Home General health issues 5 Untrue Health Statements You Should Know

5 Untrue Health Statements You Should Know


Knowing what is true or not can make a very big difference in how we lead our lives.

We are in the internet age and with so many blog posts or online media publications being released every day, we need to understand that a whole lot of ideas, principles and ‘facts’ might be very wrong.

In this article, we will be addressing 5 statements you probably thought were true but are not, so that you can understand what is medically correct.

1. Pneumonia Is Caused By Being Cold
This one common thought that has been going around for a while, a lot of people believe that pneumonia occurs when you are exposed to cold weather, either during winter or when the environment is wet. I personally heard this statement too many times while growing up that I believed it.

Now, I know better. Pneumonia is not caused by cold weather but rather by bacteria and viruses. It is an infection of the lungs that causes an inflammation that fills the ‘airbags’ in the lungs with fluid and pus. So, the result is difficulty breathing, a cough, and fever.
Pneumonia is usually treated with antibiotics.

2. Cough Syrup Treats A Cough
You might be surprised a bit but cough syrups do not actually treat a cough itself, rather they try to make you feel better by soothing the back of your throat or by making you spit out mucus easier or dissolving the mucus, they do nothing about the cause of your cough.
So, if you have a stubborn cough, it is best to know why you’re coughing than just take cough syrup.

Our brains have a cough centre that receives signals when our airways are irritated, this centre then sends messages to the muscles surrounding our airways to effect a cough. This is a protective reflex action. So, we should focus on what is irritating the airways in the first place, rather than taking syrups without knowing why we are coughing.

The most common cause of cough is common cold, and it usually goes away on its own after a few days, you should report any stubborn cough to your doctor for proper care and treatment.

3. Injections Are Always Better Than Tablets
Injections definitely work faster than tablets but this doesn’t make them better for you. There are some patients who insist on injections because they believe that tablets are not very effective. The honest truth is that medications come in different forms for several reasons.

Tablets need to get absorbed before they work and this is sometimes a good thing.

Also, if a medication needs to be taken three times a day for a week, it is better as a tablet than an injection, if it must be given by injection, the person may have to be admitted on the wards just for that single medication.

4. Pregnant Women Should Not Have Sex
Some people believe that pregnancy and sex don’t go together, that it, sexual intercourse should not be performed when a woman is pregnant. This is very untrue. If the pregnancy is proceeding normally, and there are no contraindications like abnormal bleeding or repeated miscarriages, sex can be performed in pregnancy, it does not affect the baby at all. The only time doctors could ask you to avoid sex is few weeks to delivery because sex and orgasm could trigger labor contractions. This could even be helpful if the woman is already due and hasn’t started labor spontaneously.


5. Exercise Is More Important Than A Healthy Diet When Trying To Lose Weight
We all know the many benefits of exercise, and why you should also eat a balanced diet to stay healthy and fit.

Exercise and a good diet help to prevent chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and stroke which could limit a person and make them need to use bathing aids like transfer benches and shower stools to perform basic acts like showering.

But which contributes more to weight loss between a healthy diet and exercise? The answer is a good diet.

The two should go together but a good diet contributes more to weight loss than exercise, so if you spend hours in the gym but do nothing to control your calorie intake, you may not shed any weight.

Read also: How to lose weight without exercise

Guest article by Dr. Charles-Davies OA, he also blogs at 25 Doctors.



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