I have never shared anything on social media without completely verifying the facts. But I have seen a lot of rumors that people keep spreading on facebook and whatsapp about various things.
I feel bad when I see a rumor related to health of children. I am going to share some of highly shared rumors and the truth behind them.
#1. NEVER LET YOUR KIDS SIT IN THE “W” POSITION
Did you get this message via email, whatsapp or Facebook? I am sure you might have received it and have shared the same because you are concerned for your own child and you want to protect the kid’s of your friends as well.
As per the posts that I have received, following are the side effects of “W-Sitting”
- Orthopedic Problems
- Delayed Development of Postural Control and Stability
- Delayed Development of Refined Motor Skills
The post explains further, that
“W-sitting” is a commonly used position by children. In this position, children sit on their bottoms, with their knees bent, feet tucked under, and their legs splayed out to the side which looks like a “W”. This is a standard sitting position because children feel supported and secure. Many parents do not know or recognize the danger of letting a child sit like this for too long.
Truth behind the rumor
If you search the ‘W-sitting’ on internet then you will see hundreds if not thousands of articles that emphasize on avoiding W-sitting for kids. They just want to spread the fear, because parents tend to share the negative messages when afraid about child’s health.
Today Magazine did research on the topic and asked two experts: Dr. Eduardo Novais, an orthopedic surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital; and Dr. Jennifer Weiss, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles.
According to an experienced pediatric orthopedics, “If you walk into a preschool classroom, most of the kids, if they’re given a choice, will sit like that.”
When asked if we should nudge our child out of W sitting and into ‘criss-cross applesauce?’, Dr Weiss said, “In my opinion, absolutely not,”. He advised parents to pick different battles as there are plenty of other things to worry about your children.
I believe that sitting in a “W” position too often or for too long may negatively impact a child’s development and growth patterns but nothing will happen for occasional sitting.
Save this article and reference to research.
Next time when someone share any negative post, show them the right thing.
#2. Glass shreds in Huggies
Last year someone posted a video on facebook, demonstrating the presence of tiny glass & fiber particles in Huggies.
Her video received millions of views within 24 hours and Huggies had to contact her for the samples.
She deleted the video from her Facebook page now, it seemed to be the case of getting popularity through viral videos, however, I am not sure of the reason why she posted the video, but nothing has been found in the samples.
Truth
Huggies posted this message on their Facebook page after noticing the virality of the video. They also tested samples of huggies from various cities but did not find any glass particles.
The rumor spread so much fear in parenting community. You can get additional information on the rumor of glass particles in Huggies.
#3. Pepsi/Frooti Contaminated with HIV
I received this message couple of times on my whatsapp and Facebook
How can you believe on such a message without watching the NDTV episode that telecasted this news? I tried to research on this particular news on youtube and internet but did not find anything relevant from NDTV.
Truth
Well, it is sure that NDTV never telecasted any such episode, neither any other news channel in India. If you find any evidence related to it, please let me know.
I even explored the Internet for evidences about the Delhi police warning against consuming Frooti but as earlier, I could not find anything but the websites spreading rumors owned by individuals.
Rather, I found a news on livemint, which confirmed that Parle filed a case against social media sites which were a medium of spreading rumors.
Actually it is not social media, but the ignorant people like us who spread the rumors and tarnish the image of a reputed company.
I also searched for, if HIV can be spread by consuming contaminated blood.
I’m going to share about it while busting the next rumor. Stay with me.
#4. Pineapple Contaminated with HIV blood of vendor
Here is the third rumor that I want to go into the details
First of all, it is almost impossible to be sure if any street food is contaminated with blood, urine, or sewage water.
If you are too concerned, then don’t ever eat any food from the street vendors or local shops.
I am sure you can not switch completely to the branded foods in India. We love eating panipuri, sweets, samosa, dosa and the list is endless.
In that case, it would be better to analyze the other side of the coin, that is HIV.
After receiving this message, the first thing I did is a small research on HIV infection. You may also read the whole story behind the food contaminated with HIV.
Truth
As per CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) –
No incident of food being contaminated with HIV-infected blood or semen has been reported to CDC. Furthermore, CDC has received no reports of HIV infection resulting from eating food, including condiments.
HIV does not live for a long period of time outside the body.
Even if small amounts of HIV-infected blood or semen has been consumed, exposure to the air, heat from cooking, and stomach acid would destroy the virus. Therefore, there is no risk of contacting with HIV by eating any food.
As per CDC, HIV cannot live without body fluids – blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, other body fluids containing blood.
HIV has been found in the saliva and tears of some persons dealing with HIV, but that too in very low quantities. It is important to understand that finding a small amount of HIV in a body fluid does not necessarily mean that HIV can be transmitted by that body fluid.
Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV.
Conclusion
The same rumors remain alive for many years on social channels. It is difficult to stop others in spreading negative news but we can promise ourselves that we will never share negative news without verifying. Do nothing in case of doubt.
Would you share this (positive) article with your friends who shared any of above negative news with you in the past?
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