Myth, Illogical

In the age of alternative facts, fake news and WhatsApp forwards, medical myths are a dime a dozen. Doctors say blindly believing these myths can do severe harm

- Anuradha Varanasi

It is a truth universally acknowledged that knowledge is seldom constant, requiring regular updates. And, any good doctor is fully aware that the existing medical beliefs need to be reexamined from time to time. But what baffles many senior physicians is when patients challenge their knowledge with medical myths.

“There are patients who believe in certain medical myths, and they go from one doctor to another in the hope of hearing what they want to instead of accepting what they believe in is only part reality and part myth,” says Dr Om Shrivastav, consultant, infectious diseases and immunology in Mumbai.

“Certain medical myths tend to get perpetuated as people are keen to only listen to what they want to instead of accepting facts.”

Doctors say believing medical myths, even popular ones like condoms protect one from all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), can end badly. “The sad part is I have seen many of my patients picking up even more STDs because of their ignorance,” says Shrivastav. “I get many patients who are from wealthy and well-educated backgrounds, but they still believe harmful myths like having sex with a virgin could be a cure for HIV. They end up taking trips to Bangkok, for instance, just to have sex with underage boys or girls.” Another medical myth that doctors are concerned about is how patients believe papaya milk or papaya leaf extracts are a cure for dengue as it helps in increasing platelet levels of a patient. This myth went viral in India in 20162017, thanks to WhatsApp forwards.