Psychological abuse as harmful as physical for kids
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Spanking, physical punishment may raise risk for mental health woes in adult years
A clinical report from child abuse experts, published July 30 in Pediatrics, says that psychological abuse can be as damaging to a young child's physical, mental and emotional health as some forms of physical abuse. What's more, such abuse is often under-reported and hard to detect since there are no visible abrasions or bruises, the researchers said, making it potentially the most prevalent form of child abuse and neglect.
Continue »Buckyballs CEO: Gov't complaint is "un-American"
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Gov't complaint halts Buckyballs sales, citing injury risks
3-year-old swallows 37 Buckyball magnets, survives
"Obviously the bureaucrats see danger everywhere, and those responsible people - like our company who have vigorously promoted safety and appropriate use of our products - gets put out of business by an unfair and arbitrary process," Craig Zucker, Founder and CEO of Maxfield and Oberton, which manufactures Buckyballs and Buckycubes, said in a statement. "I don't understand how and why they did this without following their own rules before allowing us to make our case. It almost seems like they simply wanted to put our products and industry out of business."
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Gov't complaint halts Buckyballs sales over injuries
An X-ray of 3-year-old Payton Bushnell of Portland, Ore., who was hospitalized after swallowing 37 Buckyball magnets. The U.S. government has filed a complaint to halt the sale of the magnetic products, citing injury risks to children.
/ KPTVIn a complaint filed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the government consumer protection watchdog announced its action to "protect the public from the substantial risks of injury presented by aggregated masses of high-powered, small rare earth magnets known as Buckyballs and Buckycubes." The small magnetic balls are made by New York-based Maxfield and Oberton.
3-year-old swallows 37 Buckyball magnets, survives
CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson told USA Today that major retailers including Amazon, Brookstone and Urban Outfitters, have agreed to stop selling these and similar products because of the risks posed to children who swallow the tiny balls.
Continue »Dad's job may play role in birth defects
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A study based on findings from the ongoing National Birth Defects Prevention Study shows that certain paternal jobs may be linked to an increased risk of birth defects in their children.
Researchers spoke to about 1,000 fathers who had a child with one or more defects and 4,000 fathers who had a child with no defects from 1997 to 2002. Through phone interviews with the father and their partners, they found out what abnormalities the child had, including if the baby was stillborn, if it was aborted for medical reasons and if it had defects when it was born.
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Ex-Surgeon Gen. says oral health needs to improve
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"We have tended not to see oral health as a part of overall health and wellbeing," Dr. David Satcher, a former Surgeon General, told HealthPop. "Too often it is viewed as the teeth and the gums and nothing else."
More Americans visit ER for costly and inefficient dental care
Can "Keep 32" chemical keep you cavity-free?
Women in their 40s more likely to have dental anxiety and phobia, study says
But, inadequate oral health can be a predictor of many other problems, including infectious disease and immune deficiencies, and can increase the risks of other diseases. While the connection between heart disease and oral health isn't as direct as was believed in the past, Satcher emphasized that infections of the mouth can still lead to problems of the circulatory system.
Twelve years after he issued a report highlighting and detailing a way to improve access to dental care, Satcher spoke on July 17 at a conference sponsored by the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Sullivan Alliance about the still-present need for better oral health care.
Continue »FDA bans BPA from baby bottles, sippy cups
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(CBS/AP) The controversial chemical BPA, or bisphenol-A, can no longer be used in manufacturing baby bottles or sippy cups, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday.
The U.S. chemical industry's chief association, the American Chemistry Council, had asked the Food and Drug Administration to phase out rules allowing BPA in such products in October, after determining that all manufacturers of bottles and sippy cups had already abandoned the chemical due to safety concerns.
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It is illegal for companies to use substances not covered by FDA rules.
Continue »BPA tooth fillings tied to kids' behavior problems
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(CBS) BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a chemical found in cans and other food packaging that has been linked to health risks such as cancer and birth defects and the disruption of normal development in babies and kids. Now, a new study in the July 16 issue of Pediatrics links the BPA that is used in certain types of children's tooth fillings to a slightly increased risk for behavioral problems.
Can "Keep 32" chemical keep you cavity-free?
More preschoolers showing up to dentists with 10 cavities or more, says report
BPA tied to behavior problems in girls, but how about boys?
After a five year follow-up period, children with the highest exposure to BPA-based fillings scored worse on behavioral assessment tests and had more emotional problems like anxiety and depression than their counterparts. In all, 16 percent of kids with the most BPA-exposure had behavioral problems. The association was stronger in kids who had fillings on chewing surfaces, which suggests the filling was more likely to break down with chemicals possibly seeping out.
