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Medical Professionals Share The Strangest Body Myths Patients Believed
It's impossible to know everything there is to our lives – and as much as we would've liked that, some things are just not meant to be. Though, there are times when people's cluelessness makes you want to question your whole existence.
It appears that many folks don't really know their anatomy. Some are confused about complicated things, so it's somewhat understandable – others get freaked out when they realize that their newborn child is toothless. Perhaps you could blame the education system on this issue, as it's a widely known fact that it all could be a little bit more informative – however, when somebody is surprised about their offspring's lack of teeth, it raises a question or two.
An online user took it to one of Reddit's communities and asked the medical professionals about random human body misconceptions their patients have had. The experts have gathered together and shared a bunch of amusing and sometimes mind-blowing stories, resulting in the thread receiving nearly 17K upvotes and 7.3K worth of comments.
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#1
The Pill
A couple was pregnant and didn't understand why since "they were taking the birth control pill". It turns out it was the guy who was taking it.
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#2
Insulin Injection
I asked an elderly patient to show me how she gives her insulin. She said, I need an orange. I said why? She said well, I draw up my insulin in the syringe, inject it in the orange and eat it! That’s how the Dr showed me to do insulin!
#3
Appendectomy
I can’t begin to tell you how many dudes have argued with me that they’ve had hysterectomies. And I’m like you mean appendectomy? And they are absolutely adamant that they had a hysterectomy.
Binky Melnik 5 hours ago (edited)
And pointing out that a hysterectomy involves removing the uterus doesn’t get ‘em to slap their forehead with recognition? That’s a *special* kind of stupid!
#4
Blood
I offered a diabetic a tissue after doing a finger j*** to mop the the 2 drops of blood on his finger. He looked at me like I was an absolute idiot, said "you don't know very much do you" and sucked the blood off his finger. Then spend the next 5min 'educating' me that because he was a diabetic, he needed all the blood he had. Therefore he needed to 'put it back into his body' rather then wasting it by putting it on a tissue. He was under the impression that if he just drank his blood it would go straight back into circulation.
#5
Hair Dyes And Babies
Working in an ER as a nurse practitioner. I had a patient’s granddaughter, who was pregnant, ask me if she dyed her hair would it also dye her baby’s hair. Made my day!
#6
Body Tissues And A Clueless Dad
My dad doesn't have a clue on anything that happens in the body. I told him I work in a tissue lab and he asked "oh are you developing new Kleenex?" When I told him that I work with body tissue this man really said "oh, I don't think I have that. I just use Kleenex"
#7
Toothless Baby
I had a father of a baby absolutely beside himself because his newborn baby had no teeth
#8
Faceless Newborn
Baby came out face down ... father freaked out his child was born without a face. We had a good laugh after.
#9
Fasting For A Blood Test
“Did you have anything this morning for your fasting blood draw?” “No, just tea with honey, and a glass of orange juice.”
Binky Melnik 5 hours ago (edited)
I had to do a fasting test … at 1400. The two hours previous to the test, I was shaking HARD, my hair was glued to my wet head, and I vacillated between being ro hot and to cold. A nurse brought me a can of cocktail wieners saying, “Of course they won’t interfere with the test! Your test is for blood glucose, and these have no sugar in them!” I didn’t eat ‘em because I didn’t want to go through that hell a second time by eating those things!
#10
Fruit Cake = Fruits
"What do you mean, I can't eat an entire fruit cake? Isn't fruit supposed to be healty?" -Diabetic type 2 with a blood sugar level of 450 mg/dl.
#11
Sharing Is Caring, Even If It's The Birth Control Pill
Pregnant girl who were on the pill, asked why she get pregnant, discovered that one day she takes it, the next day it's her boyfriend and so on ... That's not what we mean by "sharing cost" And another one, she pulls the whole box of pills (Yes all 28) in a bottle of water, and take a sip once a day.
#12
Medication
Pharmacist here. I had a patient call me and ask me why their medication wasn’t working anymore after they had stopped taking it.
#13
Baby Teeth And Their Importance
I’m a dentist and the thing we get all the time that I hate is parents not caring about their child’s decay because ‘they’re just baby teeth’. Losing baby teeth early causes all sorts of problems aside from the pain and trauma but in addition to that I often have to explain to parents that the adult teeth that erupt at age 6 are meant to last forever. They’re always oblivious.
#14
Breast Reduction Surgery
I had breast reduction surgery. My husband went to the pre-op appt with me. The doctor was explaining the surgery and mentioned they would remove my [private parts]. My husband asked where they were going to get new ones from. 12 years later and we joke about wondering where the [private part] locker is.
#15
Ankle Bumps
One time I had to explain to a parent that the “bump” on their child’s foot they were worried about was an ankle.
#16
Tampons And Anatomy
I had a colleague in her thirties with children who had come to the UK after marriage - she asked me one day if you could use tampons before you were married. She honestly had no clue about her own anatomy.
#17
Turns Out Whales And Babies Have A Lot In Common
Had a mother ask if it was true that the soft spot of her baby’s head was “like a whale blow hole” that he could breathe out of. Apparently her own mother had told her that.
#18
Fetus' Hair
Sometimes in pregnancy women’s bellies can gain a little bit of hair, I assume from extra hormones etc. During a routine prenatal check a partner asked if it was the fetus’ hair poking through her skin.
#19
Bleach
Holistic doctors have convinced a lot of people that adding BLEACH to their drinking water will cure chronic diseases. Literally a high enough dosage to stain clothing being drank through a straw. BEST part is there's no convincing them otherwise.
#20
Heart And Its Feelings
I’m in the mental health field but I met with a client who was worried that if their relative had a heart transplant would the relative still love and remember them. The logic being that the feeling of love lives in the heart.
#21
Baby And Doritos
Pregnant patient during ultrasound: “my baby loves Doritos.” Me performing the ultrasound on said baby: “awww, baby is opening its mouth!” Pregnant patient: “omg! It’s Doritos! I just had Doritos! It’s EATING the Doritos!”
#22
Tube Issues
I've had male patients in my audiology clinic tell me they have fallopian tube issues. Perhaps I shouldn't assume they mean eustachian tube issues, but I do.
#23
Seizures And Benzodiazepines
They seem to think that, by pausing a ‘seizure’ to inform us that they’re having a seizure, they’ll get benzos. Lol no.
#24
Blood Is Not Actually Blue
I’m a phlebotomist. I’ve had so many patents tell me “blood is blue until it touches air.”
#25
Students And Their Bizzare Questions
I taught a college level health ed class, and the misconceptions were truly astonishing. Students wondered why household bleach could not be injected into a vein to cure HIV, and questioned why alcoholics were not immune since alcohol is an antiseptic.
#26
Urethra
Not a medical professional, but I had a coworker who did not know she had a urethra. She thought that was something only men had. I had to break it to her that she did indeed have a urethra.
#27
Retinal Photos
I used to take retinal photos to look for diabetic retinopathy. When I would call to make appointments, more than once a patient said “Well I just saw the proctologist.” No sir, these are retinal photos, not rectal photos.
#28
Papercuts
I'm not a doctor, but my sister works in a hospital. No, you don't need to go to the ER for a papercut. You won't bleed out
#29
Is It A Bacterial Pneumonia Or Just A Disturbing Emotion?
“How are you feeling today?” “Not great, I have a cough that starts from an emotion in my throat and chest. That emotion disturbs me.” ... a bacterial pneumonia ... roommate is a neighborhood “spiritual guru”
#30
Healthy Eating And Alcohol
That the only reason to eat healthy is to manage weight. Also that alcohol is not harmful unless you are a full on alcoholic.
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