Consumer

“Moodoff Day” Raises Awareness of Smartphone Addiction

February 27, 2012

An Australian non-profit has struck a small blow against the pervasive use of smartphones. For five hours on Sunday morning, people around the world stopped using their phones to text, call, email or browse the Internet. How many participated in “Moodoff Day” on February 26th may never be known, but organizers say they had supporters in [...]

Can Tylenol Mend a Broken Heart?

February 27, 2012

Researchers have found that a painkiller widely used to treat headaches can also help mend emotional pain from a broken heart. That surprising discovery emerged during a study by neuroscientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Researchers were looking at brain scans of people who experienced social rejection when they realized how similar [...]

Food Allergy: A National and Deadly Problem

February 21, 2012

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 [...]

Chronic Pain Apps Make Pain Relief Just a Phone Call Away

February 13, 2012

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 [...]

Common Household Chemicals and Plastics May be Harming Children

February 9, 2012

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 [...]

Drug Company seeks FDA Approval for Marijuana Spray as Painkiller

January 30, 2012

: 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 [...]

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

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 [...]

Pharmacists: Time to Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet

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 [...]

Red or White? Choosing the Right Wine Can Lower Breast Cancer Risk

January 10, 2012

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, [...]

Heavy Coffee Drinking During Pregnancy Could Reduce Son’s Semen

December 21, 2011

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 [...]

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →