Common Health Facts That Just Aren't True, Part III

FOR some strange reason it seems much easier to learn things that are wrong. Misinformation is too common to be funny. Life is full of halftruths which, when they concern some important subject like our health, may be very dangerous indeed. It would help a great deal, if we should overcome our modern tendency toward snap judgments and guard against the temptation to make what we say emphatic regardless of what may be right.

Running water purifies itself is one of our oldest sanitary axioms—and yet the suggestion it carries is entirely wrong. Standing water purifies itself to a much greater degree and in a shorter time. Pollution consists almost entirely of solid material in particles of various sizes. In quiet water these particles settle out carrying most of the germs with them. Running streams keep themselves constantly stirred up and any pollution they receive is carried for a long time.

It is not wise, therefore, to trust water that comes from a pretty spring or waterfall. The only safe principle is not to drink from country supplies at all, or, if this cannot be avoided, to do so only after the water has been boiled.

Lemon juice is not a cure for freckles. Tan and freckles are apparently caused by the effects of light rays and are located in the deep layers of the skin. For this reason they cannot be removed by anything so mild as lemon juice.

Freckle creams should be used with care, if at all. Those that are really effective contain ingredients that eat off enough skin to get down to the freckles. It goes without saying that such treatment can lead to dangerous complications.

The quality of the skin is a reflection of cleanliness and bodily health which are by far the most effective and the least dangerous of all the aids to beauty.

Feed a cold and starve a flu is not good advice. The safest practice in all cases of illness, especially at first, is to be very sparing of solid food. This avoids the possible complication of an upset stomach and gives the doctor a better chance to make a correct diagnosis.