being ill

I used to confuse cancer and astma. I said to everybody: 'My brother has cancer!'

marijke

Once, after a very bad flight, I felt sick in my stomach, and I told my mom. She replied that it was probably because the flight was turbulent. After that, I always called throwing up turbulence.

Anon

When I was a child I believed my father when he told me that sniffling would make my mucous go up into my brain so I had better use a tissue and blow my nose instead.

Geminye

When I was little and had an ear infection I used to tell my parents I had a mouse in my ear.

Alison

i always thought that when someone broke their arm or leg, it would fall off.

Anon

When I was young I believed throwing up took place by all the gross throw up being piled up on a platform and then delivered up to your mouth much like an elevator.

C.R.

My four year old son became ill at preschool and I had to go and retrieve him. He heard the teacher tell me that he had diarrhea (he heard die-aria) and he asked me if that meant he was going to die. Poor little guy!

Mom

I used to believe that when people said they'd 'split their head open' they'd cut it right down the middle and your brain and blood and stuff hung out until the nurse hoisted them all back in and sealed your head again!

ani

When I was 6, I needed 2 teeth out and had an aneasthetic injection in my hand to get me to sleep ( I hate the things! ). They told me that the stuff in the injection was 'butterfly milk' for some reason and I believed them so everytime I saw a butterfly, I was worried that if it landed on me I might get this 'butterfly milk' on me and fall to sleep.

The butterfly effect

i use to belive that whenever i had a headache then my head would explode until i was 10

Eryn

One day, while I was in preschool, I had a sore through. I had been playing outside earlier in the day and remembered there being a lot of ant hills around. before story time, I was telling my friend next to me how my throat hurt and it felt like a swallowed an ant (which I would never intentially do as a child, I wouldn't even eat food off the floor), and the thing was still moving around. Immediately my friend told the teacher that I swallowed an ant. I tried to explain to her that I was describing how my throat felt, not what I actually did, but I couldn't find the right words to explain. Everyone believed that I was a moron who ate bugs.

a few days later I found out from the doctor that the feeling I had was because I had strep throat.

icarusxfemme

I used to think that if a baby was born with an ear infection, it's mother would hold it upside down and tickle it, like some bizarre way of curing it.

Anon

Circa 7 years old, I had a horrible habit of chewing on my hair. It was a nervous habit, but one that I enjoyed, so I pretty much chewed my hair throughout most of any given day.

Eventually, my mother grew tired of telling me to stop, so instead, she started telling me that I would get herpes from chewing my hair.

Yes, herpes.

At the time, I didn't know what herpes was, but it sounded bad.

I stopped chewing my hair.

Fast-forward a few years, jr. high, my first sexual education class. The teacher was talking about STDs and asked the class, "Who here knows anything about herpes?"

"I do, I have it," I responded.

The class errupted, and the teacher was shocked. I went on to explain that I'd caught it from chewing my hair.. to which more laughter came.

My teacher called my mother, explained the situation and verified that in fact, I did not have herpes.

My mother denied the whole thing up to her death a few years ago.

Go figure.

Cior

I used to believe my father when he told me that if I sat on cold concrete I would get hemorrhoids.

Anon

My friend told me when i was 10 that if i shaved my arms i would get cancer. I went on believing this for years. I never thought shaving my legs would be a problem..but my arms were a no no!

Sharon

I used to believe (thanks to a friend who's mom had breast cancer) that you could get breast cancer by wearing a bra to sleep at night!

Anon

When I in Primary School I was told that TCP was made from Tom Cat's Piss (hence the initials). I believed this for far too long!

Anon

When I was in elementary school I heard a story on the news about how they thought cancer was connected to "genes". I thought they meant "jeans" so I refused to wear them.

Heather

When I was younger, my mom told me that my neighbor Laura had chicken pox, and not to get near her because she might give them to me.

I pictured Laura walking around with fried chicken, offering to everyone she met on the street to try and get them sick.

Laurie

when i was about 6 we were on a family holiday, visiting relatives. My sister was complaining to my mother of a sharp stinging sensation in her stomach. I overheard my mother say to her 'its probably just indigestion'. Later that day, I noticed a sharp stinging sensation in my legs and so I was talking to a cousin (that we were visiting) told her about my sore legs. I said in that all-knowing way 'its probably nothing serious, just a bit of indigestion' - my aunt and mother overhearing the conversation burst out laughing.

jc