Infections are not caused by lack of socks!?

[gruffalomom]

MIL staying with us for the holidays and DS1 has developed a chest infection (he is 4).

Dr diagnosed him and put him on antibiotics.

MIL is adamant this is because DS1 walks around with no socks on.

My understanding is bacteria don't really care if you have socks on or not?!

The house is warm and he doesn't want socks on...

Aibu to leave him without his socks?

Clean knickers prevent road fatalities.

Not having a bath or washing hair during a period comes from the days when people bathed in tin baths in the kitchen with little privacy or in public baths. Also, perhaps, towels that had to be shared and washed without a washing machine. Not swimming comes from the days prior to tampons being used by young girls. Those views were dying out in the 60s when I was a teenager but still existed. It's no wonder it was known as 'the curse'.

A lot of these tales date from pre-vaccination days, when a 'chill' could be very nasty indeed and when the only way to keep warm was to wrap up. The girl who went to bed with damp hair and wolk up paralysed probably had polio. The absolute terror that illnesses like polio, whooping cough, etc caused is why these tales have stuck - keeping warm and avoiding catching anything that could weaken the immune system was pretty much their only line of defence.

Lack of socks would not cause a chest infection. This reminded me of something that my late DM said to me when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis,25 years ago. She said it was because I drank 'too much diet coke'. I was

Laiste, Sinus pain can actually be caused by air pressure. Mine get really painful when the air pressure drops and weather changes quickly.

my late df told me you shouldnt wear wellingtons for long periods of time he swore he knew a man who wore them all the time and one day when he took them off his feet came off too!

My grandmother used to tell my father that if he didn't take his rain boots off when he got to school, his feet would get "spongy."

Alonghardwinter that's terrible! Honestly some of the ideas people have you would have you would think there is no access to real information !

Never wearing wellies again though....😲😲

My DGM believes if your feet are warm, you are warm so always insisted on putting both socks and bootees on my dad and uncle at all times as babies despite them both being spring babies. I have tried to explain to her that babies feet and hands are purposely colder than the rest of their body since they can’t properly regulate temperature but she isn’t having any of it. She’s another that always insisted we have our backs covered sufficiently else we might lose a kidney .

It’s BS. Of course you can’t catch an infection from having bare feet. The only thing you could possibly catch is a verruca .

I feel like a big bucket of cold water, drowning the light heartedness, but dh actually got trench foot from wet boots, so the wellies thing makes some sense...

I lent my whole childhood miserably waiting on the beach for two hours to pass after lunch so we could go back in the water. Apparently swimming after meals causes heart attacks, you get a cramp in your heart.

My DGM always cautioned against eating standing up as all the nutrients went to your feet and you didn’t gain the benefit of the food.

My Nan has always been adamant that cramp is caused by not eating enough salt

Not quite sure where that comes from!

I was always the barefoot child being told by my DGM and DM to put some socks on. My DGM was very poorly once as a child and apparently the doctor told her she had to wear slippers all the time in future, which she duly did until she died. I hated socks and slippers as a child.

Nowadays my feet are always freezing and I always wear slippers. My DC go round barefoot and I can't understand why they don't feel cold!

I think all these old wives tales have a grain of truth in them.

This drives me insane... some of my mothers medical insights since having DS (just gone 2).

His inhaler - for suspected asthma- will “make him lazy with his breathing” ergo, wheeze more so maybe restrict use of it?!

Any temperature is teething (he has all his teeth but 2 molars). It’s actually been tonsillitis x6, bronchiolitis x2, ear infections x3, chest infection x3, HFM x1, and a number of RSV infections/ generic colds. Given he’s been quite unwell rather often in his little life, we saw a paediatrician when he was 18 months. Paediatrician was concerned and ordered bloods. Mother still insisted “teeth!”. (Turned out- chronic underlying upper resp infection. Cleared up with strong ABs).

Recurrent chest infections are particularly “all down to his teeth”

Oh there’s so many more... ear infections are caused by draughty...

It’s making me angry actually. I’ll stop there.

My mum told me never to take my new baby out in the night air! I never realised air was different at different times of the day and night.

@Idratherhaveacupoftea The air at night is damper than during the day. Which is why grass is always wet in the morning.

My Nan has always been adamant that cramp is caused by not eating enough salt

Not quite sure where that comes from!

Having read some of the medical advice about trying to go on a no-salt diet? Hyponatermia, sodium deficiency, is a genuine condition, and one of its first symptoms is cramp. "Generally, symptoms include disorientation, tiredness, and headache. Muscle cramps, and nausea are other common signs of low sodium levels."

No-salt diets are really not a good idea, even if you did have a heart attack. But don't try to argue with the cardio physio nurses, just don't get too upset about having a bit of salt in your diet; you'll regret it if you don't. You don't need to tell them about it.

According to my gran, green poo meant your child has a cold. Even if there are no symptoms.

Bad or cranky behaviour in a young child means your child probably hasn't had had a poo lately. At any rate, that was my mum's excuse for my sons when they acted up.