How about your favorite Old Wives Tales related to health?

NurseBettyICU, ADN, BSN · Apr 1, 2009

Whenever we got the hiccups, my mom would make us eat a spoonful of mustard.

I started my own wives tail: When my daughter was very little (she is 10 now) she was always making up little white lies to get out of trouble. I told her that if she lies 1 time too many, her tounge will fall right off. Seriously, that put a stop to the lies instantly... well until about a year ago. BUu I know tell that to my 3 year old. lol! I've even heard some of my cousins and friends tell it to their kids now. So in the future when you hear parents telling their kids that their tounges will fall off if they continue to tell lies, you'll know who started that one. LOL!!

Oh, my mom used to always tell me I'd get "lie knots" on my tounge if I lied. Since my 10 year old doesnt believe her tounge will fall off anymore, I use this on her. She will occationally get a little white dot on her tounge (what are those anyway??) and I start asking her what she's lied about ... she always fesses up on something!! Muuhaahaahaaa!! Mean Mommy. :devil:

tvccrn, ASN, RN · Apr 1, 2009

Whenever we got the hiccups, my mom would make us eat a spoonful of mustard.
I started my own wives tail: When my daughter was very little (she is 10 now) she was always making up little white lies to get out of trouble. I told her that if she lies 1 time too many, her tounge will fall right off. Seriously, that put a stop to the lies instantly... well until about a year ago. BUu I know tell that to my 3 year old. lol! I've even heard some of my cousins and friends tell it to their kids now. So in the future when you hear parents telling their kids that their tounges will fall off if they continue to tell lies, you'll know who started that one. LOL!!
Oh, my mom used to always tell me I'd get "lie knots" on my tounge if I lied. Since my 10 year old doesnt believe her tounge will fall off anymore, I use this on her. She will occationally get a little white dot on her tounge (what are those anyway??) and I start asking her what she's lied about ... she always fesses up on something!! Muuhaahaahaaa!! Mean Mommy.

My Maw-maw called those little white dots on the tongue lie bumps, and yep, we usually 'fessed up when she noticed one.

BigIsleBound · Apr 2, 2009

I've read that in Jamaica new mothers in rural areas will apply blue paint to a newborn in order to keep "duppies" from stealing/harming them. These are supposedly evil spirits.

tiggerforhim · Apr 7, 2009

Okay, I have a question. My boyfriend's Mother is an RN and they're from Bosnia. If it is cold and I don't have on socks and I step on tile, she will make me go stand on the carpet or put on socks. Now, you might think she just doesn't want my feet cold, right? NO, everytime she puts her hands over her lower abdomen and tells me I will have "problems"--reproductively. I have looked everywhere to see how cold feet could somehow "ruin" your reproductive system, but seriously, I have found nothing. Is this just an old wives tale she picked up from Bosnia? haha

Well, when I was in Kazakstan, a former Soviet Republic, the old babushkas (grandmas) would have a fit if they saw me sitting on the steps of a building or the floor, as they told me I'd never have children. Also I was told ice in drinks give you sore throats, shaking hands across the threshold of a door is bad luck, and sitting on the corner of the table is also bad luck or reproduction problems or something like that.

IlovebabyfeetRN · Apr 8, 2009

L&D nurses will understand this one....a patient who lists pitocin on their medication allergies...better not go into labor or breastfeed then!! ;-0

We get a lot of Spanish families who curl a tiny string on the foreheads of their babies to protect them. Now that I understand why they do it, I have stopped finding them and going "why do I keep finding strings on baby's foreheads??" There are also families that request the umbilical cord stump when it falls off (ick ick ick).

qcumba · Apr 16, 2009

Thank you for the great link! Interesting about the newborn hair and heartburn. My old Slovak Grandma in law was worried when I went to the zoo while pregnant,took my DH aside and told him to keep me away from the monkey cages or the baby would look like one!
My mom, first generation German, told me to drink good dark beer after delivery "to make milk for the baby". Maybe relaxation causes letdown reflex?
Don't know, I was scared to try it. Makes you wonder how many things we think we know today will be "old wives tales" to our grandkids.

- About the beer its the yeast that increases milk production so you can skip the alchohol and take brewers yeast or ginger beer.

- some of our old wives tales here are putting a piece of wet tissue paper on the forehead of a hicupping baby and before the paper is dry they will stop hiccuping,

- binding the umbilical stump with a piece of cloth, to prevent a belly button that bulges out,- causes major problems, it very often goes septic, damp umbilical cord + darkness + heat = :barf01:

TuTonka · Apr 18, 2009

NurseyTonya Hmmmmmmmmmmm does that mean a virus thrives better in the cold or does our immune system react differently in the colder weather or does wet hair lower the body's heat which ummm might lower the immunsystem functions? It would be an interesting study don't you think? Just kidding with you... do not sweat the small stuff... no pun intended. :)

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2009

My Granny, God rest her soul, was a stubborn Pennsylvania Dutch woman who once knocked a would-be purse snatcher unconscious with said purse. Most of her old wives' tales had to do with things other than health, like the weather or animals, and are crazy and detailed. However, one I will never, ever forget...she claimed when a person develops a stye in his or her eye, it's because he or she once peed in the middle of the road. She had a hard life, Granny did. Maybe it made her a little cuckoo. But she said this one way before her strokes and age took their toll on her mind.

Morning-glory · May 16, 2009

Cold feet will make menstruation cramps worse. Wearing warm socks will ease the pain. Tried and tested. That is probably where this one comes from.

Okay, I have a question. My boyfriend's Mother is an RN and they're from Bosnia. If it is cold and I don't have on socks and I step on tile, she will make me go stand on the carpet or put on socks. Now, you might think she just doesn't want my feet cold, right? NO, everytime she puts her hands over her lower abdomen and tells me I will have "problems"--reproductively. I have looked everywhere to see how cold feet could somehow "ruin" your reproductive system, but seriously, I have found nothing. Is this just an old wives tale she picked up from Bosnia? haha

futuremombabynurse · May 26, 2009

I know a lot of people who swear by olive oil. Hey, it beats repeat rounds of antibiotics.

I never had antibiotics for an earache until well into my adulthood, thanks to the old country doctor my grandmother took me to. (One of the reasons why at 23 I can still take Amoxacillin.) His earache cure: equal parts white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, dropped into the offending ear.

It WORKS. I had earaches at least once a month as a child, and this cured it every time. Other kids with the same problem ended up with tubes in their ears. :cry:

Some of my favorite old wive's tales:

If you say the word laxative, you won't need one anymore. (That's from my mom.)

Rubbing alcohol cures insect bites.

A red string on the forehead cures hiccups in babies.

meintheUSA · May 27, 2009

freind of my Mom swore by the overnight acne: Filled an iron skillet with night crawlers and simmered them until she made a slimy, stinky paste. Rubbed it on face at night time. NO THANK YOU... I'll put up with my zits....... :eek:

cam-retiredrn · Mar 21, 2011

Probably all OB nurses have heard that the reason the mother has heartburn is because of the large amount of the baby's hair.