The Wrong Myths About FIrst Aid

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Peeing on a jellyfish sting won’t help the pain.
4. Don’t breathe into a paper bag for hyperventilation.
5. Don’t drink alcohol to warm up when cold, it will only lead to hypothermia in cold weather.
6. Don’t drink alcohol for a toothache or any other pain.
7. Don’t put butter, Crisco, or any other type of grease on a burn; grease can trap heat and lead to infection and scarring.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. Don’t continue to run with shin splints; running while injured will increase your injury.
15. Don’t put vinegar on a sunburn; instead, apply cool compresses.
16. You can’t stop motion sickness by staring at a point on the horizon.
17. Poison ivy is not contagious, but the oil is. If the oil is on you, it can be spread to others.
18. 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. ]