3. Drinking Booze to Ease a Toothache
“A shot of whiskey is not going to kill the pain of a toothache,†says Charles Wakefield, D.D.S., director of advanced education in general dentistry at Baylor University medical school. Instead of a whiskey on the rocks, just order the rocks: A Canadian study found that rubbing an ice cube on people’s hands killed tooth pain in 50 percent of them. Wrap the cube and rub it on the V-shaped soft spot of your hand, where the bones of your thumb and index finger meet. The cold, rubbing sensation travels on the same pathway to the brain as tooth pain, and by icing your hand, you override the signals from your mouth. When you’re finished, call a dentist. And pour yourself that whiskey.
5. Slapping a Raw Steak on a Black Eye
“The only medical merit this has is if it’s a cold steak,†says Flip Homansky, M.D., who’s seen his share of shiners in his work for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which regulates Las Vegas’s boxing bouts. “The cold will decrease swelling, but there is no enzyme or anything else in a raw steak that will help otherwise.†The fact that the steak, compared with blocks of ice or ice cubes, can be formed to fit over the eye is another benefit, but a cheaper and less bacteria-prone solution is a bag of frozen peas, or crushed ice in a plastic bag wrapped in a towel. And remember, you will still end up with bruising.
7. People May Swallow Their Tongues During a Seizure
It’s commonplace in movies. Someone has a seizure and a passerby sticks something in the patient’s mouth so they don’t swallow their tongue and block their airway. “People can control their own airway,†Richard O’Brien, MD, says. “Don’t stick anything in there.†If the person is outside, let him or her roll around on the ground. It’s OK.When a person is having a seizure, don’t hold the person down as this can result in injury. Just remove sharp objects – glasses, furniture etc. – from around the person to prevent injury.
http://ririanproject.com/2006/10/25/10-useless-or-even-dangerous-first-aid-myths