ASK THE DOCTOR: JUST THE FACTS - Common medical myths
By Dr. JIM MITTERANDO
The Patriot Ledger

Medical myths and old wives' tales abound about treating common ailments.

'Put your hat on or you'll catch a cold.'

'Don't go swimming after eating.'

'Oatmeal baths are a good cure for poison ivy.'

As well meaning as these statements may be, they're not true! Below are eight common medical myths I'd like to debunk and perhaps make people's lives easier.

Myth: The flu vaccine causes the flu.

Fact: You cannot catch the flu from a flu vaccine.

Older vaccines were less pure and sometimes caused brief reactions such a fever and chills. The newer flu vaccines contain only parts of the influenza virus for the body to form an immune response. Since there is no whole virus in the vaccine you cannot catch an illness from it. The flu vaccine is safe and highly recommended. In fact, pregnant women are now advised to receive the flu vaccine to prevent influenza during pregnancy. The only people that need to avoid it are people with allergies to eggs since eggs are used in making the vaccine.

Myth: The rash people get from poison ivy is contagious.

Fact: The rash is not contagious.

Even scratching or touching a blistering, poison ivy rash cannot spread the rash to other body parts or to another person. In fact, by the time the rash of poison ivy emerges, the plant resin no longer is on the skin. Once the plant resin is washed from the skin, it cannot spread to others.

The resin, though, may still be on clothing, boots or backpack, so wash those items or you risk getting more allergic rashes.

Keep in mind that scratching exacerbates the itch from poison ivy, prolongs the rash and can cause a skin infection. So try not to scratch.

Myth: Calamine lotion and oatmeal baths cure poison ivy.

Fact: Steroid creams are the only valid cure for poison ivy.

Most over-the-counter remedies for poison ivy do not work. Calamine lotion (the "pink stuff") makes a mess and does not relieve itching. Oatmeal baths just produce a ring around the tub and do not cure the rash. Anti-itch lotions such as Calaldryl or Benadryl cream occasionally can cause an allergic rash and are not recommended.

Try covering oozing blisters with wet, cool wash cloths. That will help them dry up faster. To treat excessive oozing, soak the wash cloth in water containing Burow's solution, then apply to the blisters.

Benadryl pills and other antihistamines, can reduce the itchiness, but do not shorten the rash's duration.

The mainstay of treatment is a steroid cream such as hydrocortisone. Often people require stronger prescription steroid creams or even steroid pills to reduce the allergic reaction of poison ivy.

People often worry about poison ivy causing swelling of the eyelid. It temporarily looks bad but does not threaten eyesight and is no worse than poison ivy elsewhere on the body.

If untreated, mild poison ivy rashes will clear in about three or four weeks.

Myth: Newborn babies should stay indoors for the first three weeks.

Fact: You can take a newborn baby outside anytime.

Doctors used to recommend keeping a newborn baby indoors at home for several weeks. There is no threat to going outdoors, even in the winter. Just dress the child appropriately and take victory laps around the neighborhood showing off your new family addition. You can take the baby to malls and anywhere else. I often point out that a newborn child that goes home to a house full of young siblings will get exposed to a lot more germs than in any mall or airplane.

Myth: Boil the water when preparing infant formula.

Fact: Tap water is fine.

Bacteria counts in tap water are low and safe to drink. You can simply take water from the tap and mix it with formula in the bottle. If you are making a large amount of formula for the day, it makes sense to warm up the water so the powder dissolves easier.

Also, you do not need to sterilize the bottles and nipples in boiling water, as was recommended in the past. Dishwashers do a great job of sterilizing bottles. If you do not have a dishwasher do not worry because washing the bottle with soap and water is good enough.

An important point, though, is to keep the kitchen counter clean and avoid contact with anything (i.e. sponges) that has touched raw meat or poultry since the bacteria in meat can be dangerous to infants. You should wash sponges or dish towels every day or two since they often harbor bacteria.

Myth: Shingles are contagious.

Fact: You cannot catch shingles from another person.

Shingles are painful blisters that result from an old chicken pox infection years before. After the chicken pox rash clears, the pox virus remains dormant in nerve roots and can re-emerge years later with painful blisters. The blisters do contain chicken pox virus which could be contagious for anyone who has not been vaccinated against chicken pox.

Most adults, however, have had chicken pox and do not have to worry because they are immune.

To be safe, avoid touching the blisters until they have scabbed and are no longer contagious.
Coming in contact with someone who has shingles cannot cause you to develop shingles. Stress, illness and advanced age are triggers that can activate the dormant pox virus in the nerve roots causing shingles to erupt.

Myth: Keep someone awake who has had a recent concussion.

Fact: A person who has had a concussion may sleep through the night.

You do not need to keep awake a person with a recent concussion. This was recommended for years to observe a person for any changes after a concussion. People worried that the person may go into a coma and never wake up. This is no longer believed to be true. You can allow someone to sleep after a concussion. This should cut down on sleep deprivation for all involved.

People with concussion should be seen by a doctor if they were unconscious for more than 5 minutes or amnesia persists or if they do not appear to behave normally.

Myth: You shouldn't go swimming right after eating.

Fact: You can go in the pool or ocean after eating and do not need to wait any length of time.

As a child you probably were told to wait 30 minutes or an hour before taking a plunge after lunch.

It may make sense to delay very strenuous activities for a short period after a large meal to avoid some abdominal cramping- but it is not dangerous. Endurance athletes commonly ingest foods during exercise without problems.

Dr. Jim Mitterando is a family doctor at Cohasset Family Practice and a staff member at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.

Readers should send questions to: Ask the Doctor, The Patriot Ledger, P.O. Box 699159, Quincy, MA 02269-9159, or by E-mail to his attention at features@ledger.com .

Questions of general interest will be answered in this column. The information in this column is not intended to diagnose individual conditions, and individual replies are not possible. Readers should see their own doctors about specific problems.

Copyright 2002 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted January 29, 2002