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Synthetic estrogen exposure found in store receipts

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The Environmental Working Group has just released lab tests showing the synthetic estrogen BPA is found in high levels on cash register receipts. Bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to cancer, abnormal reproductive system development, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and asthma. It also causes epigenetic changes meaning that the effects of BPA can be passed on to future generations.

Health professionals and scientists have been trying to get BPAs banned from food packaging to prevent BPAs from leaching into infant formulas, canned foods, and beverages. This new discovery shows that major retailers are using BPA contaminated paper in their receipts including: McDonald’s, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, Walmart, Safeway, and the US Postal Service. However, many receipts contain little or no BPAs such as those at Target, Starbucks, and Bank of America ATMs. BPAs can be directly absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that over 90% of US citizens over the age of 6 have BPAs in th bloodstream. People working in retail have 30% more BPAs than the average US adult. This is approximately 7 million people. BPA-free receipts are available but are not required. In Japan, the Japan Paper Association eliminated the use of BPAs in paper by 2003. In Wisconsin, the largest thermal paper manufacturer, Appleton Papers, discontinued the use of BPAs in their papers.

 

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MIchelle Obama: Cut Health Insurance Deductibles & Co-Pays

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First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new preventative health care program wherein many medical services will be provided by insurance companies without a deductible, co-pay, or co-insurance. The estimated cost savings by initiating preventative healthcare is expected to exceed $100 billion per year. Over 100,000 deaths per year will be prevented by increasing access to “colorectal and breast cancer screening, flu vaccines, counseling to help them quit smoking, and regular aspirin use to prevent stroke,” according to Secretary Sebelius. As of September 23, 2010, new rules will force private health insurance plans to remove the extras fees such as deductibles and co-pays for preventative healthcare services on new health insurance plans. These rules are a direct result of the comprehensive helath care reform package that was recently signed into law by President Obama.

Michelle Obama noted that “too many people aren’t getting the checkups and screenings they need to prevent cancer.” She adds that this reform will help lower costs and hold insurance companies accountable and “it will give our families the security that our insurance coverage will be there when we need it most.” Michelle Obama notes that healthcare reform “makes it illegal to drop your coverage when you get sick or to drop your children from a plan due to a preexisting condition” and that “the best way to control healthcare costs is to prevent people from getting sick.” She listed a few of the services that will no longer be subject to co-pays and deductibles on new private healthcare insurance plans: high blood pressure treatment, measuring BMI (body mass index), mammograms, colonoscopies, cervical screenings, childhood immunizations. Michelle Obama paid special attention to BMI measurements as a means to reduce childhood obesity noting that this health issue is urgently needing attention.

 

CDC Warns that MMRV Vaccine Doubles Seizure Risk

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The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reports that their ongoing study reveals that children who get an MMRV vaccine are “twice as likely to have a febrile seizure 7-10 days after getting the shot than children who get MMR and varicella vaccines (2 shots) at the same health care visit.” These concerns affect doctors and nurses concerning publich health and education policies. The MMRV shot is the measles-mumps-rubella-chickenpox combination vaccine and febrile means “relating to fever.”

MMRV vs. MMR Safety
The MMRV vaccine caused 77 febrile seizures out of a sample size of 63,000 children. That is a rate of approximately 1.2 children out of every 1,000 who will have seizures due to the vaccine. The study also looked at children who received the MMR vaccine and a separate V vaccine on the same day instead of the four-in-one combination vaccine. The MMR + V two-shot combination caused 174 febrile seizures out of a sample size of 376,000 children. This is approximately 1 child out of every 2,000 who experience this adverse side effect. The four-in-one MMRV has approximately doubled the chance that a child will have a febrile seizure compared with the two shot combination of MMR + V. The CDC also notes that “children who receive the MMR vaccine are more likely to have febrile seizures 8-14 days after vaccination than children who are not vaccinated at all.”

ProQuad is the trade name for the MMRV vaccine produced by Merk pharmaceuticals. It is licensed for use in children from the ages of 12 months to 12 years old. One in five children have the following side effects from the vaccine: soreness or swelling at the injection site, fever, and rash. The MMRV four-in-one combination shot has a higher incidence of fever and rash compared with using 2 separate shots (MMR + V) to achieve the same level of vaccination protection. The CDC notes that “febrile seizures cannot be prevented” due to the MMRV vaccine.

MMRV Side-Effects
MMRV vaccine combines the attenuated MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) with the chickenpox vaccine (varicella). It is often given to children between 1 and 2 years of age. ProQuad side effects are rare but include allergic reactions, difficulty breathing and closing of the throat, hives, weakness, paleness, dizziness, a rapid heart beat, deafness, long-term seizures, coma, brain damage, febrile seizures, acute and chronic arthritis, and a temporarily low platelet count.

