Michelle Reed
Body

Odd medical advice your mother probably told you

Regardless of your age or generation, chances are good that you’ve received plenty of well meaning medical advice from the older members of your family. Mothers and grandmothers tend to have plenty of experience handing out words of wisdom, some of which can err on the side of the controversial. Here are our top 20 pieces of advice handed down through the generations.

1. “Plucking a hair out of a mole will cause cancer.”

2. “Don't touch caterpillars because you'll get a rash.”

3. "Those little white dots on your fingernails are from eating too much sugar!"

4. "If you swallow a watermelon seed, a watermelon will grow inside your stomach."

5. "Chewing gum never, ever digests. It stays in your stomach forever."

6. "Eat the crusts off your bread to make your hair curly."

​7. "Chocolate causes pimples."

8. "Caffeine will stunt your growth."

9. "Eating carrots will make your eyesight better."

​​10. ​"Have a cold? Eating an orange will cure that."

11. "You'll never be able to have kids because you were on birth control."​

12. "And being around kitty litter and owning turtles can also cause infertility."​

13. "Spicy food will make you sick if you're on your period."

14. "Drinking milk when pregnant will make your baby allergic to it."

15. "Buy a size bigger underwear when you're pregnant so the baby has room to grow."

16. "A hot curry induces labour."

​​17. "Always wear a hat because you lose most of your body heat through your head."

18. "Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis."

​19. "When you yawn, it means you're hungry."

​20. "Stop crossing your legs! It will give you varicose veins."

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Tags:
health, wellbeing, tips, family, Naomi Cotterill