We recently wrote an article where doctors and nurses published health “lies” people should stop believing. In the comments, even medical experts have added health myths and misconceptions, and it is very eye-opening. Here’s what they said:
Note: Some comments were pulled from a Reddit thread from Kerouac__.
1.“No, take an ambulance instead of your private car to the ER no get treatment quickly. Patients are evaluated according to the severity of their complaints, so you can wait if you hurt your knee because someone is bleeding or has a heart attack. “
— murevere195
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2.“OB/GYN NP here: Using hormonal contraception doesn’t make you infertile. Untreated chlamydia can.”
-evilchef76
3.“As a person OR a nurse, CLEAN YOUR BELLYBUTTON BEFORE THE SURGERY!!! While you are asleep, we expose and clean a large area of skin that usually includes the abdomen (even if it is not the area where you are being operated on) because if the drapes happen to tear or have a hole in them, the skin around the incision area it would stay cleaner than me prepped skin gold mines of god knows how amazing it is to live in its deep belly.
“We have to clean ourselves up before we move on, and we all grind when we do. It’s in the forest. If you’re having a hip replacement, gall bladder removed, hernia repair, or any number of other surgeries, we’ll see your stomach, we’ll look inside it, we’ll clean the gunk out of it, and you’ll be done. never know the difference. CLEAN. YOURS. BELLY. BUTTONS.”
—u/pamelabeezlyhalpert
4.“You can’t get rid of your liver, and some of the things that are recommended will seriously damage your liver. Seriously, it’s true. But there’s always someone who thinks they can make their liver better. No.”
— kestrel
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5.“I’m a doctor. I’ve been trained in a lot, but I’m not trained in everything. Maybe you don’t want me to have a difficult pregnancy or surgery. We may not know the answer to your problem. , but a good provider is a good listener and can try to refer you to someone who can help you.
—bingowashisnameo
6.“Doctors almost never tell the patient that they only have three months left to live. I have had many patients who cry the same way, but every doctor I have ever asked says that they do not tell the patient that. They may say that usually a person with this disease does not. ‘survive more than xy months or years, but we do not know that time how much is left with a person.”
— mushycrocodile77
7.“One thing that annoys me is that CPR does not mean restarting your heart! Its purpose is to keep the blood flowing throughout the body until the person receives proper treatment. So many TV shows and movies show people doing CPR for a few minutes, then they give up – OR they do it gently – wet what a person knows, and a person wakes up Misleading!
“The press needs to be continuous and strong enough to break a rib.”
– mellowsquid
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8.“If we tell you that your cervix is cancerous, it means that if you don’t treat it or follow it carefully, there is a CHANCE that it CAN turn into cancer over time. It is NOT cancer — 90+ percent of patients who have told me that they have cervical cancer do not.
“I used to tell my patients at least five times when I told them they had a cancerous change that it WASN’T cervical cancer, I confirmed it at the follow-up visit, however, I had the family of one patient who called us because he told his family that he had three months to live and he was removing all his belongings because we told him that he was dying of uterine cancer and he only had three months. to live.”
— mushycrocodile77
9.“Pharmacy tech here. The amount of people who don’t think of vitamins, supplements, or even over-the-counter products as ‘medicine’ is amazing. You ask what else they’re taking, and they say ‘nothing,’ but it turns out they weren’t talking about Tylenol, colloidal silver, and vitamins And if your meds aren’t working, not only should you stop them, but don’t put more meds on top of them!”
– baby girl
10.“That I, as a nurse, am just trying to milk your insurance. Many times I don’t even know if you have insurance, documented or undocumented, if there is anything related to billing and treatment. . If I have valid orders from a doctor to do something to help us find out what is wrong with you or To help you feel better, I’m using it.”
“I’m not running to see if the hospital is paid, I don’t care. I just want to help you get better and get out so we can help the next person get better and get out too.“
– Halsven
Sdi Productions/Getty Images
11.“We don’t care who your donor is!!! If you have a bad accident, we won’t deny you treatment because you are a donor. The whole donor situation is so complicated that it doesn’t even work like that.
-u/JustGenericName
12.“As a clinician, you don’t know what I do because you have Google. Show self-respect, and trust the experts; we have many years of schooling, advanced training after school, not to mention the thousands of people we have. to see.”
– heinzybaby
13.“You can’t just pull out an IV and walk away like nothing happened. You’re going to bleed everywhere, never mind going through layers of tape and Tegaderm holding it in place.”
“Some people close quickly; most people don’t, and if you throw an IV line and just let your arm dangle, bleeding will happen. It may be more or less depending on your closing style. If I don’t push for a good 10 minutes, I bleed everywhere. “
– rakishrogue
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14.Myth: Cancer only affects older people. [Testicular cancer is most common in ages 20 to 40]. You should be checked once a month.”
“Men, check your testicles for lumps, bumps, swelling, fullness, or pain. It’s pretty much everything that feels down there. I have seen many cases of young men waiting a long time with testicular cancer that has metastasized.“
-u/gjunon
15.“Medical assistant for 18 years here. When you enter a new meeting with a new provider, please carry out come prepared. Bring your med list, past medications, and allergies. Unfortunately, I don’t know what your yellow pill with the X on it is. I’m an MA, not a medical technician.”
—k4e39fd4aa
16.“I’m a CRNA. People think we leave the house after they go to bed. No, dog – I’m here all the time!”
“Also, people understand less about anesthesia than about any other aspect of medicine.”
—Anonymous
And finally…
17.“Fiction: You can take antibiotics lying around for an infection. In fact, there are different types of antibiotics for different infections. The leftover medicine you have from your UTI won’t work on your infection. Doctor, and if you have any ‘antibiotics’ left over first, you weren’t taking it right.”
—u/K6983
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Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, what is the health “false” or “misunderstanding” people should stop believing? Tell us in the comments below, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, feel free to use this Google form.
Note: Some answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.