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Things you're amazed aren't more widely known/ common misconceptions perpetuated by popular culture etc

299 replies

wangernum · 19/01/2020 15:16

This isn't about how the young people at work don't know what the capital of Spain is, or that the petrol indicator on the car dashboard tells you what side your petrol cap is on, etc. More things that you didn't know at one point, but having learned about it (or more likely - experienced it yourself) can't see why it isn't more widely known.

My examples:
Diagnosing of gallstones. My GP failed to diagnose my dreadful gallstone pain, in the end (after suffering for years) I asked a forum like this about my symptoms and loads of people said it's probably gallstones. I went to a different GP and said 'I think it could be gallstones' and it was - got the gallbladder removed and not had a problem since.
Anyway, since then I realise the symptoms are fairly obvious (I know it's hard to describe pain but from my own experience I know what sort of questions to ask) yet there are always threads on here about how gallstones didn't get suggested by a doctor/got missed, a friend of mine also had similar experience just not knowing what this indescribable pain was. How on earth do doctors not know to suggest/check for gallstones? It seems really common?

Other misconceptions:
Waters going just before you're about to give birth (most people who've had children probably know this isn't accurate! My waters had to be broken when I was in labour!) This still happens on TV all the time!

Schizophrenia = multiple personality disorder. It's not.

Breastfeeding - so much I had no idea about! How painful it can be to start with. That babies need feeding all the time! I did an NCT breastfeeding class and I still felt that it was based on a lot of assumed knowledge (that I didn't have!). Even calling formula feeding 'bottle-feeding' but it not actually being about feeding from a bottle but the fact it's formula not breastmilk.

Colic - that it's a medical problem or indigestion, reflux etc. It's hard to tell from a lot of the stuff that's written about it but it just means lots of unexplained crying (usually at certain times etc, well it was in my experience). I actually found that 'purple crying' was a better explanation: purplecrying.info/what-is-the-period-of-purple-crying.php

Bit more obscure but d-mer.org/ - D-MER - very specific feeling of sadness when breastfeeding. I wish I'd known about this with my first baby!

Another example might be anyone that still thinks 'common-law wife' is a thing. Although I don't see many people using that phrase apart from to point out it's not a thing (legally etc)!

OP posts:
user3575796673 · 20/01/2020 13:42

I didn't bother going through enrolling my deed poll. Absolutely nowhere questioned or challenged me on the change of name or the deed poll.

The only thing that was a hassle about changing my name was having to organise a new passport etc etc and drawing up the list of all the notifications I needed to do. Not getting organisations to accept the change and update their records.

Graphista · 20/01/2020 16:42

“It’s a vile illness with no respite” Absolutely! I even bloody dream in ocd!

Eg I have flat topped bins as I put/throw rubbish on top of them rather than touch them until there’s a point in the day I can touch them to put the rubbish in. My mum struggles with this aspect as to her that’s less hygienic than putting the rubbish straight in the bin but for me touching the bin is the difficult part.

Ocd has its own logic and it’s different for each sufferer. That’s why group therapy doesn’t really work at all well for the condition because each sufferer has their own set of rules.

“If your blood test is outside the reference range, that does not mean there is a problem.” On that note I’d LOVE to tell hcps that results WITHIN a reference range doesn’t mean there ISN’T a problem either!

They’re averages of what’s “normal” (and very often based on research many decades out of date!)

Dd has a naturally higher core temp than others so when it’s at the lower range of normal that’s very low for her and means she’s ill and has chills. And yes also means when she’s at HER normal temp she DOESN’T have a fever.

I have naturally low bp so when it’s at the higher end of “normal” that’s actually high FOR ME.

Various family members were told for many years that thyroid tests were “normal” and dismissed despite many other symptoms of thyroid disease. When finally diagnosed it was noted on their records that blood tests gave results that appeared to be “normal” but that this particular patient was an outlier.

From their experiences and reading on here and elsewhere this is far from an unusual situation with thyroid blood tests - maybe what’s “normal” needs to be re-assessed?

“That sleeping through the night for babies is a thing and night wakings must be ‘fixed’. All part of a formula feeding culture. If your baby sleeps that’s great but it’s healthy and normal if they don’t.” Yep! There’s been a few really worrying threads posted recently by posters with babies 9 months and younger “not sleeping through yet” they’re still tiny! Of course they’re not sleeping through! And ff doesn’t guarantee they will either. I’ve cared for over 30 babies in my time and how they’re fed has no impact on how they sleep.

