It is easier to get sick when it’s cold
This is undoubtedly one of the most widespread ideas and yet… it is false! We have the impression of catching colds and other “rhinovirus” more easily when it is cold. (after all, in the word cooling it is very cold, right?) and yet the drop in temperatures does not make us more vulnerable to viruses.
According to doctors, if we fall ill more easily in winter, it is because we spend more time in confined spaces, and that we are therefore more easily (and more often) in contact with virus. The emergency services of Parisian hospitals know this well since they noticed that the flu and gastro epidemics decreased sharply when there was a strike in public transport.
A swallowed chewing gum stays in the stomach for 7 years
Chewing gum being mainly composed of resins and elastomers (which cannot be digested), we have often been told that we should not especially swallow them, otherwise they will hang around for years in our stomachs. ! Which is wrong, of course.
Our digestive system is indeed sufficiently developed to be able to get rid of what it cannot absorb (this is the case of the fibers in food, for example). So if you swallow a piece of chewing gum, it will end up in the toilet and not spend 7 years in your stomach!
Reading in the dark can make you short-sighted
Spending time reading in a dimly lit room or spending time with your eyes riveted on your computer screen may cause some inconvenience like red or burning eyes, but this will not cause any damage to your eyesight like myopia for example.
Certainly, the first color television screens and the first computers emitted radiation which could tire the eyes. But today these screens are much more reliable.
And it is not because your child approaches too close to the screen that he risks becoming myopic but probably because he suffers from myopia that he approaches the screen to see better! A consultation with the ophthalmologist is therefore essential.
We only use 10% of our brain’s capacity
If there is a myth firmly anchored in our brain, it is precisely this one. Why ? No doubt becauseit’s nice enough to think that we have not yet reached our limits and that we have potential to spare! But functional imaging studies now allow us to demonstrate that there are few areas of our brain that we do not use on a daily basis. It is true that neurons only make up 10% of brain cells, but the remaining 90% (glial cells) are also used.
If you have regular sleep, an intellectually stimulating environment, a balanced diet, and you don’t take sleeping pills, chances are your brain is functioning optimally.
You can get the flu from the flu shot
This is of course not true. After receiving the vaccine injection, your body may respond with a flare-up of a mild fever (as with all vaccines), which usually goes away after two days. But you will not catch the flu virus because the strain that was used to make the vaccine is a “dead” strain, and cannot suddenly come back to life to inject you with the flu!
