August 2024 "Science" Rumors List: Children's medication, half the adult dose? Can choosing good sports equipment improve physical test scores?

1. Can “back sunning” cure all diseases only if done during the dog days of summer?

gossip:

The dog days of summer are a good time to sunbathe your back. You should seize the opportunity to sunbathe your back to maintain your health, which can enhance the body's yang energy, detoxify and remove dampness, thus achieving the goal of "treating winter diseases in summer."

the truth:

Sunbathing is not suitable for all body types. If the ambient temperature is too high or the sunbathing time is too long, you may sweat profusely and lose a lot of body fluids.

When sunbathing on the back during the dog days of summer, some people will experience skin redness, swelling, peeling, and rashes. This is a typical acute skin phototoxic reaction caused by excessive exposure of the skin to ultraviolet rays. Symptoms include redness, swelling, burning, itching and pain. If exposure to the sun continues without intervention, blisters and bullae may also appear, accompanied by a severe burning sensation. Severe cases are more likely to be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and shock. Elderly people should be more cautious when sunbathing their backs, as prolonged exposure to high temperatures can easily increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergencies.

After the dog days are over, you can continue to sunbathe. In the cool and refreshing autumn season, going out to sunbathe and get in touch with the sun can not only promote calcium absorption, but also regulate endocrine and smooth emotions. When the ambient temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius, moderate sunbathing is beneficial. But it should be noted that although the temperature gradually turns cooler in autumn, when the sky is high and the clouds are light, the ultraviolet rays are particularly strong, so it is even more important to prevent sunburn.

2. When giving medicine to children, can we just halve the adult dosage?

gossip:

When children use this medicine, just halve the adult dose.

the truth:

It is not advisable to directly halve the adult dose for children.

In the process of drug absorption and metabolism, there are significant differences between children and adults in drug tolerance and responsiveness. Therefore, simply halving the adult dosage for children may not only fail to achieve the desired therapeutic effect, but may also bring medication risks, and in severe cases, damage important organs such as the liver and kidneys.

Children's medication should follow the professional advice of doctors and the dosage should be determined comprehensively based on factors such as the child's weight, age, condition and drug properties. Parents should not adjust the dosage of medications based on experience or hearsay to avoid unnecessary damage to children's health. At the same time, when giving medication to children, parents should carefully read the drug instructions to understand the drug's indications, usage and dosage, contraindications and adverse reactions, etc., to ensure the safety of the drug for children.

3. You can’t step on cockroaches, the more you step on them, the more they appear?

gossip:

If you encounter a cockroach, never step on it to death, otherwise your home will be filled with cockroach eggs and the number of cockroaches will increase.

the truth:

This statement is too absolute. If the cockroach is a female and happens to be carrying an egg case that is in the incubation stage, it is possible that the larvae will be expelled prematurely due to the trampling action. If this situation is not intervened, these larvae will soon develop into adult cockroaches. If it is a male cockroach, or the female cockroach does not carry an egg case, then the trampling action will not cause the above problem.

In fact, it is not that cockroaches cannot be stepped on or slapped to death, but the aftermath of stepping on or slapping cockroaches is more important. There are many substances in cockroaches that may cause disease and allergies, in addition to the salmonella, Escherichia coli, and amoeba hepatitis they carry, there are also their own saliva, secretions, feces, etc.

Therefore, if you step on a cockroach, remember to clean up its egg sacs, feces, corpses, etc. to prevent the pheromones it secretes from attracting other cockroaches. At the same time, you must also prevent the remaining eggs from continuing to develop into new cockroaches.

4. Is it because of the injection of hormones that the Enoki mushrooms “reverse their growth” in the refrigerator?

gossip:

If you put Enoki mushrooms in the refrigerator, you will find that they have grown bigger after a few days. This is caused by unscrupulous merchants using excessive hormones.

the truth:

The formation of Flammulina velutipes fruiting bodies requires a relatively low temperature, about 6℃-10℃ is more suitable. The refrigerator not only has a suitable temperature, but also has an ideal humidity and light-proof environment. In addition, the culture medium remaining in the roots of Flammulina velutipes provides nutrients, which creates good conditions for the growth of Flammulina velutipes during cold storage. It is not surprising that the so-called "reverse growth" occurs.

5. “Train hard in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer.” Can exercising in extreme weather conditions improve physical fitness?

gossip:

"Three Nines" and "Three Fu" correspond to the coldest and hottest time periods of the year respectively. Even in bad weather conditions, you should insist on exercising to enhance your physical fitness.

the truth:

Can exercising in extreme weather improve your health? Not really.

It is easy to get dehydrated and suffer from heatstroke if you do outdoor exercise during the dog days, so it is not recommended to do outdoor exercise during the dog days. If you must exercise during the dog days, it is recommended to do it indoors with air conditioning, or wait until the evening or night when it is cooler outside, and drink water every 15 minutes during exercise to prevent heatstroke. The same is true for the coldest days of winter. Cold weather can easily induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In addition, smog is more common in winter, so insisting on outdoor exercise at this time will not be worth the effort.

