Do UV lamps in nail bars cause skin cancer? Does lavender improve sleep/does listening to radio, music or podcasts make a difference to sleep? Does cycling damage men’s genitals? 

Researchers at University of Galway have marked one year of a project designed to tackle healthcare myths and help the public to quickly and easily check the reliability of popular health claims through the online resource iHealthFacts.ie.  Using scientific evidence, such as trusted health sources and peer-reviewed studies, the research team analyses information in order to support or refute a healthcare claim.

Dr Paula Byrne, lead researcher with iHealthfacts spoke to us about how it works, their methods and why the answers to health questions are important for our understanding of health science.

Over the last year, more than 4,500 users have visited iHealthFacts.ie; more than 150 questions have been submitted; and the researchers have assessed, answered or are analysing 60 claims about things that can improve our health.