URBAN LEGENDS IN MEDICINE
URBAN LEGENDS IN MEDICINE … WHEN WILL THEY END ? AUTHOR Tom James , MD
The hollers of Eastern Kentucky were
somewhat intimidating to a young medical student on a community medicine rotation in Harlan County . A group of five medical students from four schools were on a summer rotation there to characterize the contraceptive practices of women of childbearing age in that county . One story stood out from all the interviews that summer . A woman in her late 20s with four children told me that she didn ’ t have to worry about contraception . No , sir ! The midwife who delivered her kept a cord , and she tied a knot in that cord after each delivery . But with this woman in front of me , Granny Midnight , the midwife told her that she had tied the last knot in her cord . So that meant that the young woman would have no more children . She interpreted that as meaning contraception just wasn ’ t on the table for her - no need to worry . As a flabbergasted first year medical student , I couldn ’ t respond - I only hoped that she would be happy to have a fifth child . I certainly could not talk her out of her beliefs .
That same summer , a local friend suggested that we go to the Revival being held down in Evarts , Kentucky . A large tent had been set up with rows of folding chairs neatly arranged , or as much as the uneven terrain would allow . We stood back just outside the tent to allow the faithful to take their seats . When everyone was there , Bobby Joe , the Singin ’ Preacher came out and the revival was underway . After a half an hour , Bobby Joe began the healing . He started by seeing future cancers and strokes in people , and through their faith he told them that those illnesses had been pushed out of their bodies and would only return if the individual went back to the devil . By then , the crowd was on its feet swaying and praying . Bobby Joe then moved to finding people in the crowd with arthritis . By laying hands on them and getting them so worked up that they were talking in tongues , these people with arthritis started to dance : such is the power of belief , getting individuals to ignore their pain and dance . My friend said she wished she could be a Christian like those people inside the tent , but she could not let herself be so caught up with the spirit as to talk in tongues or pass out . We both marveled at how much belief structures will impact illness , even for just a short time .
10 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
The power of garlic to heal has strong roots going back to Egypt . Some use it as a paste on wounds , and other create a poultice to wear around the neck . That was not uncommon in Harlan County when I was a medical student . But after residency and marrying into a Sicilian family , I found that same poultice hung around the neck of the older Sicilian in-laws . Garlic is said to cure colds , close wounds , stop infections and - of course - drive away vampires . The use of garlic as folk medicine has graduated to well-defined clinical studies . A meta-analysis of the impact of garlic on hyperlipidemia was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine ( 2000 Sept 19 ; 133 ( 6 ): 420-9 ) showing a modest reduction in cholesterol over placebo , but not as much as standard antilipidemic drugs . A Chinese study published as a meta-analysis in the journal Medicine ( 2020 Jan ; 99 ( 1 ): e18575 ) also demonstrated a small reduction in colorectal cancers .
Some of the urban legends of health impacts do have a basis in behavioral health or in pharmacology . Others , like the recommendations of Granny Midnight , do not have any scientific evidence and frankly , can be dangerous . Urban legends , particularly if spread on social media , can become malicious assaults on modern preventive medicine . There has been concern about the injection of foreign material into people ever since vaccinations took root . However , it gained momentum with the anti-vaccination movement that raised the fear that the Measles Mumps Rubella ( MMR ) vaccine promoted the development of autism in children who received it . After Dr . Andrew Wakefield published a paper in The Lancet linking MMR with autism , the “ anti-vax ” movement felt it had its scientific champion . Never mind that Dr . Wakefield ’ s work was financially supported by groups lobbying to stop mandatory immunizations , or that his work could not stand up to scientific scrutiny . No , the urban legend mill was going great guns . In the year prior to COVID-19 , only 77 % of children in Kentucky above the poverty line were immunized , and only 59 % of children living in poverty were immunized . ( www . americashealthrankings . org / explore / annual / measure / Immunize / state / KY ) It has not been elucidated how much vaccine refusal is because of parental beliefs , and how much is because of the difference in priorities , access to care , etc . However , it is likely that parental concerns are stronger than state mandates .
Another urban legend is one that has grown invasively ever since the World War II advent of widespread use of antibiotics .