In addition, this kind of exercise is not suitable for the elderly. The elderly's cardiopulmonary function and adaptability to exercise are much worse than those of young people. Too cold or too hot weather is a big test for the elderly to go out, let alone exercise. It is a good thing to pursue physical fitness, but it must be moderate.

6. Will using the air conditioner all night cause facial paralysis?

gossip:

Many people like to sleep with the air conditioner on during hot weather. Some people find their face is paralyzed after getting up in the morning and think it is caused by the air conditioner or fan at night.

the truth:

This statement lacks scientific basis. Although facial paralysis is a common disease, its cause is still unknown. Current evidence does not support that air conditioning or fans can cause facial paralysis.

Although a small number of less rigorous studies suggest that cold stimulation may be related to facial paralysis, based on existing research evidence, authoritative medical organizations do not accept the view that air conditioning, electric fans or cold wind are one of the causes when explaining the causes of facial paralysis. If there is indeed concern, it is recommended to avoid air conditioning blowing directly on the head.

7. Is it better to take a cold shower in summer to cool down?

gossip:

In the hot summer, you might as well take more cold showers to have a better cooling effect.

the truth:

In fact, a cold shower isn't as effective at cooling you down as a warm shower.

The cooling effect of a cold shower is only temporary. When you first start taking a cold shower, the cold water can indeed take away some of the heat on the surface of the skin, but as the shower progresses, the body can easily misperceive that the "environment is getting colder," thus triggering the "warming mode," which causes the skin's blood vessels to contract and reduce heat dissipation. As a result, the body's core temperature rises, and you feel a hot flash after the shower. Therefore, if the purpose is to cool down, it is more recommended to use warm water close to body temperature (35℃-40℃) for bathing, which is more cooling than taking a cold shower.

In addition, when the weather is hot, the human body is prone to sweating. At this time, the capillaries in the skin are in a dilated state. If you suddenly take a cold shower, it will stimulate the blood vessels to contract, causing discomfort such as poor sweating, palpitations, headaches, etc. Especially the middle-aged and elderly people, as well as those with coronary heart disease, hypertension, a history of stroke and arrhythmia, should try to avoid taking cold showers in the summer.

8. Can choosing good sports equipment improve physical fitness test results?

gossip:

Good sports equipment such as high-tech "carbon plate running shoes" can help children improve their physical fitness test scores in the high school entrance examination.

the truth:

The physical education process assessment of the high school entrance examination is not a "speed race", and parents do not need to buy expensive high-tech "carbon plate running shoes", which cannot be a "life-saving straw" for children to improve their physical education scores. Although high-tech running shoes do help improve running results in terms of design and materials, they are more suitable for runners who have undergone relatively long-term training. For untrained people, especially ordinary children, it may not only be useless, but may even cause foot injuries.

The physical test in the high school entrance exam is a comprehensive assessment of students' physical fitness and daily physical exercise results. Equipment is not the decisive factor. Daily scientific training and persistence are the key to improving grades. If you rely on expensive running shoes to improve your grades, you are missing the point.

9. The tip of the tongue tastes sweet, while the root of the tongue tastes bitter?

gossip:

There is a "taste map" on the tongue, specifically "the tip of the tongue tastes sweet, the back of the tongue tastes bitter, and the sides of the tongue feel sour and salty."

the truth:

Although this saying has been around for a long time, there is no "taste map" on the tongue. The method of testing is also very simple. We use the tip of the tongue to try sour, sweet, salty, and bitter soups, and then we will find that there is not much difference in their perception on the tip of the tongue.

Each taste bud usually contains about 100 closely packed taste receptor cells that can sense sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. Scientists have discovered that taste is actually sensed through taste receptor cells distributed on the taste buds. Among them, saltiness and sourness are sensed through ion channel receptors, while bitterness, sweetness and umami are sensed through G protein-coupled receptors. In the taste buds on the tongue, there is no significant regional difference in the distribution of these taste receptor cells.

The monthly "science" rumor list is guided by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology, the Beijing Municipal Cyberspace Administration, and the Capital Internet Association, and jointly released by the Beijing Science and Technology Journalists and Editors Association and the Beijing Regional Website Joint Rumor-Refuting Platform, and is supported by the Science and Technology Journalists and Editors Professional Committee of the China Science Writers Association, the China Evening News Science Editors and Journalists Association, the Shanghai Science Communication Association, and the Institute of Science and Technology Information of the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology.

Sources of this issue: People's Daily Online Science Popularization, Science Popularization China, Beijing Daily Client, "Science Rumors Refutation" WeChat Official Account, Xiamen Daily, Tencent Jiuzhen, Healthy China, CCTV Life Circle, "Beijing News Commentary" WeChat Official Account