Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!: And 75 Other Health Myths Debunked (33 page)

Thacker, S. B., J. Gilchrist, D. F. Stroup, and C. D. Kimsey, Jr. “The Impact of Stretching on Sports Injury Risk: A Systematic Review of the Literature.”
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Wingfield, K., G. O. Matheson, and W. H. Meeuwisse. “Preparticipation Evaluation: An Evidence-Based Review.”
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Eating sugar causes diabetes

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Curhan, G. C., and J. P. Forman. “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Chronic Disease.”
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Malik, V. S., M. B. Schulze, and F. B. Hu. “Intake of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Weight Gain: A Systematic Review.”
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Odegaard, A. O., W. P. Koh, K. Arakawa, M. C. Yu, and M. A. Pereira. “Soft Drink and Juice Consumption and Risk of Physician-Diagnosed Incident Type 2 Diabetes: The Singapore Chinese Health Study.”
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Rai, M., and J. Kishore. “Myths About Diabetes and Its Treatment in North Indian Population.”
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Schulze, M. B., J. E. Manson, D. S. Ludwig, G. A. Colditz, M. J. Stampfer, W. C. Willett, and F. B. Hu. “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Weight Gain, and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Young and Middle-Aged Women.”
JAMA
292, no. 8 (2004): 927–34.

Skelly, A. H., M. Dougherty, W. M. Gesler, A. C. Soward, D. Burns, and T. A. Arcury. “African American Beliefs About Diabetes.”
West J Nurs Res
28, no. 1 (2006): 9–29; discussion 30–41.

Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your eyes

“Frequently Asked Questions.” University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center,
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. (Accessed 6/30/10.)

O’Connor, A. “The Claim: Sitting Too Close to the TV Is Bad for Your Eyes.”
New York Times
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“Vision Myths.” University of Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary.
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“You’ll Go Blind: Does Watching Television Close-up Really Harm Eyesight?” EarthTalk (2010),
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.

Touching a toilet seat will make you sick

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Trichomonas
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Ford, A. “Can Toilet Seats Make You Sick?” DivineCaroline,
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Spencer, D. “6 Items You Touch Every Day That Are Filthier than a Toilet.”
Cracked.com
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“What Can You Catch in Restrooms?”
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Williams, D. “Is Your Desk Making You Sick?”
CNN.com
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.

You can get gonorrhea from the toilet seat

Allyson, D. “What STDs Can You Get from a Toilet Seat.”
eHow.com
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. (Accessed 6/29/10.)

Dayan, L. “Transmission of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae from a Toilet Seat.”
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“Herpes Myths vs. Facts.” International Herpes Resource Center,
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“What Can You Catch in Restrooms?” WebMD,
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. (Accessed 6/29/10.)

You shouldn’t get a vaccine if you are sick

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Brody, J. A., T. Overfield, and L. M. Hammes. “Depression of the Tuberculin Reaction by Viral Vaccines.”
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Ganguly, R., C. L. Cusumano, and R. H. Waldman. “Suppression of Cell-Mediated Immunity After Infection with Attenuated Rubella Virus.”
Infect Immun
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Hirsch, R. L., F. Mokhtarian, D. E. Griffin, B. R. Brooks, J. Hess, and R. T. Johnson. “Measles Virus Vaccination of Measles Seropositive Individuals Suppresses Lymphocyte Proliferation and Chemotactic Factor Production.”
Clin Immunol Immunopathol
21, no. 3 (1981): 341–50.

Kupers, T. A., J. M. Petrich, A. W. Holloway, and J. W. St Geme, Jr. “Depression of Tuberculin Delayed Hypersensitivity by Live Attenuated Mumps Virus.”
J Pediatr
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Offit, P. A., J. Quarles, M. A. Gerber, C. J. Hackett, E. K. Marcuse, T. R. Kollman, B. G. Gellin, and S. Landry. “Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant’s Immune System?”
Pediatrics
109, no. 1 (2002): 124–9.

Otto, S., B. Mahner, I. Kadow, J. F. Beck, S. K. Wiersbitzky, and R. Bruns. “General Non-Specific Morbidity Is Reduced After Vaccination within the Third Month of Life—The Greifswald Study.”
J Infect
41, no. 2 (2000): 172–5.

Starr, S., and S. Berkovich. “Effects of Measles, Gamma-Globulin-Modified Measles and Vaccine Measles on the Tuberculin Test.”
N Engl J Med
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Zweiman, B., D. Pappagianis, H. Maibach, and E. A. Hildreth. “Effect of Measles Immunization on Tuberculin Hypersensitivity and in Vitro Lymphocyte Reactivity.”
Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol
40, no. 6 (1971): 834–41.

Getting the flu vaccine is more important for adults than children

Gupta, S. “Health: Flu Shots for Tots.”
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Hendrick, B. “Swine Flu Pandemic Hit Children the Hardest.” WebMD Health News (2010),
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Lauerman, J. “Flu Shots Halve Risk of Death, Cut Illness in Elderly.”
Bloomberg.com
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Sherman, F. T. “Flu Shots for All Ages.”
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Smith, I. K. “Who Should Get Flu Shots?”
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158, no. 21 (2001): 102.

Too many vaccines will weaken your immune system

Black, R. “Jenny McCarthy and Amanda Peet Duke It Out over Childhood Vaccines and Autism.”
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Brunell, P. A., V. M. Novelli, S. V. Lipton, and B. Pollock. “Combined Vaccine Against Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella.”
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Dashefsky, B., E. Wald, N. Guerra, and C. Byers. “Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of Concurrent Administration of Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Conjugate Vaccine (Meningococcal Protein Conjugate) with Either Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine or Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis and Oral Poliovirus Vaccines in 14- to 23-Month-Old Infants.”
Pediatrics
85, no. 4, pt. 2 (1990): 682–9.

