30 Health Myths Doctors Wish Everyone Would Stop Believing

Medical myths are surprisingly hard to ignore. Some have been passed down through generations as “common sense,” while others spread quickly through TV, social media, or wellness fads. Even with modern medicine, people still believe in ideas that doctors know are flat-out wrong, and many physicians say they hear the same ones every single week in their clinics. That’s why a recent Reddit thread struck such a chord. Someone asked doctors: “What medical myth do you still hear surprisingly often in the U.S.?” The responses poured in, and the list is both fascinating and a little worrying. Here are some of the most common myths.

#1

Image source: JanineL2022, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) That vaccines do more harm than good.

#2

Image source: Suitable_cataclysm, Curated Lifestyle/unsplash (not the actual photo) "Women have been having babies for thousands of years" as a rationale to dismiss risks. Child birth has incredible risks, most of which are carpet swept under the joy of having kids, and leads to a lot of shock during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Every would-be parent should be assessing the risks before getting pregnant. Not as a deterrent, but as a way to be fully informed as various things can unfold, and how to be ready for them.

#3

Image source: -You-know-it-, cookie_studio/freepik (not the actual photo) YOU DONT NEED ANTIBIOTICS FOR YOUR VIRAL COLD.

#4

Image source: rimstrip, Yan Krukau/pexels (not the actual photo) As a friend of mine once said, "Even arsenic is all natural".

#5

Essentially everything RFK says. Image source: Dungong

#6

Image source: MissSassifras1977, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) I'm not a Doctor but I work in end of life care. So many people think hospice workers are just waiting to k**l their loved ones with morphine. I've even heard they think we get a bonus if their loved one dies more quickly. This belief is very prevalent amongst older people. It's incredibly insulting and hurtful. I've heard it repeated so many times that I have lost my patience with it and have to bite my tongue. No one is recommending morphine because they want your loved one to die, it's because they can't swallow their pain pills anymore and they're suffering. End of story.

#7

Image source: GuidedbyFishes, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) You know what's unnatural? Eyeglasses. You know what is natural? Being chased down by predators you notice too late.

#8

Image source: Spiritual-Editor-459, JSB Co./unsplash (not the actual photo) "Natural" supplements are better and safer than proven medications. Have seen people die with treatable cancer, heart disease, liver failure- or get very sick from these untested products. And they cost a lot. Please be careful.

#9

Image source: Chonngau, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) “The doctor told me I had 6 months to live.” Not that I can blame people for possibly misunderstanding the details of a cancer diagnosis. What the doctor actually is saying is that the median survival is 6 months. Half live more than 6 months and half live less. This might seem trivial to some of you, but I think this misunderstanding hurts trust in doctors at the exact time they need it most. How many times have you heard something like “The doctor gave me one year to live and I’m still alive 3 years later.” The implication for some being that doctors don’t know what they are talking about. I have seen too many people forgo effective treatment to do something crazy like smoke marijuana instead of having a bone marrow transplant for their leukemia. And misunderstandings like this are partly to blame.

#10

Image source: MiekerBeaker, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) You can catch a cold by being outside in the cold and wet without a jacket on. Or catch a cold just by sitting around in wet clothes.

#11

Image source: __-_-_--_--_-_---___, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) ICU nurse here. This is a new one I just heard today.  A patient’s family member asked me if the blood we were giving the patient had been screened to make sure it wasn’t high pressure blood. I didn’t delve into what they meant by that .

#12

Image source: lmv216, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) Not a doctor; that the cervix doesn't have nerves and thus can't feel any pain. I think the overwhelming amount of women who say getting an IUD inserted hurts enough that many have passed out beg to differ.

#13

Image source: flatulent-poodle, CDC/unsplash (not the actual photo) "Vaccines cause autism.".

#14

Image source: BookkeeperChoice548, Ahmed/unsplash (not the actual photo) The ivermectin is better for cancer than standard therapies myth is growing. And whenever a patient shows data it’s always cell culture data.

#15

Image source: GeorgeHWChrist, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) You need to drink 8 cups/2 liters/whatever of water a day to be healthy. There is no such evidence-based recommendation. The best science says to drink to your thirst.

