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Intriguing Forwarded Health and Medical Email Stories
There’s an abundance of information circulating over the net in the form of web pages and forwarded emails. And it has sometimes become difficult to separate truth from fiction unless we take time to research the facts. Some may seem to be realistic and convincing yet they turned out to be mere hoaxes, rumors, or jokes. I have received my share of forwarded emails relating to health and medical issues that attempt to prey on people’s lack of medical knowledge. As follows are some of them.
A Needle Can Save a Stroke Patient’s Life
Content Summary: When a stroke occurs, the victim can be saved by pricking all ten of his fingertips with a needle and squeezing them until they bleed. And if the victim’s mouth is crooked, pull the earlobes until they turn red and prick them until at least two drops of blood ooze out. The patient will start to regain consciousness after a few minutes, until then can the patient be transferred to the hospital. Without these essential procedures, movement will cause all his brain capillaries to burst resulting in irreparable brain damage and loss of life.
Commentary: Pricking the fingers and pulling the earlobes appears to be more like punishment than appropriate medical procedure. The mere suggestion that a stroke victim should not be taken immediately to the hospital until all signs are resolved is downright irresponsible. All presented facts are totally FALSE. The best treatment for stroke is a clot-dissolving drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which must be administered within a few hours of the onset of symptoms. So do not waste precious time because delaying hospitalization may actually worsen the patient’s condition.
Breast Ogling Increases Life Expectancy of Men
Content Summary: According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was discovered that breast ogling can improve a man’s health and add to his lifespan by four to five years. A 10-minute preoccupation on the assets of a well-endowed female is more or less equivalent to a half-hour aerobics workout. Five years of study revealed that chest gazers had slower resting pulse rates, lower blood pressure and fewer cases of coronary diseases, since mammary watching often result in sexual excitement, which increases heart rate and thereby improves blood circulation.
Commentary: Unfortunately for all warm-blooded males out there, no such study was ever conducted nor was such article ever published in the said journal. Men who hope to increase their longevity should exercise common sense (which is not so common nowadays) as an option; it is more likely to accomplish the desired effect than any amount of breast watching. However, this is not substantiated or supported by any research study. Any volunteers?
Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide
Content Summary: Dihydrogen monoxide, also called DHMO, is a tasteless and colorless chemical substance that is hazardous to health, being responsible for the deaths of countless thousands of people annually. DHMO is a form of hydroxyl acid that may cause severe burns and electrical failures. It accelerates corrosion of metals; contributes to the erosion of natural landscapes and reduces effectiveness of automobile brakes. Its ingestion induces symptoms as profuse sweating, frequent urination, bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting, and electrolyte imbalance. Contamination has become so widespread that DHMO is found in every body of water in the world and in almost every product known to mankind, being universally used as industrial solvent and coolant; employed in Styrofoam and pesticide production; and added as an ingredient in numerous food items, particularly junk foods.
Commentary: Dihydrogen monoxide is the scientific name for H2O or water. By substituting every occurrence of DHMO, you will surely get the joke. A series of fundamentally true statements were ingeniously presented in a very misleading manner that even a harmless material as water was made to appear like a terrible threat to environmental security and health.
Self-administered Scrotum Repair
Content Summary: A 40-year old man often ate his lunch alone in the workshop where he regularly sought the thrill of sexually gratifying himself by placing his genitals on the moving fan belt of one of the machineries. One day, in his exhilaration, he lost his concentration leaning a bit forward; and his scrotum got caught into fly wheel that held the fan belt, hurling him a few feet across the floor and detaching his left testicle in the process. Instead of seeking medical attention, he used an industrial staple gun on himself to close the wound, and then went about his work when his co-workers returned. It would be two weeks before he decided to consult a doctor specializing in men’s problems.
Commentary: It is easy to brush aside such a gruesome story as a salacious joke, but shockingly, it’s TRUE. This was absolutely the most innovative use of an industrial staple gun you’ll ever encounter. The source was the now-celebrated article written by the attending physician Dr. William Morton, Jr. for the July 1991 periodical issue of the Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality.
Cockroach Hatched in a Woman’s Tongue
Content Summary: A woman employed in the postal office got a paper cut one day while wetting the glue strip on an envelope with her tongue. A week later, she consulted a doctor after noticing an abnormal swelling of her tongue, but found nothing wrong. Another few days had passed, her tongue swelled even more and gotten really painful that she could not eat. So she returned to the hospital to have her tongue x-rayed, revealing a lump or a cyst. However, when the doctor made an incision on her tongue, a live cockroach crawled out. The seal of the envelope had been infested with roach eggs, which hatched inside her tongue due to its warm and moist surrounding.
