Consumer

Food Allergy: A National and Deadly Problem

by Special to American News Report on February 21, 2012

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Max Rosland, a 7-year-old elementary school student from Carter Lake, Iowa, was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine last month because of a severe allergic reaction to a peanut he ate at school. He survived. Ammaria Johnson, a first-grader from Richmond, Virginia went into anaphylactic shock and tragically died January 2 after eating a peanut [...]

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Chronic Pain Apps Make Pain Relief Just a Phone Call Away

by Loralee Erickson on February 13, 2012

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Managing chronic pain has gotten less painful – or at least easier to keep track of. Born out Damon Lynn’s own painful experience, “My Pain Diary” is an iphone app designed specifically to help people track their pain. It’s one of several apps on the market that help chronic pain sufferers document their symptoms and [...]

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Common Household Chemicals and Plastics May be Harming Children

by Loralee Erickson on February 9, 2012

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Laurie Kerkinni is a busy mother of four boys in Lakeville, Minnesota. Like many parents, she strives to bring healthy food home to her family. But Kerkinni’s concern about health goes beyond just food – she worries about cleansers, detergents, even shower curtains — common household chemicals and plastics that are an everyday part of [...]

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: Sativex is administered orally in a mouth spray. If given FDA approval, sales could begin in the U.S. by the end of 2013. Photo courtesy of GW.

A British pharmaceutical company hopes to begin selling the world’s first marijuana based prescription drug in the U.S. by the end of 2013. GW Pharmaceuticals has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve the use of Sativex as a treatment for severe cancer pain. Sativex is a mouth spray that contains a formulation of [...]

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Protecting Your Pet: The Story of a Pill Popping Pet Pig

by Eric Norwood on January 16, 2012

A teacup pig named Crispy Bacon survived a potentially fatal dose of human heart medication. Photo by Teresa Prause

A pet pig named “Crispy Bacon” taught his owner a lesson that many parents already know: prescription drugs should be kept locked up and out of sight. Teresa Praus of Las Vegas, Nevada recently came home to find a partially chewed and empty bottle of human heart medication. Her pet teacup pig had eaten all [...]

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Pharmacists: Time to Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet

by Ariel Carmona Jr. on January 12, 2012

Pharmacists recommend that consumers throw out any medication that has passed its expiration date or hasn’t been used in a year.

Nestled amid the leftover sticks of Old Spice deodorant, bottles of aftershave, packs of flexible bandages and tiny bottles of mouthwash is a moldy flask containing a mysterious-looking cherry red liquid. Upon closer inspection, the bottle appears to be some kind of sore throat spray. But the label is battered and the expiration date barely [...]

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Women who drink a glass of red wine nightly may reduce their risk of breast cancer according to a new study. Photo by Ildar Sagdejev

Drinking a glass of red wine could reduce one of the risk factors for breast cancer, according to a new study in the Journal of Women’s Health. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that women who drank eight ounces of red wine every night for a month had lower levels of estrogen, [...]

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The study found that the fertility of a man’s semen declined if his mother drank five or more cups of coffee a day while pregnant. Photo: Julius Schorzman

A son who is exposed to his mother’s heavy coffee drinking while she is pregnant is more likely to have poorer semen quality later in life, according to a new study by the Public Health Institute. The study, which appears in the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, found “clear evidence” that the [...]

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Best and Worst? A study of children’s cereals found that many contain more sugar than cupcakes. A bowl of Kellogg’s Honey Smacks has more sugar than a Hostess Twinkie. Researchers rated General Mills’ Cheerios as one of the best cereals for children.

Twinkies for breakfast? Not on your kid’s life! They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So many parents fuel up their kids with a hearty serving of cereal and confidently send them out into the world. A closer look at the nutrition label on the cereal box may give them second [...]

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Small Overdoses of Tylenol Can Be Deadly

by Pat Anson on December 14, 2011

To reduce the risk of accidental overdose, the makers of Tylenol lowered the recommended daily dose from 4,000 mg per day to 3,000 mg per day. For people taking Extra Strength Tylenol, that means a maximum of 6 tablets per day instead of 8 tablets. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images @Dalife

Taking too much Tylenol or acetaminophen over several days can have dangerous side effects and may even cause a fatal overdose, according to a recent study. Over 50 million people in the U.S. use acetaminophen each week to treat a variety of ailments, including acute and chronic pain and for the reduction of fever. The [...]

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