MMR Vaccine Development
The measles and mumps component of the vaccine are grown in hens’ eggs and from chicken embryo cell cultures. These strains of the virus are less virulent than those affecting human cells and are therefore called attenuated strains. The rubella (German measles) component of the vaccine is propagated using a cell line developed from human embryonic lung tissue originally from aborted human fetuses.

Chickenpox-Only Vaccine
The chickenpox component of the vaccine (varicella) contains live attenuated virus. In the US, 9.7 million doses of the chickenpox-only vaccine were distributed between 1995 and 1998. 6,580 reports of adverse effects were reported and only 4% were determined to be serious side effects. About ⅔ of the side effects occurred in children under the age of 10. Rashes were the most commonly reported side effect. Serious side effects were rare but included encephalitis, ataxia, erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, pneumonia, thrombocytopenia, seizures, neuropathy, and herpes zoster.

Public Health Policy
Public health policy weighs the risks of contracting measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox against the risks of adverse effects due to vaccinations. The CDC opines that the dangers of illness due contracting the live diseases is greater than the risk of side effects due to vaccinations. The FDA is responsible for approving the types of vaccines made available to the US public. Evidence suggests that separate vaccines for each disease may be safer than combination vaccines. In Japan, MMR vaccination has been discontinued and has been replaced with single vaccines for each disease. Many healthcare professionals in the US are concerned that if individual vaccines are made available that many children will not receive immunizations for all four diseases. Therefore, a combination vaccine ensures that children are protected from measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox simultaneously without any risk that they may not receive all of these shots individually. However, this also increases the risk of side effects due to the vaccination process. Nursing professionals and doctors can base their educational recommendations on balance between broader public health concerns and the individual health concerns of each patient.

 

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CPSC Recalls Sony VAIO Laptop Computers due to Burn Hazard

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The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Sony Electronics Inc. of San Diego, California; has recalled 233,000 Sony VAIO laptop computers due to the possibility of burn hazards. The computers may overheat and reports of units overheating resulting in deformed keyboards and casings prompted the recall. The overheating problem is caused by a malfunction of the computer’s internal temperature management system. These computers were sold from January 2010 to April 2010 at places such as: Best Buy, Sony Style, Costco, Frys, and Amazon.com . They came in many colors and are part of the VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series of notebook computers. Owners can check with Sony to see if their computer is part of the recall at telephone number 866-496-7669. These computers were manufactured in China and the United States, have VAIO clearly marked on the outside panel, and it is illegal to resell the affected units. The US CPSC urges consumers to discontinue using these units and to perform an update on the BIOS firmware to remedy this hazard. Consumers can call Sony or visit a Sony Style retail store for help with installing the update. This firmware update fixes the overheating problem in all of the affected computers. Instructions for the firmware update are available at http://esupport.sony.com/US/f1cw2update . To date, no injuries have been reported. However, both Sony and the US CPSC warm against using these computers until the firmware update has been performed.

 

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EPA issues ozone warning for New England

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EPA Alert

The EPA has issued a warning for residents of coastal Connecticut, the entire state of Rhode Island, and south coastal Massachusetts due to excessively “unhealthy air quality” predicted for July 24. For Massachusetts, this includes Cape Cod and the islands. EPA’s New England administrator, Curt Spalding, states that “EPA and the medical community suggest that people limit their strenuous outdoor activity.” Ground-level ozone is expected to exceed healthy limits which prompted the official warning by the EPA. Children and those with respiratory conditions are at the highest risk of damage due to elevated ozone levels.

Medical Conditions

The EPA has just released information that New England has had 19 days in 2010 wherein ozone has reached unhealthy levels. EPA states that elevated ozone levels may lead to “serious breathing problems, aggravate asthma and other pre-existing lung diseases, and make people more susceptible to respiratory infection.”

Public Action Urged

The EPA notes that ground-level ozone is created by the interaction of volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen with sunlight. The majority of this pollution is created by cars, trucks, buses and fossil fuel electric power plants. Other contributors include gasoline stations, prints shops, paints and cleaners, and lawn & garden equipment. The EPA has requested that the public take action by using public transportation, car pooling, refueling cars at night to reduce escaping gasoline vapors coming into contact with sunlight, and avoiding the use of small gasoline engine equipment such as lawn mowers, chain saws, and leaf blowers.