Continue »Television viewing hours tied to waist size in kids
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A new study of young children finds that with each hour of television watched, their waistlines grow larger and their muscular fitness gets weaker.
TV shortens life by 22 minutes per viewing hour, says study
Sitting less than 3 hours each day may tack 2 more years onto your life
Report: Mass. birth hospitals ditch free formula
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(CBS/AP) Massachusetts maternity hospitals will no longer offer infant formula gift bags to new moms, according to a new report.
Breast-Feeding State by State: Who's #1?
Sesame Street should show breastfeeding, group petitions
Public health officials tell The Boston Globe all 49 birth facilities in the state had voluntarily eliminated the giveaways by the beginning of July. The announcement is a milestone for breast-feeding advocates.
Studies have shown that breast-feeding mothers who receive free formula are less likely to be breast feeding by the time their infant was 1 month old.
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Two newborn get salmonella at same Calif. hospital
Both girls came down with salmonella poisoning at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, Calif.
/ CBS Sacramento"We don't have an answer yet. However, there has been intense investigation," Dr. John Walker of Stanislaus County Public Health told CBS Sacramento.
Walker admitted that salmonella poisonings in newborns are really rare, but the two cases seem to be isolated and the fear that the infection would turn into an outbreak has been quelled. Doctors Medical Center added in a statement that they are taking the claims very seriously.
"Fortunately this doesn't appear to be a wide spread issue; however, state department of health is looking closely and hopeful all of us get answers soon," said Walker.
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Make-A-Wish recipient meets, becomes Hellboy
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(CBS News) When asked what he wished for most, 6-year-old Zachary said he wanted to meet Hellboy and become a miniature version of the comic book turned movie hero himself.
Enter Make-A-Wish, Spectral Motion and actor Ron Perlman, who all worked together to grant the young boy's wish.
Make-A-Wish recipient Zachary meets Hellboy
"The best part for all of us is to see the look on their faces when Zachary was sitting next to Hellboy on the couch," Mike Elizalde, co-founder of Spectral Motion, told HealthPop. "Every time I look at that picture, I get a little emotional because of his body language. Everything about that says, 'I'm loving this. This is my wish fulfilled.'"
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More women may suffer from math anxiety than men
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(CBS News) Does the prospect of solving math problems make you nervous? A new study suggests that mathematics anxiety - the feeling of discomfort that arises when performing math tasks - may affect girls more than it does boys.
Anxiety causes women's brains to work harder than men's
In a University of Cambridge and University of Oxford study that looked at 433 British schoolchildren, researchers discovered that those who suffered from mathematics anxiety performed worse on math problems, affecting their performance. The study was published in Behavioral and Brain Functions on July 9.
Overall, more girls were affected by math anxiety than the boys. However, there were no gender differences in performance even if the girls dreaded doing math more. Researchers concluded that girls may be able to do even better in math if it wasn't for their anxiety levels.
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Cranberries shown to prevent UTIs in some people
Cranberries are harvested at Weston Cranberry Farm on October 22, 2004 in Carver, Mass.
/ Darren McCollester/Getty ImagesThe study, which was published in Archives of Internal Medicine on July 9, involved 1,616 subjects an a subgroup of 1494 subjects. The group was randomized into people who used cranberry products and people who did not.
After analyzing the results, it was found that cranberry-containing products worked to prevent UTIs best for women with recurring UTIs, women, children, cranberry juice drinkers and subjects who used cranberry-containing products more than twice daily.
Cranberry juice was found to be more effective that the cranberry capsules or tablets. Researchers suggested this may be due to the people drinking the juice being more hydrated than those using the other methods, but warned that drinking juice with a high sugar content may "raise concerns" for people who are diabetics.
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Combat vets' kids more prone to violence: Study
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(CBS/AP) When parents ship off to war, their kids back home become more violent - girls as well as boys. That's the apparent message of new research showing that children of parents in the military are more than twice as likely to carry a weapon, join a gang, or be involved in fights.
"This study raises serious concerns about an under-recognized consequence of war," said Sarah Reed, who led the research of military families in Washington state.
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Babies with pets better protected against disease?
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(CBS News) New parents with dogs and cats sometimes consider giving pets away when a baby arrives, but a new study finds keeping the furry family members in tow may boost a child's health benefits.
Hypoallergenic dogs won't help allergy sufferers much, says study
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5 healthy habits to copy from your dog
A Finnish study finds babies who grow up with pets - especially dogs - are less likely to develop colds and other respiratory infections by the time they're toddlers.
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