The Wrong Myths About FIrst Aid

• Never slap a choking person on the back—let the person cough and the object may dislodge itself. If the person stops coughing or breathing, then perform the Heimlich maneuver.
• Never cut and suck the skin of or apply a tourniquet to a person with a snakebite. Sucking may introduce more bacteria and spread the venom, and a tourniquet will cut off blood supply to the area.
• Peeing on a jellyfish sting won’t help the pain.
• Don’t breathe into a paper bag for hyperventilation.
• Don’t drink alcohol to warm up when cold, it will only lead to hypothermia in cold weather.
• Don’t drink alcohol for a toothache or any other pain.
• Don’t put butter, Crisco, or any other type of grease on a burn; grease can trap heat and lead to infection and scarring.
• Don’t put a raw steak on a black eye or any other injury; the bacteria on the meat may contaminate the wound or the eye.
• Don’t use hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds, it may kill the body’s defensive cells that are rushing to the wound to take care of invading bacteria.
• People don’t swallow their tongues during seizures, so don’t try to hold the tongue or put anything in the mouth. Don’t restrain the person either.
• Don’t squeeze the stinger on a bee sting or try to pull it out with tweezers—this will squeeze venom into the wound; use a credit card to scrape it away.
• Don’t throw your head back during a nosebleed—it will cause blood to run down your throat and you may vomit. Instead, lean forward slightly and pinch your nose for ten full minutes.
• If you have something embedded in your skin, you should not pull it out if there is a chance the object is sealing a wound and preventing bleeding. Get medical help if you are not sure.
• Don’t continue to run with shin splints; running while injured will increase your injury.
• Don’t put vinegar on a sunburn; instead, apply cool compresses.
• You can’t stop motion sickness by staring at a point on the horizon.
• Poison ivy is not contagious, but the oil is. If the oil is on you, it can be spread to others.
• Don’t use rubbing alcohol to cool down a fever—it will absorb into the skin and may cause further illness.

[ source : The Everything First Aid Book by Nadine Saubers, R.N. ]