“That you can have a panic attack or anxiety attack and not be hyperventilating”
Yes! I’ve a tendency to “fight” rather than flight or freeze and in a panic can lash out (Verbally) and I don’t hyperventilate - I’ve even had hcps even mh ones who don’t get this!

“It’s a myth that alcoholics have to drink first thing every morning, every day.” Yes my father and several other relatives who are alcoholics either active or recovering. It manifests in lots of different ways. Many many threads on here either by alcoholics or people who care about them desperately trying to deny the fact because

“But they don’t drink every day”
“But they hold down a job”
“But he only drinks wine/beer”
“But he can go x weeks without drinking”
“But they only just drink over the recommended amount” - that’s a max, it’s a guideline and refers mainly to long term physical effects, and most importantly as this is usually a comment not from the alcoholic themselves - that you know of! Secrecy can very much be part of the condition.

@whatisthisfuckery - I hope you told them they had to stop driving and if they didn’t contacted dvla?

“Morning sickness” yes - mine used to hit at 3pm on the dot! BUT if I had a cup of peppermint tea and a couple of ginger biscuits before I rose from bed of a morning - even though I wasn’t nauseous then - it really helped. So weird. And it also lasted till I was about 6 months gone.

sueelleker · 20/01/2020 16:45

Graphista; have you thought of getting an automatically opening bin?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

ruthieness · 20/01/2020 16:46

There still seems some confusion between a valid deed poll - no fee required and "enrolling" the deed afterwards.

"Enrolling" is rarely useful - there are some good reasons in specific circumstances,it means that your creditors can find out details of your name change and thus it shows you are not trying to "hide".

It can also be useful if academic qualifications are in your old name.

The fee charged to enrol is not the same as the charge to produce the deed in the first place.

iklboo · 20/01/2020 16:56

YY @Graphista - my body temp is lower than normal so for me 'normal' is a fever. When I was in hospital for suspected appendicitis some clever twat had drawn a Chad face with 'Wot, no temperature?' next to it. Not quite so hilarious when I was rushed to theatre at 1am for emergency surgery.

ScarlettBlaize · 20/01/2020 16:58

Other misconceptions:Waters going just before you're about to give birth (most people who've had children probably know this isn't accurate! My waters had to be broken when I was in labour!) This still happens on TV all the time!

Happened both times for me and all three times for my mum.

ALongHardWinter · 20/01/2020 17:20

The waters breaking one gets me,as I know it rarely happens before labour is well underway. But what gets me even more is how every single woman on TV who is pregnant,always starts labour with an agonising contraction,that doubles them up,totally out of the blue. I know from experience that it hardly ever happens like this. Labour usually starts with a few twinges that build up,getting stronger over the course of a few hours. Rarely does it happen like on TV,into full blown labour in seconds.
Also,the belief that if you're not in a wheelchair you're not 'properly' disabled. I had someone telling me off for using a disabled toilet,because I only use walking sticks! Hmm And even worse,is this belief by a lot of people that disability only affects you if you're elderly. I don't get this so much now that I'm 56,but having been disabled from the age of 30,I've lost count of how many times,while I was in my 30s,that I was 'too young' to be disabled! When will some people realise that disability does not discriminate when it comes to age?

KeepCookingWithGas · 20/01/2020 17:35

The "everybody is on the spectrum" was said 4 years ago in a school meeting by the presiding teacher who had been on a course. Surprising really.

kjhkj · 20/01/2020 17:35

My waters broke just before both labours. Clearly its fairly common just from reading this thread.

Graphista · 20/01/2020 17:38

“Graphista; have you thought of getting an automatically opening bin?“ they’re not cheap! I’m unable to work because of my health issues and on benefits and I can go through bins when I’m really bad so I’m better having cheap ones. Pedal bins also not an option as won’t even touch with feet.

iklboo- yes I’ve come across your situation too as I’m also an ex nurse. Far too many hcps get into the mindset of “average = everyone” which is nonsense!

Patients present “atypically” all the time!

@alonghardwinter - yes I’ve been physically disabled since early 30’s following car accident, dd was born with her disability but dx summer before starting high school and is now almost 19 and looks slim, fit and healthy - we’ve both many times had the “you’re too young to be disabled” bollocks! People need to stop being so bloody stupid!

