A lot of people turn to the internet when they get unwell. For example, in the United States, up to 81.5% of adults go online to address concerns about their health.

Experts say that children and teens are increasingly using social media for self-diagnosing mental disorders too.

The problem is that the quality of such resources varies dramatically and they can be full of inaccuracies, which can perpetuate already harmful myths.

So in an attempt to remind everyone to stay vigilant, we invite you to take a look at an online thread where doctors, nurses, and other industry professionals are sharing some of the biggest health misconceptions.

Read More: Medical Professionals Debunk 30 Health Myths People Still Believe To Be True

#1

When prescribed a course of antibiotics, it is NOT okay to stop them when you feel better. At this point, you probably feel better because most of the bacteria has been killed, except for a few which are naturally stronger. If you don’t finish your full course, these will then multiply and you will have an even worse infection which is much harder to get rid of.

Image credits: cimd09

#2

Mental Illness is a disease. Don’t be afraid to seek help when you need it. So many people suffer from depression/anxiety and go through years of suffering because they are too proud to seek help.

Image credits: MounaBowa

#3

Vaccines do not cause autism. It was simply a convenient scape-goat since every kid gets vaccines. Also, poorly done studies.

Image credits: anon

#4

Quite a few people i’ve nursed have been surprised when they were discharged quite soon after surgery, and were concerned that it was too soon. I think some people presume that a hospital setting is somehow sterile and they’ll recover faster there. Wrong. You’re much more likely to get an infection if you stay in hospital. I’d much rather go home and be surrounded by my own microbes, thank you very much.

Image credits: lexydust

#5

“If you are an organ donor, emergency crews are less likely to save you if you are badly injured so they can get your organs” No. Stop it.

Image credits: TheCrawdad

#6

I am not a doctor or nurse, but one of the biggest health misconceptions that I encounter is the difference between Lactose Intolerance and a Milk Allergy.

Personally, being allergic to milk, it is always frustrating when people say that a milk allergy and lactose intolerance are the same thing, and I will only get a “stomach ache”, so I should try the food they are eating. Well, unfortunately I wish that were the case.

Lactose Intolerance is the inability to digest lactose. While a milk allergy is the body’s immune system reacting to milk protein, and in severe cases (including mine) can cause anaphylactic shock, which is deadly. So no, I do not want to try your meal…

#7

Quite common but crackling your knuckles does **not** give you arthritis.

Image credits: Dr_Nope

#8

Migraines and headaches are not the same thing. It really annoys me whenever someone says “oh man, this is giving me a migraine” because they don’t know the pain of an actual migraine. The blind spots, the numbness, the nausea, the excruciating pain. Your headaches may be bad, but they’re not migraines.

#9

A defibrillator **isn’t** used to restart a heart that has stopped beating. It is used to stop the fibrillation of the heart and will “reset” it to its normal rhythm. Thanks to TV shows and movies a *lot* of people have this misconception about what the device will do and what it’s meant for.

Also, when the shock is administered the patient won’t spasm violently. The muscles in the chest area will contract, but it’s nowhere near as violent as often portrayed.

Image credits: Reqol

#10

That all herbal medications are safe and effective. They aren’t regulated by the FDA (and therefore don’t require the studies for safety and efficacy) and some can have very serious side effects. Always ask a pharmacist or doctor before picking some up at the store.

Image credits: cap_pill_tall

#11

Taking an ambulance to the ER does NOT get you seen faster.

For those of you intelligent enough to downvote, this is 100% true. ER’s triage patients based on acuity. Just because you took a $1400 ride in, doesn’t mean you won’t get sent to triage.

#12

I can’t tell you how many times I see parents with kids who have fever and say, “I gave him tylenol but 4 hours later his fever came back”.

Tylenol, Motrin, fever reducers, treat the symptom of fever, they don’t cure the disease causing it!

#13

You are NOT sitting in the ER waiting room because you do not have insurance. You are sitting out in the waiting room because there is a whole group of people that are going to die first. So wait your turn and please don’t yell at us registration people… Really it’s not our fault!

#14

“Rubbing dirt in a wound will stop it from bleeding” While true, please never do this. Its the easiest way to get a nasty infection that will be MUCH more painful, inconvenient, and potentially dangerous than 5 minutes of bleeding ever will. Direct pressure and elevation of the wound above the heart will work just fine, I promise.

Image credits: TheCrawdad

#15

“I am just big boned”…..i have seen a lot of x-rays and CT scans and have yet to find a person that this holds true for.

Image credits: alisonfmac

#16

If someone can’t swallow due to a progressive disease (ie: Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, MS, etc), putting in a feeding tube will NOT keep them from aspirating.

There is a huge amount of neuromuscular coordination that goes into swallowing and the eventuality of these diseases is that this will falter. We use different food and liquid textures and feeding techniques, but eventually the person just can’t be safely fed anymore. Putting in a feeding tube won’t change that. The patient can (and will) keep aspirating their saliva/mucous, and probably also the tube feeding we’re putting down the tube.

The kindest thing you can do for your loved one is to let them go.

#17

Using hydrogen peroxide on cuts isn’t an effective way to clean wounds. The best thing to do is just wash the cut with water and possibly put some topical antibacterial (e.g. Neosporin) for a few days to prevent infection. Also, applying some Aquaphor or some ointment to keep the wound moist helps it to heal faster.

Image credits: kindafunny

#18

Not a nurse or doctor, but my mother is a RN at a major city hospital here and often shares wisdom/funny stories.

After a workmate of ours suffered a non-fatal heart attack we got to talking.

She sees more people admitted to the hospital in the cardiac ward for smoking related illnesses than she does patients for smoking related cancer illnesses.

It is not often raised enough, that smoking causes almost irreversible damage to your heart and arteries, and smokers don’t realise this because they are too busy being invincible to cancer.

#19

You cannot cure a cold. It is a virus.

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Image credits: anon