How about your favorite Old Wives Tales related to health? - Page 2

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  1. Jun 6, '06 by
    Quote from weetziebat
    I graduated from my LPN program when I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. As a student, whenever I went to hang an I.V. patients would gasp and grab at my hands. "Don't raise your hands above your head when you're pregnant, or the cord will tie around the baby's neck". I heard that so many times it started to make me wonder.
    Yeah, I was working in an urgent care facility and an xray tech told me her friend was hanging curtains and it caused the cord to wrap around the baby's neck. This is an intelligent person too. Think about it, the baby is surrounded in amniotic fluid, how is the position of the mother's arms going to affect the cord? Beats me.
    Also, if you have heartburn when pg the baby will have a lot of hair. HMMM, I had heartburn with my pregnancies, wish someone would've told that one to my daughters who were both born bald
  2. Jun 6, '06 by
    How about the ol' "feed a cold, starve a fever" that our grandmothers (or great-grandmothers) used to tell everyone. I can remember my grandmother being genuinely worried that I was harming my first child by feeding her anything when she had a fever.
  3. Jun 6, '06 by
    Handling toads causes warts.

    Hair's split ends can be repaired.

    Babies have to be bundled as if for an Anarctic expedition, even when its 90+ degrees outside.

    There is such thing as a "stomach flu".

    This is kinda fun. Lets hear some more.
    Anderson11 likes this.
  4. Jun 6, '06 by
    Quote from Hello2U
    How about the ol' "feed a cold, starve a fever" that our grandmothers (or great-grandmothers) used to tell everyone.
    Thanks for reminding me of this one. I heard it too, but can never remember if it is 'feed a cold and starve a fever' or the other way around.

    My mother used to tell me if I sat on the radiator it would cause me to have hemorrhoids.
  5. Jun 7, '06 by
    Drinking milk and water together will give you a fever.

    Butter is good for a burn (I guess that's more of a folk remedy than an old wives' tale, though)

    My personal favorite, though- ''you can get pregnant doing that''.... that referring to any number of things other than intercourse. Conversely, there is also the ''you can't get pregnant having sex because...'' followed by highly questionable logic school of thought.
  6. Jun 7, '06 by
    Quote from Charity
    I have had more than one parent get visibly upset at the site of their baby in the isolette with a scalp IV. Because we had to shave or cut the child's hair. And everyone knows that if you cut a child's hair before he/she is a year old, the child will be stupid!!
    My mum said to cut their hair before a year old would shorten their life.So even though I knew better none of mine haid their hair cut under one.This went for the boys as well.
  7. Jun 7, '06 by
    Quote from Dewgrl
    My favorite is the wet hair tale. I worked in an ER filled with well educated nurses and dr's, and still everytime I walked into work with wet hair from my shower, I would hear the dreaded " You'll catch a cold walking around in this weather with wet hair!" Also used were pneumonia, bronchitis, the flu, etcc.. All this from a little wet hair!
    That one gets me, too. I always have wet hair, lol. It is very long and I put it up wet in the am, and it isn't dry when I let it down before bed. I can't count how many people tell me I am going to get sick doing that. It has been years since I've been sick! (Well, I had 2 minor colds in the last 5 years, if that counts)
  8. Jun 7, '06 by
    One I hear almost every day at work:

    So my baby can't go home until he weighs ____ pounds, right?
    (Fill in any number from 3 to 8)
  9. Jun 8, '06 by
    Cover the baby's ears to prevent ear infections.
    The pigeon cure for hepatitis
    Don't let the baby look in the mirror before age 1 (or before first tooth comes in)
    putting a gold bracelet on the baby will clear up jaundice


    BTW - I also thought vomiting and diarrheah are flu related. They're not?
  10. Jun 8, '06 by
    i had a patient who told me to keep his neck covered with a blanket at all times, and to pass it on to the nurses after surgery (i work in the OR). he said it prevents him from getting a cold and if he ends up with one after surgery, he'll know it was because his neck was exposed.