Myth 34: All Hand Sanitizers Sanitize

The great savior of germ conscious parents far and wide is the gel based hand sanitizer.  Pocket size bottles of it emerge from diaper bags and purses after potentially infectious encounters with playgrounds, before eating in public restaurants, and even discreetly after playdates with friends who have suspiciously runny noses.  Applying the astringent makes us feel in control, but are we being effective? The quick and dirty answer is Yes and No.

Myths & Facts About Children’s Eye Health

Many parents grew up with medical adages or advice that have since been proven by scientists to be incorrect or outdated. Here are five common myths about children’s eye health and the medical reality behind them, written by the physicians at The Vision Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Myth 33: Early Daycare Prevents Allergy & Asthma Later

[Written by American Thoracic Society]

New research hints that the common belief that kids who go to daycare have lower rates of asthma and allergy later in life might be nothing more than wishful thinking. While young children in daycare definitely do get more illnesses and experience more respiratory symptoms as a result, any perceived protection these exposures afford against asthma and allergy seem to disappear by the time the child hits the age of eight.

Myth 32: There’s Something Wrong With A Bedwetter

Once our children outgrow diapers, we all hope that they will enjoy comfortable nights of sleep in a dry bed.  Also, more practically, we want them to be able to sleep over at friends’ houses or in a hotel bed without worry that they will soil the bed or suffer embarrassment.  But what about the child who, despite diligent night-training, continues to sleep right through the urge to use the bathroom. Is it his fault? Is it ours?

Myth 31: All Anesthetics During Birth Harm Babies’ Brains

No less a revered medical institution than the Mayo Clinic, the saviors of severely medically challenged children nationwide, have studied and declared that anesthetics used during cesarean births do not cause children to have brain problems.

Myth 30: Lots Of Milk Builds Strong Bones

For years, doctors and scientists have told the public to drink milk, eat dairy products and take calcium supplements to improve bone health and prevent osteoporosis. The problem is they’re wrong. 

Myth 29: High Fructose Corn Syrup Is The Worst Of The Evils

Aside from the obvious nutritional benefits of ingesting natural sugars from their source, eating foods created from refined sugar of any kind seems to fall firmly within the jurisdiction of the epithet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Myth 24: Breast is best

“In certain overachieving circles, breast-feeding is no longer a choice — it’s a no-exceptions requirement, the ultimate badge of responsible parenting. Yet the actual health benefits of breast-feeding are surprisingly thin, far thinner than most popular literature indicates. Is breast-feeding right for every family? Or is it this generation’s vacuum cleaner – an instrument of misery that mostly just keeps women down?” Excerpt from the new article “The Case Against Breast-Feeding” appearing in the April issue of The Atlantic written by Hanna Rosin.

Myth 23: Breastfeeding prevents obesity

According to David Barker, M.D., Ph.D., professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Southampton, UK and professor of Cardiovascular in the Department of Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University and one of the authors of the report, “A longer period of breastfeeding was associated with lower BMI (a measure for weight) at one year of age. This relationship disappeared by the age of 7 years.” Similarly, there was no significant difference in BMI at the age of 60 years associated with duration of breastfeeding.

These findings may help explain why some studies that examined breastfed infants during the first year of life suggested a protective effect of breastfeeding and obesity, whereas other studies that examined the relationship later in life have found no such effect.

Myth 22: People who use genetic testing want designer babies

A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center found a high desire for additional genetic testing among consumers for life altering and threatening medical conditions including mental retardation, blindness, deafness, cancer, heart disease, dwarfism and shortened lifespan from death by 5 years of age. Consumers, however, are less interested in prenatal genetic testing for traits including tall stature, superior athletic ability and superior intelligence.