#16

Image source: alykaytrine That MSG is in some form toxic- nope. That was powered by racism and xenophobia. There’s been no study to show MSG causing any of the side effects previously attributed to it.

#17

**Myth 1**: going to bed with your hair wet will make you sick. It doesn’t. It can lead to hair damage and headaches, but it doesn’t make you sick. **Myth 2**: you don’t need to take your whole antibiotic regimen, you can stop when your symptoms stop. For the love of god, please don’t do this. Please always finish your entire antibiotic regimen as directed, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Image source: DrAniB20

#18

Image source: boscobeau, Miriam Alonso/pexels (not the actual photo) PEE. IS. NOT. STERILE.

#19

Image source: Own-Illustrator7980, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) Less a myth. More a lack of education. Hydrogen peroxide is decent for using at initial wound cleansing. Repeated use actually resets the healing process. Most don’t know this.

#20

Teeth are luxury bones and that's why insurance doesn't cover them. Teeth are not just cosmetic they are also needed. Without teeth the ability to chew food properly diminishes, leading to potential nutritional deficiencies and digestive problems. Not having teeth also causes bone loss in the jaw and speech problems. Not to mention all the trouble that comes with an infected tooth. They can and will k**l you without treatment. Image source: GreggOfChaoticOrder

#21

That I get rich from vaccines. Vaccines don’t reimburse s**t. Kids don’t reimburse for s**t. I drive a used Honda and save thousands of more lives than the neurosurgeon in the Maserati. I’m fine with that. Just stop saying I’m rich because vaccines. No. I’m doing okay. But many many more kids are alive who wouldn’t be. Image source: transcendental-ape

#22

Image source: Ophththth, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) Wearing reading glasses with make your near vision worse. No, aging makes your near vision worse. “My eyes can’t be dry, they’re watering all the time.” Watering is in fact a symptom of dry eye disease. Eating carrots makes your eyesight better. Nope. Carrots contain vitamin A which is important for vision, and vitamin A deficiency can definitely result in vision problems. But more carrots does not equal better vision.

#23

Not in the U.S. but I've done some conferences there and have heard some colleagues claim that different races/s*x naturally have different pain tolerance levels. While it's true that people have different pain tolerance levels, I've seen no evidence suggesting there's any correlation to race or s*x. Image source: spaghettiAstar

#24

The number of doctors that have extreme bias is super scary. Won't listen to someone based on racism, sexism, or classism... common. Causes a lot of issues, you have a group of people who are convinced from a very young age that they are too smart to have bias, and simultaneously told they are smarter than anyone else, rolling their eyes at all manner of sickness, like MANY believe people are faking, if they dont have a quick diagnostic tool to confirm, and the patient is not the type of person the doctor considers competent enough to describe or even experience illness. I have a friend who is teaching doc at a major hospital, and he is like the most challenging part is getting some of the bias and arrogance out of young doctors, many of whom have no frame of reference for other cultures and are astounded to learn many patients have had damaging experiences with doctors, based on mythology and bias doctors are engrained with. Image source: wierdbutyoudoyou

#25

Image source: DianeMadeMe, RDNE Stock project/pexels (not the actual photo) That you have to take the bullet out. You don’t. The holes the bullet made are the problem. Just taking the bullet out doesn’t fix anything. Hard eye roll every time I see this in movies.

#26

Image source: drulaps, Jonathan Borba/unsplash (not the actual photo) ‘Circumcision is necessary’.

#27

Image source: brik70p, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) Glasses make your eyes weak or lazy. Glasses solve a optics problem.

#28

Vaccine-skepticism. They are one of the simplest, most-effective interventions we have ever created. Image source: Murderface__

#29

Image source: avengre, Kateryna Hliznitsova/unsplash (not the actual photo) Catching a viral illness because it's cold outside. Sugar feeds cancer "Nipping" a bronchitis in the bud by taking antibiotics.

#30

Image source: Jimbo19091, Getty Images/unsplash (not the actual photo) “They just want to take their organs!” I can promise you the doctors and nurses taking care of you get zero dollars in bonus for anyone donating organs.