claim: Swallowed chewing gum sticks to the stomach.
Assessment: Incorrect.
The German Society for Digestive and Metabolic Disorders (DGVS) gives it all: “Chewing gum does not stick to the teeth in the mouth and does not stick to the esophagus or stomach walls when swallowed. Nor later in the small and large intestines.”
But why not? After all, gum also sticks to school desks – and it’s not easy to get it out of your hair either. “The mucous membranes of the entire digestive tract are covered by a film of liquid that prevents this,” says doctor and DGVS spokesperson Birgit Terjung. The digestible components are broken down by acids and enzymes – and do not obstruct the stomach. The so-called indigestible chewing gum base, which makes the chewing gum sticky and rubbery, is excreted in bowel movements.
claim: Intentional strabismus can last forever.
Assessment: Incorrect.
Strabismus is a permanent or recurring misalignment of one or both eyes, as the Professional Association of German Ophthalmologists (BVA) writes. The eyes do not look in the same direction. In order for us to see spatially, both eyes must look at the same place. According to the BVA, a slightly different image is created in both eyes. These two images merge in the brain to form a single visual impression.
When people squint, their visual axes are not in the same place. “The difference between the two images provided by the eyes becomes very large. They can no longer be properly aligned in the brain”, writes the association. As a result, spatial perception is not possible and those affected see disturbing double images. A “temporary, intentional, conscious and usually tense squint” leads to double vision, but usually does not cause permanent damage, according to ophthalmologist Horst Helbig at the University Hospital Regensburg.
claim: Reading in the dark harms your eyes.
Assessment: TRUE.
“Reading in dim light in childhood is considered a risk factor for the development or worsening of myopia”, says ophthalmologist Helbig. In a 2014 study conducted by the Queensland University of Technology, researchers came to the following conclusion: children who spend more time outdoors in bright light have better vision than those who do so less frequently. They are often short-sighted.
claim: Whoever sits crooked becomes hunchbacked.
Assessment: Incorrect.
To avoid back problems, perfect posture is not necessarily important. It’s more about getting enough exercise in everyday life, says Bernd Kladny, general secretary of the German Society for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery (DGOU). People need muscles to stabilize their spine – and exercise is important for this. You have to move away from the only idea of the correct posture for sitting and standing, towards a straight back. Children “have to sit crooked for a long time to make them hunchbacked. That doesn’t happen when they spend an afternoon sitting idly doing homework.”