Commentary: There’s no denying that some insects find their way into some openings of the body. But the story is entirely impossible, as a cockroach lays her eggs in a solid but delicate outer shell called ootheca, which must be kept intact until hatching, otherwise the young or nymphs will not survive, let alone thrive inside a mammalian creature like us. Also note the inconsistency of the story, the doctor found nothing wrong despite the abnormal swelling of the tongue, and had it x-rayed even when the lump was clearly visible.
“Cough CPR” for Heart Attack Victims
Content Summary: According to a newsletter released by Rochester General Hospital and republished by Mended Hearts, Inc. Publication, a heart attack victim can save himself by forceful coughing. Before each cough, a deep breath should first be taken and the air forced out as if to expel phlegm from deep within the lungs. The process needs to be repeated every two seconds or so until help comes or until normal heart rhythm is regained. This “live-saving” technique is essential as coughing movements squeeze/pump the heart and help maintain blood circulation.
Commentary: The text was originally published in a newsletter issued by the Mended Hearts Inc., a support group for heart attack victims, but the organization has since withdrawn it. Rochester General Hospital did not play any role whatsoever in the creation, distribution and approval of its contents. There are many medical practitioners who never heard of “cough CPR,” but those who are aware of it asserted that the procedure is advisable only under very specific situations as when a patient experiences abnormal heart rhythms and coughing can actually normalize them. However, a majority of heart attacks are not of this kind. The best course of action is to take an aspirin, which aids in dissolving blood clots, and then call for help.
Cold Drinks after Meals Causes Cancer
Content Summary: Taking cold drinks will harden the oily substance of the food just consumed, thereby slowing digestion. And when this “sludge” breaks down as it reacts with stomach acid, it will be absorbed faster by the intestines than solid food. Soon enough, it will then line the intestines and be converted into fats, which can cause cancer. It is best to drink warm water or soup after a meal.
Commentary: There is no shred of scientific evidence that cold drinks will harden oily components of food consumed, and that this “sludge” will line the intestines and convert into fats that cause cancer. The email states that cold water slows down digestion, and yet contradicted itself in the next sentence, that it will result in the faster breakdown and absorption of your stomach contents. The fact is: medical researches have shown that cold water is absorbed faster by the body than warm water, thus quickly lowering one’s body temperature and preventing dehydration, particularly during and after intense work outs.
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28 Comments
The cough one is true. It saves people’s live. I’ve one article written on this too.
Interesting article. Laughed at the water one, and gritted my teeth at the staple one .
I think I may need to start reading more of my “junk” emails because there’s obviously a lot of entertainment going on that I’m missing! Your article was great…and even though it wasn’t true, I may just think twice before ever again licking an envelope!
I heard the one about the envelope before and since have not licked an envelope for the fear…lol
Wow, this is so interesting. At times I have believed the absurd. After checking, like you did for this write, I discovered truth. Thank you for your well done article.
These false tales and truths are interesting. Sometimes we take things at face value and that can be a big mistake. A well done article.
wow…interesting article…
I’ve never had so much fun solving a true or false questioner. If only they had such fun and amusing stories in biology class too, i would have never forgotten my common sense biology lessons.
After reading this article, Im more confused as to whether I should give up breast gazing or not..hahaha..oops! just kidding.
Good stuff – an entertaining read! To answer Verniel – if you are not doing any harm, then why stop!?
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Very interesting article and nice way to presentation. I appreciate and would like to get more from the author.
I had a great laugh reading this article. Great stuff.
Great stuff Eddie. Very humourous. Thanks
Is not whether to laugh or turn a blind eye, but this is a serious matter, good work
Brilliant, People should think before they beleive everything they read, I am surprised how many people fall for these sorts of things – or the Nigerian money scams
Brilliant, People should think before they beleive everything they read, I am surprised how many people fall for these sorts of things – or the Nigerian money scams
Two years ago for her Science Fair project, my duaghter asked people if they should bad a dangerous chemical DHMO….and many people said YES.. of course its the one you mentioned above – WATER
This is a very nice article. Humorous, too. Thanks for posting these.
great post,enjoyable
very interesting and fun. God bless.
That’s so true and unfortunately a lot of people believe whatever they read, so these e-mails can be very dangerous.
Interesting yet again. While fun to read – I find it hard to believe most medically related emails.
Thanks for sharing.
A good warning for everyone receiving this stuff.
Grant
wow..you really are a good writer..
very strange.
Interesting!
Great article!… Great commentaries too (what’s a fact and what’s a fiction?)
Very informative! Make you stop and think. Great writing!