Do you think it's rude... ?

Do you think it's rude to correct people when you see/hear them repeating myths or old wives tales that you know are not true?

For example, you always hear people say to put nail polish on "chigger" bites. This won't do a thing, because the mite doesn't embed itself into your skin, nor does it lay it's eggs in you. Pointing out this fact, usually results in a full-blown assault by dozens of die-hard nail-polish users who are quick to defend their grandmother's honor. They'll all claim they've used this method for years and "it works"! (What they mean by "works" is a little vague. I'm assuming the bites eventually go away, and they contribute this to the use of nail polish.) Duct-tape a family-size canister of Creamora to your chigger bite. I guarantee it will go away, but calamine or hydrocortisone would be a far better choice.

Do you correct people when you hear these myths repeated? Or do you ignore it and let the myths continue to propagate?

I sometimes do both, people most of the time know myths the way they we taught. I have a friend who mother grew up in the deep southwho says to put used chewing tabbaco on a bee sting. My mother who grew up in the north, was taught to put toothpaste on it.
But no I don't think its rude to say "oh really? this is the one I was told"

LOL, so many people have what they believe to be the "cure" for alot of things. Not everything is true and most of it comes from the fact that they really have very little knowledge of what contributes to the reaction, disease and so on. The "cures" the great grandma and so forth passed down was because of this non-knowledge base and not being able to afford a doctor everytime someone was ill. Most real cures, preventatives, and syptoms reducers have only come about in the last century with advances in knowledge of how everything truly works.

I had to laugh when at 17 and pregnant, my ex-in-laws (who were from the South) told me that I could not take a bath or wash my hair while I was pregnant. Their reasoning was that the baby breathes through the pores of your skin, and by washing your hair, you were putting your arms above your head and would strangle the baby with it's own umbilical cord. My reply to them was, well that is what you all believe from the South, and if you want to go down South and be funky for 9 months, then have at it. But, this is the North and I know better and certainly am not going stinky & funky for the 9 months. I then asked them what they thought the baby was swimming in for 9 months anyhow? They just stared at me with the "Deer in the Headlights" look.

I guess it would all come down to how you went about telling them that there are better means to treat things. You could even print out some factual information for them so they can see with their own eyes were some of the myths they thought were true are really no better than doing nothing at all and just completely wrong.

Donna wrote:

I sometimes do both, people most of the time know myths the way they we taught. I have a friend who mother grew up in the deep southwho says to put used chewing tabbaco on a bee sting. My mother who grew up in the north, was taught to put toothpaste on it.
But no I don't think its rude to say "oh really? this is the one I was told"

good answer. when it comes to traditions and things passed down from generation to generation however it is a good idea to respect that. But maybe put some insight on what things we ourselves do instead. Like " hey have you ever tried this?" the way things are said are often taken in different ways. I myself tend to be very blunt at times and can be taken in a way I really didnt mean.

If I have a problem and someone gives me an old wives tale, I'm just likely to try it out, lol. Just according to how extreme it is, I won't do anything really foolish. But I've lived long enough to know that the old wives tales originated from somewhere, and JUST might have something to them. I have seen some that really work that you wouldn't believe, and I've had other people tell me some that worked for them that I would never try. For instance, I am highly allergic to poison ivy. My boyfriend tells me he use to be allergic to it, but after eating one of the leaves he has never been bothered by it again. And he can walk thru it and not break out, but I do when I wash his clothes that still has the oil from the leaves. But I still am not going to eat a leave. It would probably end me in the hospital.

teddybare812 wrote:

If I have a problem and someone gives me an old wives tale, I'm just likely to try it out, lol. Just according to how extreme it is, I won't do anything really foolish. But I've lived long enough to know that the old wives tales originated from somewhere, and JUST might have something to them. I have seen some that really work that you wouldn't believe, and I've had other people tell me some that worked for them that I would never try. For instance, I am highly allergic to poison ivy. My boyfriend tells me he use to be allergic to it, but after eating one of the leaves he has never been bothered by it again. And he can walk thru it and not break out, but I do when I wash his clothes that still has the oil from the leaves. But I still am not going to eat a leave. It would probably end me in the hospital.

Yeah, I don't think I'd try that either!

My sister-in-law swears she got rid of a wart by rubbing a potato on it, and then placing the potato in a box and burying it. She also claims if anyone finds the box and opens it, that they'll get a wart... rofl!

great thought and advice all.