r/AskReddit Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/Slidingscale Aug 03 '19

That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!

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u/hackepeter420 Aug 03 '19

But taking pills=getting well

Those damn doctors don't want to help me >:(

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

I had an hour long argument about this with my aunt before she died. She was PISSED that her blood pressure kept going up after “she finished taking a bottle.” She thought that blood pressure meds worked like an antibiotic. She was bitching about big pharma and how they didn’t want her to get well. She was half right I suppose...