Myth: Drinking alcohol keeps you warm

While drinking an alcoholic drink can make you feel warmer, the truth is that it actually can cause heat loss.  If out in a cold environment, consuming alcohol can lead to fatal hypothermia.

Alcohol makes your blood vessels dilate and cause warm blood to move closer to the surface of your skin. This process can make you temporarily feel warmer.  Simultaneously however, those same veins pumping blood closer to the skin’s surface decreases core body temperature – which you need to survive.

Myth: Poinsettias are poisonous to pets and young children

During the holidays, the poinsettia takes centre stage and often a bad rep for being highly toxic. The popular red-leaf plant, however, is only mildly toxic to cats, dogs and young children. Poinsettias belong to the Euphorbia family, and the most problematic component of the plant is the irritant found in  its milky white sap. 

While poinsettias are commonly “hyped” as poisonous plants, they rarely are, and the poisoning is greatly exaggerated. When ingested, mild signs of vomiting, drooling, or rarely, diarrhea may be seen. If the milky sap is exposed to skin, dermal irritation (including redness, swelling, and itchiness) may develop.

Rarely, eye exposure can result in mild irritation. Signs are generally self-limiting and typically do not require medical treatment unless severe and persistent.