Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of
HealthDay:
Chuck E. Cheese Toys Recalled
A recall of more than 1.2 million Chuck E. Cheese light-up rings
and toy eyeglasses was announced Wednesday, says the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
The agency said the Chinese-made toys can break and expose the
small batteries inside, which might be swallowed by small children
and cause esophagus, stomach or intestine problems, the
Associated Press reported.
So far, there have been no reported injuries but two children
did remove batteries from light-up rings. One child swallowed a
battery and another put a battery up his nose, the CPSC said.
The toys should be taken from children and returned for a refund
of cash or prizes.
This is the fourth time since 2001 that Texas-based Chuck E.
Cheese has been involved in recalls of children's toys, the
AP reported.
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Many Medical Residents Work While Sick: Study
Doctors typically tell sick patients not to go to work, but many
junior doctors don't follow that basic health rule, finds a new
study.
An analysis of an anonymous survey of 537 medical residents at
12 U.S. hospitals conducted last year found that nearly 58 percent
said they had worked at least once while sick and 31 percent said
they had worked more than once while sick in the previous year, the
Associated Press reported.
About half of the respondents claimed they didn't have time to
see a doctor about their illness.
The study was published Wednesday in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.
The survey used in the study was conducted by the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education. Council CEO Dr Thomas Nasca
told the
AP that residents are trained to put patients' needs before
their own. However, they need to understand that if they're sick,
it would be better for their patients if they were seen by other
doctors.
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Birth Control Omitted From 1 in 3 Teen Sex Ed Programs:
Survey
Nearly all U.S. teens have received formal sex education, but
only about two-thirds have been acquainted with birth control
methods, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
survey.
It found that 97 percent of teens said they'd had formal sex
education by the time they were 18, the
AP reported.
However, the sex education instruction was more likely to
discuss sexually transmitted diseases or teach teens how to say no
than inform them about birth control.
By the end of high school, only 62 percent of boys and 70
percent of girls had learned about birth control, the
AP reported.
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Watching Others Can Lead To False Memories: Study
People can create false memories by watching someone else doing
a simple action, say German researchers.
"This is a completely new type of false memory," said study co-author Gerald Echterhoff, a psychology professor at the University of Muenster, USA Today reported. "This is a false memory from just
observing someone."
He and his colleagues found that more than 25 percent of
participants created false memories by watching videos of other
people doing things.
"It's very hard to counteract this type of false memory, even when participants were warned it could happen," said Echterhoff, USA Today reported.
The study appears in the September issue of the journal
Psychological Science.
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Panel Recommends Cough Syrups Stay Over-the-Counter
Cough medicines such as Robitussin and Nyquil should still be
available over-the-counter even though abuse of the medications has
been on the increase, a federal advisory panel ruled Tuesday.
In a 15-9 vote, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's
committee decided not to suggest that a prescription be necessary
to buy the more than 100 medications that contain dextromethorphan,
although some groups have called for sales of these products to be
restricted, the
Associated Press reported.
The FDA is not bound to follow the panel's recommendation, but
it typically does.
Abuse of dextromethorphan, dubbed "robotripping," is popular
among teenagers as an inexpensive way to get high, but it carries
risks, including elevated blood pressure, heart rate and fever.
Abusers can also suffer side effects from other ingredients mixed
in cough medicines, such as acetaminophen, which can cause liver
damage. Nearly 8,000 such emergency room visits were reported in
2008, a 70 percent increase from 2005.
"Many teenagers are thinking that because it's a legal drug it must be safer to abuse, and that's why we're also seeing a growing trend in prescription drug abuse," panelist Janet Engle, department head of pharmacy practice at the University of Illinois, told the AP.
The FDA agreed to revisit how it regulates the medicines after
the Drug Enforcement Agency suggested making them prescription
drugs.
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New Weight-Loss Treatment Freezes Fat Cells
A technique that freezes fat cells has been approved as a
weight-loss treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The therapy, called Zeltiq, uses a gel patch and a machine that
freezes fat cells, which self-destruct and are absorbed into the
body,
ABC News reported.
Zeltiq has been on the U.S. market for about a year as an
FDA-approved way to anesthetize and cool the skin before
dermatology procedures. But doctors discovered that the technology
also helped people lose fat.
The FDA has also approved another new weight-loss technique
called Zerona, which uses a low-energy laser to target fat cells,
ABC News reported.
Doctors emphasize that these and other treatments should not be
viewed as replacements for a healthy diet and exercise.
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