7 Warnings From Mom That You Needn't Worry About

Threat #1: "You're gonna fall and crack your head open!"


Truth: Your skull can split like an egg, but it would require a severe impact, such as falling into the corner of a coffee table, says Larry L. Alexander, M.D., an emergency-room physician at Baylor Medical Center. "You're much more likely to fracture your skull."


Threat #2: "Wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident!"


Truth: When emergency-room personnel cut the clothes off trauma patients, Dr. Alexander says, it's done so quickly that they never pay attention to whether the underwear is stained, dirty, or full of holes.


Threat #3: "Keep touching yourself, and it'll fall off!"


Truth: There's no evidence that masturbation will cause your staff to revolt. Such exploration is "a normal part of growing up," says Dr. Alexander.


Threat #4: "Someday your face will freeze like that!"


Truth: No matter how far you stretch the corners of your mouth or how deeply into your nostril you plunge your tongue, facial muscles will never become paralyzed as a result.


Threat #5: "Don't go out without a coat or you'll get sick!"


Truth: Colds and flu are not caused by catching a chill or by dejectedly walking home from your girlfriend's in the rain without your rubbers. Nonetheless, this myth persists, largely because most people get sick during winter, when these situations commonly occur. Dr. Alexander suggests that it may even be possible to think yourself ill. If you dread damp feet, your brain may depress your immune system when it happens.


Threat #6: "You'll poke someone's eye out with that!"


Truth: It's impossible to "poke out" an eyeball with a sharp instrument. What you'll probably do is pierce or rupture it. To actually pop an eyeball out, Dr. Alexander says, you "have to get in there with your fingers and pull it out."


Threat #7: "If you break a leg, don't come running to me!"


Truth: It's unlikely that you'd be able to run with a broken leg, but you could still walk. Dr. Alexander has seen people with broken legs walk into the E.R. "It hurts like crazy," he says, "but the muscles spasm and produce enough support to bear weight."

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