It's safe to say the majority of people have a somewhat romanticized view of medicine, largely owing to soap operas or prime time medical dramas.
Others have an equally skewed, if somewhat sadder, grasp on medicine, after being raised to fear or not trust doctors.
Regardless of where their misinformation comes from, there is little that will get medical professionals more agitated than hearing these false, ill-informed beliefs.
As it makes getting the facts about medicine out all the more difficult.
Redditor keyzeyy was curious to hear the myths and misinformation about medicine that get medical professionals particularly riled up, leading them to ask:
"People who work in healthcare, what is a common medical myth that drives you crazy?"
This Shouldn't Come As A Shock...
"That you shock someone when their heart rate is a flat line. This is always in tv and movies. When there is no heartbeat, there is no rhythm to shock. You have to get the heart going first. Drives me crazy lol."- jennylovestacos
There's A Time And A Place For Everything
"That you take antibiotics for a common cold."
"Colds are caused by viruses."
"Antibiotics kill bacteria."
"Drives me insane."
"It's led to our problem with antibiotic resistance."- medwd3
When In Doubt, See A Doctor
"Period pain bad enough to affect your day-to-day life is not 'normal'."
"No pain of any type of that level is, and treatment should be sought and given."- EsquilaxM
A Very Important Reminder
"That hospice kills patients."
"They are already dying, hospice keeps them comfortable."- StarlightBrightz
There Is NEVER A Bad Time For A Blanket
"The idea that if someone has a fever, they shouldn’t have a blanket because that could make the fever worse."
"The person feels awful, and a blanket won’t hurt."- waterproof_diver
Hide Blanket GIF by Instanietje Giphy
But Equally Unpleasant
"That the flu and the stomach flu are the same thing."- Klutzy-Medium9224
Again PLEASE READ
"That hospice care is 'giving up'.”
"I swear, if I have to hear one more family member swear that their dad who we have no hope of extubating because his lungs are more cancer than healthy tissue is 'a fighter!!!' and 'would want everything done!!!!'"
"I’m gonna start breaking keyboards."
"Quality > quantity of life."
"Talk to your loved ones not just about worst case scenarios but how far they want to go if they start to lose quality of life/independence NOW, not when something happens."
"What do they want to happen if they can’t eat anymore?"
"What do they want to happen if they lose the ability to do what they love, or live alone, or their memory starts to go?"
"You don’t want to make those decisions for them when your loved one is in the ICU and emotions are running high."- GhostTrickk
They Value Their Life Just As Much As We Do
"I know this one is going to be out there and unusual."
"But I work in cancer care in an area with a large Amish population."
"They get cancer just like the rest of us."
"But they are preyed upon by homeopathic and sociopaths like you wouldn't believe."
"I have a lot of Amish patients who do choose to work with our amazing doctors."
"We have a lot of others who go to Mexico for 'treatment' that is herbs and nonsense."
"They either die there or come back... And more often than not, they've put off treatment so long that palliative is all we can give them."
"It's starting to turn around."
"So many have seen their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, suffer after going to these places, that the younger generation is coming to us and staying with us."- Late_Resource_1653
Men Have No Idea How Easy They Have It...
"That menopause is just when you stop having periods."
"Ignores completely what we know about perimenopause symptoms starting for women as early as their 30s."
"And for women who have stopped menstruating, HRT causes cancer and therefore you should avoid it."
"Plus at least a dozen other myths about menopause."- Barbarella_ella
Keep It Out Of Your Ears Too!
"Using hydrogen peroxide directly on wounds."
"Refusal to accept that it is harmful and that plain water or mild/dilute soap/water is better."- mm_mk
Foam Reaction GIF Giphy
There's Just No Stopping It
"The myth: eating absolutely healthy and refraining from vices such as smoking, drinking, and indulging in sugar will ensure you don’t get cancer."
"The reality: cancer is not so cut and dried."
"Someone who smoked like a chimney for literally 50+ years could very well not get a lung cancer of some kind whereas your health nut aunt who has never smoked gets it."
"Cancer is a roll of the dice; by being a smoker, you just stack the house’s odds on the fact you’ll get it but that is NOT a guarantee."
"Another myth: Big Pharma is holding the cure for cancer hostage."
"The reality: First of all, cancer is a myriad of diseases that fit one definition— that is 'cell division gone wrong' and 'the cell forgets how to die'."
"Each cancer is totally different and has a range of differing symptoms, so there is no universal cure to cancer."
"Some cancers are more easily cured than others, but even then, that is entirely dependent on other factors such as the patient’s age and whether or not their DNA cooperates."
"That’s why someone who went through all the treatments and was in remission for one year may find themselves relapsing."
"Secondly, if the universal cure existed, wouldn’t 'Big Pharma' want to announce they have it so they can charge even more for it than conventional treatments (chemo, rads, bone marrow transplant, etc)?"
"The whole idea they have it but wouldn’t announce it is ludicrous because companies are out to make money and they make absolutely nothing by having the cure and not putting it up for sale."
"Just saying."
"The overall takeaway is this: you can’t stop cancer from happening if it’s going to happen."
"Within your body right now you have at least 1-10 cancer cells floating around, but they’re likely not going to do much because your natural killer (nK) cells are keeping it in line."
"Cancer happens when those nK cells can’t keep them in line and the cells proliferate."
"So overall, do what you feel you must to reduce your risks for certain cancers, but understand that even that may not work."-JenovaCelestia
No One In Their Right Mind Would Doubt This...
"The left brain right brain theory is so annoying and proven to be FALSE."- coldfoamlattee
Know The Difference
"Adjacent, but I work in mental health care."
"BPD = borderline personality disorder, not bipolar disorder."
"And neither of these things mean just being moody."
"Also in the US, psychiatrists, therapists and psychologists are different things (some psychologists are therapists, not all therapists are psychologists, not all psychologists are therapists)."- Aware-Experience-277
Mental Health Therapy GIF by All Better Giphy
The Inevitable End
"That a DNR order means do not treat."
"All it means is that if your heart stops beating, we are not going to pound on your chest 100 times a minute in the hopes that we can get things going again."
"It does not mean that we will not do anything and everything up to that point to care for you to the best of our ability."
"Same with end-of-life care."
"End of life care can be comfortable and much less traumatic than 'doing everything'."
"People die."
"Everyone dies."
"Sometimes allowing that to happen is the kindest thing you can do."- Livid-Tumbleweed
It Only Feels Like Some People Do...
"That we only use 10% of our brain."
"I can assure you, we are using all of our brains."- No_Physics_12
Myths in the medical world have become all too common, hence why more people believe them to be true than not.
Hence why it is important, when in doubt, to always follow your doctor's instructions.
And not the doctors from TV... even (or especially) Dr. Phil...
