Despite what your mom may have told you when you were younger, you will not catch a cold from going to bed with your hair wet. Dr. Charles Smith, of the Family and Preventative Medicine Department at UAMS, said that there is no medical evidence to prove that this is true. Wet hair does not cause a […]

According to Dr. Joseph Chacko, director of neuro-ophthalmology at UAMS, your mom was right when she told you to eat carrots for your eyes. “I don’t think it is a myth,” he said. “Carrots and other colorful vegetables have lots of vitamin A which helps the retina to function. We want our patients to eat […]

Parents see their children sucking their thumb and may ask, “Will this cause problems later?” Thumb and finger sucking is a common behavior among children under 5 years of age. Thumb sucking normally does not cause a problem for young children and most children stop on their own. However, thumb sucking beyond the age of […]

The answer is yes, but not for the reasons you think. On its own, sugar won’t hurt your teeth. Sugar is naturally occurring in most foods and is used by our bodies for energy. However, there is a lot of bacteria in our mouths. And it’s the bacteria that actually causes cavities. Bacteria feeds on […]

Despite what Popeye led a lot of young people to believe, spinach is not particularly rich in iron. In reality, it has about the same iron content as many other green vegetables, according to Dr. Philip Kern, M.D., Department of Endocrinology/ Metabolism at UAMS. “Spinach also contains oxalic acid, which prevents more than 90 percent […]

Not only is it a bad idea to starve a fever, it will hinder your ability to recover from the cold according to Philip Kern, M.D., Department of Endocrinology/Metabolism at UAMS. “Drinking plenty of fluids is important since fever promotes fluid loss from the body and dehydration can result,” Dr. Kern says. While drinking or […]

“You cannot get the flu from a flu shot or the nasal-spray vaccine,” says Dr. Charles Smith, of the Family and Preventive Medicine Department at UAMS. The best way to avoid getting the flu is to get the influenza vaccine, available by shot or by nasal spray, each fall before the flu season starts. “The […]

This is partly true, partly myth. The poison ivy rash itself is not contagious, according to the Dermatology Clinic at UAMS. Neither will fluid from the blisters of a poison ivy rash spread poison ivy. A poison ivy rash is caused by contact with urushiol, the oil from the leaves of the poison ivy plant. […]

According to Robert Bradsher, M.D., Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UAMS, colds are really upper respiratory infections and can result from more than 200 different viruses. These include the rhinoviruses, the group most often associated with the common cold, which primarily affects the nose and throat.  Cold weather usually makes people stay indoors, […]

According to the Dermatology Clinic at UAMS, it is very important to immediately cool the skin after receiving a burn. This helps stop the damage from the burning process. Putting butter or other greasy ointments on a burn may actually make things worse, since the grease will slow the release of heat from the skin. This […]