Areas Hit Hardest

Nearly all of the high ozone level days have occurred in July for New England. However, areas of Connecticut such as Cornwall, Danbury, and Middletown had elevated levels of ozone as early as May. Other areas getting hit by high ozone levels in May include Acadia NP (Cadillac Mountain) in Maine, the Ware area in Massachusetts, and Miller State Park in New Hampshire. Vermont has not had a single day of high ozone levels, Massachusetts has had 9 days exceeding healthy limits, and Connecticut tops the list with 17 days reaching hazardous levels to human health. The highest readings of ozone were recorded in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts on July 4. For Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard exceeded healthy limits 5 times between June and July followed by Fairhaven at four times and East Milton, Truro, and Ware at two times. Areas of Connecticut exceeding healthy limits several times were Greenwich, Stratford, Westport, Danbury, Madison, and Middletown.

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BP Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards

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Workers helping to clean up the oil spill are at high risk due to direct exposure from chemicals and toxic vapors near areas where the oil plumes are surfacing. Chemical dispersants used by BP in the cleaning process pose health risks as do vapors such as benzene, one of the volatile hydrocarbons in oil. One concern is that BP is using Corexit 9500 as a chemical dispersant. It is toxic at 2.61 PPM (parts per million) and can go through a phase transition from liquid to gas and return to earth as toxic rain. It is estimated the BP has released over 1,000,000 gallons of dispersant.

Crude Oil Exposure
Blanca Laffron, a genetic toxicologist and her colleagues from the University of Coruña in Spain, notes that studies show that exposure to crude oil from coated birds and from cleaning rocks and beaches for under five days causes temporary DNA aberrations. However, workers exposed for several months contract permanent chromosomal DNA damage. Continuing education and research into long-term exposure will inform doctors and nursing professionals as to proper medical protocols for future healthcare.

Government Warning
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued continuing educational warnings on air quality, food, water, and chemical dispersants. CDC warns that upon smelling gas or visibly spotting smoke from nearby fires one should “stay indoors, set your air conditioner to reuse indoor air, and avoid continuing physical activities that put extra demands on your lungs and heart.” CDC warns to avoid swimming, boating, and fishing near affected areas and to avoid contact with the oil spill dispersants which are used to break the oil slick into small droplets.

Dispersant Controversy
The EPA and the US Coast Guard have authorized BP for continuing use of dispersants at the underwater location of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The EPA notes that smaller droplets formed by dispersants will biodegrade faster than untreated crude oil. The EPA has also released a directive for BP to “significantly scale back the overall use of dispersants” and to “analyze potential alternative dispersants for toxicity” to “determine whether a less toxic, more alternative dispersant existed in the quantities necessary to address this crisis.” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson wrote to BP that she and Admiral Landry of the Coast Guard maintain that “...your response to the directive was insufficient. We believe the response lacked sufficient analysis and focused more on defending your initial decisions than on analyzing possible better options.” EPA is asking BP for continuing education and research into dispersant alternatives and BP maintains that Corexit 9500 is the best option.

 

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CPSC Recalls Baby Sling Carrier due to Infant Death

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The CPSC (US Consumer Product Safety Commission), in cooperation with Sprout Stuff of Austin, Texas; has recalled 40 Sprout Stuff infant ring slings. The CPSC urges consumers to discontinue use of these slings since they pose a risk of suffocation to infants. A 10 day old boy in Texas died due to the use of this sling. Consumers can get a full refund for these slings from the company. They sold for about $35 to $45 from October 2006 to May 2007 and were sold directly from the manufacturer. The company is working to contact all purchasers. This recall follows on the heels of other major recalls for baby sling carriers. The CPSC previously recalled 1,200 Ellaroo Ring Sling baby carriers, 165 ZoloWear Infant Carriers/Slings, and approximately 100,000 Infantino SlingRider infant carriers.

In general, infant baby slings present two suffocation dangers. Since babies cannot control their heads in the first few months of life due to weak musculature, the sling can press against the nose and mouth. This can lead to suffocation within one to two minutes. Also, the sling may rest the baby in a curled position with the chin bending toward the chest. In this scenario, airways are restricted and the baby cannot cry for help while slowly suffocating.

The CPSC has also noted that improper use of even the best sling carriers for infants is dangerous. The US CPSC provides important instructions on proper use. The CPSC “recommends that parents and caregivers make sure the infant’s face is not covered and is visible at all times to the sling’s wearer. If nursing the baby (is) in a sling, change the baby’s position after feeding so the baby’s head is facing up and is clear of the sling and the mother’s body.” Frequent checking of the baby’s position is urged, especially after nursing. “CPSC has determined that a mandatory standard is needed for infant sling carriers. While a mandatory standard is being developed, CPSC staff is working with ASTM International to quickly develop an effective voluntary standard for slings. There currently are no safety standards for infant sling carriers.”

Below is a photo of the Sprout Stuff sling that has been recalled and the other diagrams demonstrate proper and improper ways to use a baby sling. The diagrams are provided by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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