7 things your mother told you that aren’t true

This story is sponsored by the Nevada Health Link.

They’re called old wives' tales, but they might be more accurately labeled as old mothers’ tales. They consist of folksy wisdom primarily passed from mothers to their children — sometimes for generations. Unfortunately, many stories treated as gospel don’t stand up to scrutiny.

In other words, some of the things your sweet mother taught you are wrong. Chances are your mother was not intentionally lying to you; she simply did not realize the information passed on to her was false.

Here are some examples.

You can catch a cold from getting chilled

Several studies have shown this to be false. “The only way to catch a cold is by being exposed to a cold virus,” reports webmd.com. “Cold air may irritate an existing condition, such as asthma, which would weaken your immunity. This could make your body more receptive to a cold virus, but only if you come in contact with it.”

Sitting too close to the TV can ruin your eyesight

This one was briefly true. Prior to the 1950s, some televisions emitted levels of radiation that could harm one’s eyes after extensive exposure, according to livescience.com. The issue was quickly fixed and while prolonged television viewing today could potentially cause minor eye fatigue, the problem can easily be resolved by resting your eyes.

Cracking your knuckles can cause arthritis

“There is no evidence that cracking knuckles causes any damage such as arthritis in the joints,” reports the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center. One study found people who habitually cracked their knuckles for many years may have reduced grip strength compared with people who do not crack their knuckles.

If you touch a toad you’ll get warts

Toads have dry, lumpy skin with bumps that can look like human warts. Warts actually come from viruses. While they cannot be transmitted from frogs or toads, webmd.com reports people can get warts from direct contract with someone who has them — by shaking hands, for example. Areas with cuts, scrapes or skin damage are especially susceptible to transferring the virus.

Eating too much chocolate can cause acne

No study has ever linked chocolate, pizza, potato chips or any other food to acne, according to the Acne Resource Center. Acne comes from “overactive oil glands, heredity, dead skin cells that lodge in skin pores and hormonal changes,” the center reports. “Recent scientific studies have suggested chocolate boosts the serotonin in the brain that produces a calming effect and stability. Stress has been identified as a cause of acne. If chocolate stimulates the serotonin and calms the nerves, then chocolate could ironically be found to assist in acne restraint.”

Signing up for health care coverage is hard

In Nevada you are not left to navigate the process on your own. There are people statewide trained to help you sign up for coverage—and this assistance is free. Simply go online at nevadahealthlink.com and enter your ZIP code to find a location where you can sit down with a real person who will help you enroll for health insurance.

Finding out if you qualify for health care assistance is a hassle

With the prescreening tool, it’s simple for Nevada residents to find out if they could qualify for subsidized health coverage. You just answer six questions, and the tool provides application information for all the assistance you may qualify to receive.

No matter what your mother might have told you about health care coverage, the procedure isn’t frightening. When you use nevadahealthlink.com you can be assured that you are shopping safely and locally for a plan that best fits your individual needs. And the in-person assistance that is available statewide can help get all your questions answered. The open enrollment period began Nov. 1 and continues through Jan. 31, 2016. To get the true and accurate information, visit nevadahealthlink.com.