Mh issues - also misunderstanding of agoraphobia. I'm currently housebound but it's not always that bad. Sometimes I'm ok to go to "safe" places, or if accompanied by certain people. Like most mental illness there's a spectrum of severity. When very well I can even cope going to new places - but it takes months of prep.

MrsMoastyToasty · 20/01/2020 17:41

That rats live in sewers. No, they like a nice dry nest and just use sewers as a convenient way to get from A to B.

Abraid2 · 20/01/2020 17:49

‘Great’ used before Britain or War doesn’t mean thinking WW1 or this country are fantastic, just that they are respectively the largest war to that date and the largest island in the British Isles.

Cattenberg · 20/01/2020 18:03

If you’re still ovulating/having periods, you’re still fertile.

You might be, but egg quality declines with increasing age, so the fact that you’re still menstruating regularly at 45 doesn’t prove you can still conceive.

I’m healthy, slim, keep fit and look young for my age, so my ovarian reserve should be better than average for my age

I don’t know if there’s any correlation, but I do know that many women have been dismayed to find out that this wasn’t true for them at all.

If you can afford expensive fertility treatment, you can put off having children until your mid forties. Just look at the Hollywood actresses who’ve done this.

It took me a while to realise that many of these women used donor eggs to conceive.

If you have IVF, there’s no risk of an ectopic pregnancy, because the embryo is transferred straight to the uterus

Weirdly, this isn’t true. In fact, IVF can increase your risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.

eminencegrise · 20/01/2020 18:21

I’m healthy, slim, keep fit and look young for my age, so my ovarian reserve should be better than average for my age

This one, very sadly, is commonly believed. Sad

AlunWynsKnee · 20/01/2020 18:24

@WhereTheCowsGoBong the spectrum isn't a line with 'severe' autism at one end and Aspergers at the other end. Aspergers used to be equated with High Functioning which was related (Iirc) to language development.
The spectrum is related to abilities and impact and is more like a spiders web. There is no line that says a child will have x ability if they are half way along it.

SarahAndQuack · 20/01/2020 19:47

‘Great’ used before Britain or War doesn’t mean thinking WW1 or this country are fantastic, just that they are respectively the largest war to that date and the largest island in the British Isles.

Is that why Great Britain is Great Britain? I'm a medievalist and in texts written in that period, it's Great Britain as opposed to Bretagne the Less (ie., Brittany).

Abraid2 · 20/01/2020 20:01

That could be it, too, Sarah, but definitely geographical rather than a kind of boast!

hoteltango · 20/01/2020 21:20

LivingDeadGirlUK – I’m not an explosive expert but a plane that has run out of fuel, i.e. no fuel reaching the engines, will most likely still have some residual fuel in the wing tanks, and a whole load of vapour, which is what actually catches fire. So I could imagine a fireball, but just a whoomph (technical term) rather than a blaze that continues.

My pet peeve is assumptions about prehistoric people. Just because we wouldn’t build a Stonehenge without using big machines, or draw Nazca lines without a satnav, doesn’t mean it was aliens wot dun it. Similarly: pyramids in Egypt and pyramids in South America, thousands of miles apart, must be aliens. Nope, if you want to build really big (and what mega-boss wouldn’t?) then it’s basic measurements and a lot of manual labour.

DontGoIntoTheLongGrass · 20/01/2020 21:30

That OCD means I'm obsessed with cleaning 🤔

dementedma · 20/01/2020 22:19

Giving away your house to prevent care home fees would be seen as asset stripping. The costs can be claimed back during the first 10 years of this transfer of assets taking place.

Cherrysoup · 20/01/2020 23:28

Not sure if you’re saying this is or isn’t a misconception, but bread doesn’t make ducks ill. It’s not great on that it’s quite nutritionally sparce but doesn’t do any specific harm. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-50081386

And despite the huge media thing saying don’t feed them bread, we’re now told to please feed them due to lots starving because people stopped the bread!

Ormally · 20/01/2020 23:41

If you write 'return to sender' on a letter from a business (or bill) and repost it does not get returned to sender until a lot later than you imagine...first it goes to the returned letter section in Ireland.
So you may want to think about forwarding demands that keep turning up for ex tenants to a named person at the company responsible (head of customer relations?) to try to make it stop.

PlushPlush · 21/01/2020 07:16

People th

People think the pyramids were built by slaves, but actually the men who built it were not only paid a fair wage, they also saw it as a great honour to be involved.

Brahumbug · 21/01/2020 10:13

That the moon does rotate on its axis despite us only ever seeing one side from the earth.

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