If you read in poor lighting or sit too close to the TV, you will develop eye problems. — Your eyes are comprised of muscles, and like any other muscle, they can get strained or tired, but bad lighting or close proximity to objects will not permanently affect them. Only looking directly at sunlight or laser lights can damage your eyes.

If you handle frogs or toads, you will acquire warts. — Ladies, you can keep kissing frogs without fear. Holding frogs or toads will not give you warts. Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and spread through human contact.

Eating chocolate and fried foods will give you acne. — According to current medical knowledge, skipping chocolate and fried foods will not cause you to develop acne. Certain cosmetics, sweating, and high humidity may aggravate your acne.

Cracking your knuckles often will cause arthritis. — There is no medical evidence supporting this long-held belief. Arthritis develops when the immune system attacks the joints. But, knuckle cracking may injure a joint.

It is dangerous to go swimming right after eating. — While it’s a good idea to wait a while to swim after eating to avoid abdominal cramping, it is not dangerous. Many professional swimmers and endurance trainers consume food before competing.

If you go outside in cold weather with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold. — Colds are caused by hundreds of different viruses, not exposure to cold weather. The germs are spread by direct contact with other infected people through kissing, sneezing, a handshake, etc. More colds occur during winter because people stay indoors, creating a prime atmosphere for germs to spread.

Getting a flu shot will result in getting the flu. — The influenza vaccine does not contain a full active virus and cannot infect you with the illness. The vaccination stimulates your body to create antibodies. If you come in contact with the influenza virus, the antibodies destroy it before you become ill. If your body does not have adequate time to create the antibodies before you contract the flu, you may think you got it from the vaccine.

Giving a child sugar causes hyperactivity. — After extensive study, medical researchers have found the contrary to be true. In normal children, there is no direct link between sugar and behavior.

Drinking coffee will help sober you up. — Coffee has no effect on reversing the effects of intoxication. It contains caffeine that stimulates the nervous system, which may cause an intoxicated person to become more alert, but no less inebriated. There is no way to increase the rate at which your body eliminates alcohol.

Your heart stops beating whenever you sneeze. — Your heart does not stop when you sneeze. On rare occasions, the heart may beat irregularly as a result of your sneeze changing the pressure in your chest and altering the blood flow to the heart.

It is best to starve a fever and feed a cold. — It will not help to lower your fever if you do not eat. Severely limiting food intake while you are sick hinders the healing process. Don’t force yourself to eat as much as normal. It is more important to maintain hydration by drinking a lot of liquids, as fever promotes the loss of fluids.

It’s unhealthy to drink less than eight glasses of water a day. — Most people consume the amount of water their body needs during the day through food intake and liquids, including water. If you eat properly, drink when you feel thirsty, and generally feel well, you can safely disregard the eight-glass rule. If you are lacking the water your body needs, it will let you know through symptoms of dehydration, like thirst, dizziness, fatigue, and headache. It is possible to drink too much water. Although it’s very hard to drink enough water to cause harm, the results can include brain swelling, nausea, fatigue, confusion, seizures, or coma. (Excerpted from www.lifespan.com)