Light hearted... But AIBU to think that my sister (who has a PhD) should know this?

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

My sister had her baby a couple of months ago. He had a fever, tested for bacteria but no bacteria grew so it was ruled. My elimination process it had to be a a virus... To which her anwer was... "But I thought breast milk gave the baby all viral antibodies!" I almost wanted to strangle her... Obviously you only pass the ones you're immune to! AIBU to think she should know this? Especially considering she's not dumb as she has a PhD in criminal law??

I didn't know this and I've 2 degrees and breastfed both mine

So what if she didn't

She knows now

Most people are totally clueless about immunology. People don’t even know the difference between a bacteria and a virus.

A PhD doesn’t make you intelligent. It means you were prepared to study for longer and you managed to find a subject that interested you enough to do it. Being academic and having good general knowledge are not the same thing.

Apologies, I thought you called her mean but it’s semantics anyway. You’ve still been pretty vile about her, a woman (your own sister) with a an unwell new baby. It’s pretty poor behaviour OP and it’s not made any better no matter how many times you want to tell us she started it.

You sound really very immature. You need to rectify this attitude before losing friends and family in their droves.

Furthermore, if nothing you say or send to her is meant to make her feel bad, why don’t you send her the link to this thread?

You sound like you have jealousy issue with your sister.

@BettysLeftTentacle I actually have no friends nor family left. But that's mostly because we've all moved around across the world.

I've chosen to stay away from my family for my own MH. My friends I've made a few good ones through the years but moving means I've never been able to make long-lasting relationships. For many years I worked from home with next to no human interaction, I'm very aware my interpersonal skills are terrible.

I have a degree in virology and a PhD in microbiology. I would have assumed this, but I know sweet FA about breastmilk, very little about immunology, and this 'backwash' concept people are bringing up is news to me and very interesting, off to go and find some papers on it.

People are so ignorant about what PhDs are. It isn't a superdegree that makes you a supersmart superexpert. It's a piece of research into a very specific topic (your sister is probably only an expert in the application of one specific law relating to one single crime, it's that specific) and you don't even have to be a genius to do one, it's about application and ability to slog.

you don't even have to be a genius to do one, it's about application and ability to slog.

This is so very true!!

I'm very aware my interpersonal skills are terrible.

Maybe this thread has been useful though - has it given you some insight into how certain things might come across? Tbf my interpersonal skills can be a bit hit and miss, but I think it's important to work on them rather than being self-pitying about the skills not coming naturally.

Also, you may want to think about WHY you started this thread. Because there was nothing amusing about this interaction with your sister. So when you are thinking about your interpersonal skills I would really begin by asking yourself very HONESTLY what you hoped to gain from this thread.

Coconut oil and breast milk for bathing doesn’t sound that ridiculous. I had bottles (quite literally litres) of expired expressed breast milk which instead of throwing away, I was advised to bath the kids in. Both my kids have eczema and I have to say despite my skepticism it did make a difference. Coconut oil is regularly used in Asia for massages.