Thanks, Doc!
Posted on 12/21/2007 7:24:50 AM PST by Watershed
Popular culture is loaded with myths and half-truths. Most are harmless. But when doctors start believing medical myths, perhaps it's time to worry.
In the British Medical Journal this week, researchers looked into several common misconceptions, from the belief that a person should drink eight glasses of water per day to the notion that reading in low light ruins your eyesight.
"We got fired up about this because we knew that physicians accepted these beliefs and were passing this information along to their patients," said Dr. Aaron Carroll, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "And these beliefs are frequently cited in the popular media."
And so here they are, so that you can inform your doctor:
Myth: We use only 10 percent of our brains.
Fact: Physicians and comedians alike, including Jerry Seinfeld, love to cite this one. It's sometimes erroneously credited to Albert Einstein. But MRI scans, PET scans and other imaging studies show no dormant areas of the brain, and even viewing individual neurons or cells reveals no inactive areas, the new paper points out. Metabolic studies of how brain cells process chemicals show no nonfunctioning areas. The myth probably originated with self-improvement hucksters in the early 1900s who wanted to convince people that they had yet not reached their full potential, Carroll figures. It also doesn't jibe with the fact that our other organs run at full tilt.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Well, we know Rush only uses half his brain because he has the other half tied behind his back!
Thanks, Doc!
That is why — in general — I usually advise most nearsighted patients over 40 against Lasik surgery.
I had PRK at 39 year old. I went from 20/800 to 20/15.
I lost some amazing close up vision but I would definitely do it again!
The average was 20 - 30 seconds under the laser (per eye). I was under for about 1 minute 15 seconds for each eye.
I would not have been accepted for the procedure if I had tried to have it done few years ago.
Insurance can be a pain, but Hillarycare would be a million times worse.
“Do you happen to have a good link for more information on this?”
This will get you started, but see below:
“I’ve been nearsighted since I was 8 or 10 years old but, at 60, the presbyopia is getting to be a real pain in the neck. Can eye exercises help?”
No, vision therapy is not for you. Your crystalline lens has thickened and hardened to the point (at age 60) that attempting to improve your accomdative system via exercises would be pointless. You can at least take solace in the fact that your retained nearsightedness has made your presbyopia MUCH easier to deal with over the past 20 years, versus a non-nearsighted or post-Lasik patient.
Junior Caramels are better.
Parking lot speed-bump compared to the Rockies...
Thanks. I was thinking that might be the case but figured it was worth looking into anyway.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.