Staying off alcohol when taking antibiotics has been hallowed advice from GPs, pharmacists and well-meaning relatives for decades. It’s difficult to work out exactly where the advice orginated, but Karl…
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Articles on Medical myths
Displaying 81 - 100 of 112 articles
The idea that reading in dim light ruins your eyes isn’t my favourite wives’ tale about “leisure activities” causing blindness, nor is it the most obscene! In any case, it’s simply not true. I’ll begin…
We often hear, from health experts and well-meaning parents, that soft drink is terribly unhealthy and we should opt for fruit juice instead. But apart from a few additional vitamins and minerals, there…
Picture this common scenario: A mother is worried about the size of her 13-year-old daughter, who appears quite a bit heavier than the other students in her class. But the mother is reassured by her friend…
Most men have a preference for boxers or briefs, but which are better when it comes to fertility? Many things can affect a man’s ability to make or transport sperm, including sexually transmitted infections…
Are you suffering a creativity problem? Well, pop psychology claims your “right brain” holds the key. Whether you want to drop a few kilos, improve your profits, spice up your sex life, or take over the…
It’s likely Australia’s sunscreen regulations will change this summer, enabling manufacturers to label their products as SPF50+. The sunscreen industry has championed the proposed change, led by Standards…
Many Australians begin their day with a cup of coffee. It’s widely viewed as a tonic with revitalising properties – each cup making us feel better. But this isn’t the same as being good for our health…
Few medical myths have spread as feverishly and contributed to so much preventable illness than the theory that the triple measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine might be linked to autism. The tale…
If you took a pill that had been prescribed to treat your illness and it alleviated your symptoms, that means the medicine worked – right? What if you took a complementary medicine from a health food store…
One of the few positives put forward by smokers to justify their habit is that it helps keep their weight in check. And while smoking may be harmful to their health, so is obesity. So how does this claim…
Despite decades of medical breakthroughs and growing health budgets, the simple act of washing our hands remains one of the most important things we can do to protect ourselves from disease. The principle…
As Australians’ life expectancy nudges past 80 years, it’s no surprise that we’re searching for ways to add youthfulness and vitality to our later years. It’s a nice idea that a good dose of blueberries…
Any parent can tell you that infant teething makes for a trying time. Restless nights, feeding problems and irritability can all be part and parcel when an intant’s baby teeth erupt through their gums…
Switch on daytime television on any given day and you’d be forgiven for thinking there was a cure for the debilitating and dreaded condition, osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, there’s not. And that’s not…
Severe low back pain is a common and dreaded problem that rivals only hay fever, asthma, hypertension and dermatitis as Australia’s leading cause of long-term illness. The instinctive response to severe…
For some it’s a morning ritual – cracking your knuckles before beginning the day. For others, it’s a way to pass time while pondering a thought or reading something particularly interesting online. But…
After decades of successful anti-tobacco campaigns, we’re all familiar with the risks of smoking. But how do the health harms of cigarettes compare with those of other smoking devices? The hookah, also…
When you’re sick with a cold, you’re likely to be told to rest and drink plenty of fluids – water, juice, tea and the old favourite, chicken soup. This has been the prevailing advice for generations and…
Colds are more common in the cold winter months. But does the weather have anything to do with why we get sick? These days, we use other terms such as “virus” or “the flu” to describe our sniffles because…
Top contributors
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Conjoint Clinical Associate Professor, Deakin University School of Medicine and Specialist Pain Medicine Physician, Deakin University
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Professor of Medicine, Monash University
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Associate Professor, Deakin University
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Specialist General Practitioner, and Conjoint Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney
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Professor, School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University
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NHMRC Early Career Fellow, Telethon Kids Institute
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Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle
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Adjunct Professsor, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide
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Foundation Director of Optometry Studies, Deakin University
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Endocrinologist, Jean Hailes & Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Monash University
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Professor, Chair of Population Oral Health + Head of School, Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer, School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University
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General Manager at Button Food Science & Nutrition
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Professor of Public Health, Bond University
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Professor of Brain and Cognition, Flinders University
