The internet is full of misinformation — specifically about our health.
This can be incredibly dangerous — and even life-threatening — which is why it’s important to weed out the B.S.
Take Hydrogen Peroxide, for instance. Your mother has been putting that on your wounds your whole life (yes, even at 35). But, as it turns out, that’s one of the worst things you could do.
We’re starting off with a big health myth: cranberry juice cures UTIs.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), cranberry products are not effective in treating a UTI. They may be able to help prevent it, but more studies need to be done.
So put down the cranberry juice and take your antibiotics instead.
Another harmful health myth is that wearing bras can cause cancer .
This is a hard one to hear, considering most women have been wearing those uncomfortable boob traps since they were 14.
The good news is that there’s no evidence to back up this cancer claim, according to the American Cancer Society.
What a relief.
Everyone has heard “you need to drink eight glasses of water a day.” But is this actually true?
“Getting enough water isn’t just about drinking glasses of it but includes all the water in foods and drinks,” Los Angeles-based nutritionist Maggie Moon, RD, owner of Everyday Healthy Eating, told ‘Women’s Health’.
How much water you should be drinking is actually quite individual .
Now, we come to one of the biggest health myths there is: you should be putting hydrogen peroxide on wounds.
Even if you don’t own your own bottle, you know what it is. You’ve seen it stashed in pretty much every older adult’s home, regardless of whether it was expired or not.
Hydrogen peroxide has many purposes. People use it for cleaning, disinfecting, and stain removal.
It’s even helpful to use if your dog ate something they shouldn’t have — like grapes — and you need to make them throw it back up (been there).
The main use has been to treat and clean wounds.
Unfortunately, your whole life is about to feel like a lie, because this is the last thing you want to do. ABC10 did the digging into why and found that several health sites warn against this.
“Hydrogen peroxide has fallen out of favor as a wound cleanser,” Sarah Pickering Beers, M.D., a family medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic said.
“Studies have found that it irritates the skin. It may prevent the wound from healing, doing more harm than good.”
In addition to this, Houston Methodist found that hydrogen peroxide can kill normal cells within the wound.
“Hydrogen peroxide is actually detrimental to wound healing. It prevents healing rather than promoting it,” Michael Yaakovian, M.D., a surgeon and wound care specialist at Houston Methodist, said.
“When you have an open wound, you don’t have that normal skin barrier there protecting you anymore. This exposed area of tissue then becomes vulnerable to infection.”
The same goes for rubbing alcohol — it can kill cells and prevent healing.
So, what are you supposed to use to clean a wound?
According to Beers, “a good wash with soap and plenty of clean water is all you need.”
Just be sure to wash your hands first to prevent infection and apply an antibiotic or petroleum jelly before dressing the wound.
H/T: ABC10