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Toxic Kisses: Lead in Lipstick Still Center of Controversy
A sultry red may be the perfect hue to paint your pucker this Valentine’s Day, but lipstick enthusiasts beware: your favorite shade of crimson could make you, and possibly even your kissable date, sick. An alarming 55% of drugstore and department store lipsticks tested positive for detectable traces of lead, some as high as 3.22 [...] Continue reading
Jogging Can Add Years to Your Life
Regular jogging – between one and two-and-a-half hours per week at a “slow or average” pace ¬ – increased the life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years, according to a study conducted by Copenhagen City Heart. “The results of our research allow us to definitively answer the question of whether [...] Continue reading
Botulism Bummer: Canning Your Own Food Carries Health Risk
If the sluggish economy has been good for anything, it has taught many Americans to move away from mass consumerism and learn how to do more with less. The recession brought a resurgence in trends such as upcycling, the DIY revolution, the locavore movement, and embracing those nearly lost home economics skills that you swore [...] Continue reading
Preparing for the Unexpected: Responding to an Active Shooter
Every time a mass shooting occurs, Americans express an outpouring of compassion and sympathy for the victims and their families, but these senseless crimes also expose the fragility of life and the vulnerability of everyone’s safety. The midnight shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater claimed at least 12 lives and wounded nearly 60 and [...] Continue reading
GlaxoSmithKline to Pay $3 Billion in Record-Breaking Healthcare Fraud Case
Just in case Americans needed any more reason to question their healthcare options and treatment plans, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is involved in the largest healthcare fraud case in United States history. GSK will be fined a record $3 billion to settle charges of unethical and fraudulent prescription drug marketing and withholding drug safety information [...] Continue reading
We Don’t Swim in Your Toilet: One in Five Pee in the Pool
There is no lack of television and film parodies on the dirty not-so-secret contaminants of public pools. This Memorial Day weekend, the Water Quality & Health Council (WQHC) recommends swimmers take at least one simple precaution to ensure sanitary shared pool water – take a shower before you get in the pool. A WQHC survey [...] Continue reading
Keep Out of Reach: Number of Kids Swallowing Batteries Doubles
Once babies finally become mobile, watch out – they will put anything in their mouths, ears, and nose. From household objects to seemingly harmless baby essentials like pacifiers, bottles and sippy cups, children seem to find a way of injuring themselves with just about anything. According to a study published in Pediatrics, button batteries are [...] Continue reading
Ick Factor: Not All Grocery Bags Should Be Reused
These days, just about any household object could be a potential source of bacteria, viruses, and infection. We know we should regularly disinfect our cell phones, door handles, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, but here’s a new one: reusable grocery bags. Perhaps they shouldn’t always be reused. Warning: Germaphobes and those with little tolerance for the [...] Continue reading
Number of Babies Born With Opiate Withdrawal Triples Over Last Decade
Despite all the natural, home birth, and cloth diaper trends growing in popularity among mothers today, researchers are still seeing an increase in babies being born with symptoms of opiate withdrawal due to maternal drug use during pregnancy and at the time of delivery. A study published in the Journal of American Medical Association, conducted [...] Continue reading
Erectile Dysfunction Drug Recalled Due to Drug Interaction
You know those fast-talking, nearly unintelligible disclaimers at the end of pharmaceutical ads? Turns out you should probably pay attention to those disclaimers, especially when they warn against possible drug interactions. But what happens if you are taking supplements or over-the-counter drugs that don’t require listing lengthy disclaimers? Men using the over-the-counter erectile dysfunction supplement [...] Continue reading