Davidson, M., G. W. Letson, J. I. Ward, A. Ball, L. Bulkow, P. Christenson, and J. D. Cherry. “DTP Immunization and Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases. Is There a Relationship?”
Am J Dis Child
145, no. 7 (1991): 750–4.

Deforest, A., S. S. Long, H. W. Lischner, J. A. Girone, J. L. Clark, R. Srinivasan, T. G. Maguire, S. A. Diamond, R. P. Schiller, and E. P. Rothstein et al. “Simultaneous Administration of Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine with Booster Doses of Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis and Poliovirus Vaccines.”
Pediatrics
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Destefano, F., R. A. Goodman, and G. R. Noble. “Simultaneous Administration of Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccines.”
JAMA
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Giammanco, G., S. Li Volti, L. Mauro, G. G. Bilancia, I. Salemi, P. Barone, and S. Musumeci. “Immune Response to Simultaneous Administration of a Recombinant DNA Hepatitis B Vaccine and Multiple Compulsory Vaccines in Infancy.”
Vaccine
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Gregson, A. L., and R. Edelman. “Does Antigenic Overload Exist? The Role of Multiple Immunizations in Infants.”
Immunol Allergy Clin North Am
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Hilton, S., M. Petticrew, and K. Hunt. “‘Combined Vaccines Are like a Sudden Onslaught to the Body’s Immune System’: Parental Concerns About Vaccine ‘Overload’ and ‘Immune-Vulnerability.’”
Vaccine
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Leask, J., S. Chapman, and S. C. Cooper Robbins. “‘All Manner of Ills’: The Features of Serious Diseases Attributed to Vaccination.”
Vaccine
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Offit, P. A., J. Quarles, M. A. Gerber, C. J. Hackett, E. K. Marcuse, T. R. Kollman, B. G. Gellin, and S. Landry. “Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant’s Immune System?”
Pediatrics
109, no. 1 (2002): 124–9.

Otto, S., B. Mahner, I. Kadow, J. F. Beck, S. K. Wiersbitzky, and R. Bruns. “General Non-Specific Morbidity Is Reduced After Vaccination Within the Third Month of Life—The Greifswald Study.”
J Infect
41, no. 2 (2000): 172–5.

Shinefield, H. R., S. B. Black, B. O. Staehle, T. Adelman, K. Ensor, A. Ngai, C. J. White, S. R. Bird, H. Matthews, and B. J. Kuter. “Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of Concomitant Injections in Separate Locations of M-M-R Ii, Varivax and Tetramune in Healthy Children vs. Concomitant Injections of M-M-R Ii and Tetramune Followed Six Weeks Later by varivax.”
Pediatr Infect Dis J
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I have just the thing for that cold … Vitamin C

Douglas, R. M., H. Hemila, R. D’Souza, E. B. Chalker, and B. Treacy. “Vitamin C for Preventing and Treating the Common Cold.”
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Masek, J., F. Hruba, M. Neradilova, and S. Hejda. “The Role of Vitamin C in the Treatment of Acute Infections of the Upper Respiratory Pathways.”
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Strohle, A., and A. Hahn. “Vitamin C and Immune Function.”
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Van Straten, M., and P. Josling. “Preventing the Common Cold with a Vitamin C Supplement: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Survey.”
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Vitamin E helps scars heal

Baumann, L. S., and J. Spencer. “The Effects of Topical Vitamin E on the Cosmetic Appearance of Scars.”
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Chen, M. A., and T. M. Davidson. “Scar Management: Prevention and Treatment Strategies.”
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Curran, J. N., M. Crealey, G. Sadadcharam, G. Fitzpatrick, and M. O’Donnell. “Vitamin E: Patterns of Understanding, Use, and Prescription by Health Professionals and Students at a University Teaching Hospital.”
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Draelos, Z. D. “The Ability of Onion Extract Gel to Improve the Cosmetic Appearance of Postsurgical Scars.”
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Khoosal, D., and R. D. Goldman. “Vitamin E for Treating Children’s Scars. Does It Help Reduce Scarring?”
Can Fam Physician
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Koc, E., E. Arca, B. Surucu, and Z. Kurumlu. “An Open, Randomized, Controlled, Comparative Study of the Combined Effect of Intralesional Triamcinolone Acetonide and Onion Extract Gel and Intralesional Triamcinolone Acetonide Alone in the Treatment of Hypertrophic Scars and Keloids.”
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Palmieri, B., G. Gozzi, and G. Palmieri. “Vitamin E Added Silicone Gel Sheets for Treatment of Hypertrophic Scars and Keloids.”
Int J Dermatol
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Perez, O. A., M. H. Viera, J. K. Patel, S. Konda, S. Amini, R. Huo, D. Zell, S. Tadicherla, and B. Berman. “A Comparative Study Evaluating the Tolerability and Efficacy of Two Topical Therapies for the Treatment of Keloids and Hypertrophic Scars.”
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Zurada, J. M., D. Kriegel, and I. C. Davis. “Topical Treatments for Hypertrophic Scars.”
J Am Acad Dermatol
55, no. 6 (2006): 1024–31.

You will get warts from handling frogs or toads

“Does Touching Toads Gives You Warts?”
NineMSN.com
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. (Accessed 7/1/10.)