Ordinary Gweilo

I like to think of myself as rational and logical.  Sadly, the world is full of people who believe that all sorts of stupid things are true, and usually these untruths are not only repeated but they are reinforced by doctors, and other people we tend to believe.

Is it really dangerous to use your mobile phone in a hospital, on a plane, or at a petrol station?  No, no, and no. 

Can you catch a cold just because you are out in the cold?  No.  Will antibiotics help with that cold?  No. 

The Guardian reports on some more of these (Heard the one about reading in dim light being bad for your eyes? It’s just a myth):

They are the universal pearls of wisdom that explain some of the more puzzling things about the human body and help people live healthy lives: don’t read in dim light, drink eight glasses of water a day and don’t use mobile phones in hospitals.

The problem is: there is no evidence to suggest that these gems of advice are actually true. In a study out today researchers have scoured through leading databases of medical research to test whether any of the most commonly held beliefs among doctors and patients bear any links to reality.

The two doctors behind the research wanted to remind their colleagues that anyone could get things wrong and suggested that doctors should think twice about commonly held ideas that might not be based on evidence.

“We got fired up about this because we knew that physicians accepted these beliefs and were passing this information along to their patients. And these beliefs are frequently cited in the popular media. We didn’t set out to become myth busters,” said Aaron Carroll of the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis.