubMed]

  • Myth: Hypertensive emergency (diastolic BP>120 without evidence of CNS, cardiac, pulmonary, vascular or renal end-organ damage) requires rapid BP reduction preferably by sublingual nifedipine.

Truth: Hypertensive urgency is generally treated over 24 to 48 hours in a closely monitored outpatient setting [Bales A, Hypertensive crisis. How to tell if it's an emergency or an urgency. Postgrad Med 1999 May 1;105(5):119-26, 130 - From PubMed]. Patients with non-emergent hypertension do not always require immediate and aggressive pharmacological intervention in the Emergency Department setting and are best observed for a short period and then reassessed before beginning pharmacological therapy [Lebby T et al, Blood pressure decrease prior to initiating pharmacological therapy in nonemergent hypertension. Am J Emerg Med 1990 Jan;8(1):27-9 - From PubMed]. A review of the literature revealed reports of serious adverse effects such as cerebrovascular ischemia, stroke, numerous instances of severe hypotension, acute myocardial infarction, conduction disturbances, fetal distress, and death resulting from the use of sublingual nifedipine. Given the seriousness of the reported adverse events and the lack of any clinical documentation attesting to a benefit, the use of nifedipine capsules for hypertensive emergencies and pseudoemergencies should be abandoned [Grossman E et al, Should a moratorium be placed on sublingual nifedipine capsules given for hypertensive emergencies and pseudoemergencies? JAMA 1996 Oct 23-30;276(16):1328-31 - From PubMed]

  • Myth: Wait an 30 minutes after eating before you can safely go swimming.

Truth: This one seemed almost universally accepted when I was a child and is still believed today. The myth involves the possibility of suffering severe muscle cramping and drowning from swimming on a full stomach. While it’s true that the digestive process does divert the circulation of the blood toward the gut and to a certain extent, away from the muscles, the fact is that an episode of drowning caused by swimming on a full stomach has never been documented. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Red Cross makes any specific recommendations about waiting any amount of time after eating before taking a swim. There’s a theoretical possibility that one could develop a cramp while swimming with a full stomach, but a person swimming in a pool or controlled swimming area could easily exit the water if this happens. As with any exercise after eating, swimming right after a big meal might be uncomfortable, but it won’t cause you to drown.

  • Myth: Sunburn will fade into a tan  or You need to burn first before you start to tan.

Truth: Sunburn is a burn and not a prerequisite stage for a tan. Sunburn will result in skin damage, redness and eventual peeling. Any amount of sun exposure poses an increased risk for the development of skin cancers and premature aging, but sunburn poses an even stronger risk.

  • Myth: Dark-skinned people don’t need sunscreen.

Truth: People with lighter skins have less melanin, the pigment that absorbs UV radiation and protects skin, than darker-skinned people. While light-skinned people will be very sensitive to the effects of UV rays from the sun, those with darker skins can still be affected by damaging UV radiation. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends routine sunscreen use (with an SPF of at least 15) for dark-skinned people.

  • Myth: The watermelon-seed myth.

Truth: No, the seeds won’t germinate and grow in your stomach if you swallow them. There is a very small risk of damage to the intestine (inflammation, obstruction, or a wound or tear in the bowel) from swallowing any small, sharp object such as a seed. A watermelon or other type of seed could potentially lodge inside the appendix and lead to appendicitis, but this is very unlikely to happen. The benefits of including fruit in your diet far outweigh any risks associated with swallowing seeds.

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