Health

Drowning top cause of injury deaths in kids 1-4

Although the death rate for drowning in the U.S. has gone down in the last decade, drowning leads to more deaths among young children aged 1 to 4 than any other cause except birth defects, a new report from the CDC reveals. Between 2005 and 2009, the death rates from ...

• Updated: 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Study: Trash old, unused drugs

Prescription medication "take-back" programs are increasingly promoted as a way to safely dispose of unused drugs, but they are no better for the environment than simply throwing old drugs in the trash, a new study suggests. When researchers used a complicated methodology called "comparative life cycle assessment" to estimate the ...

• Updated: 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 21, 2012

Athletes better equipped to play through the pain

Sprains, strains, and worse injuries are unavoidable in sports, and playing through the pain comes with the territory for most athletes. So how do they continue to excel with pain that would leave others sidelined? New research confirms that athletes have a higher tolerance for pain than couch potatoes or ...

• Updated: 9:00 a.m. Monday, May 21, 2012

Chinese herb kudzu may help drinkers cut down

An extract from the Chinese herb kudzu may help drinkers cut down on drinking, according to a new pilot study. "It didn't stop the drinking," says researcher David M. Penetar, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "They still drank, but they drank less." He ...

• Updated: 9:00 a.m. Sunday, May 20, 2012

More people - even kids - need to wear sunglasses

With summer nearly upon us, our sunglass habits could use improvement, according to a new report issued today by The Vision Council, an industry group. While 73% of adults do wear sunglasses, only 58% of them make their children wear shades, too, the report found. More than half of us ...

• Updated: 1:48 p.m. Friday, May 18, 2012

New sunscreen guide: 1 in 4 products deemed safe

With warmer weather on the way, the Environmental Working Group has just released a new edition of their popular sunscreen guide. In the sixth annual guide, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommends just 25% of 1,800 sunscreens they reviewed for the guide, though that number is up from 20% last ...

• Updated: 2:05 p.m. Thursday, May 17, 2012

Infant head lag may signal autism

Infants who show developmental delays in head and neck muscle control may be at increased risk for autism, a new study suggests. Though preliminary, the findings are among the first to suggest that delays in motor development during infancy may be an early warning sign of autism. However, the findings ...

• Updated: 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, 2012

First at-home HIV test nears approval

The FDA should approve the first HIV test for at-home use and over-the-counter sale, the agency's advisory committee said today in a unanimous 17-0 vote. The test is OraQuick from OraSure. It's a home version of a rapid HIV test already being used by health care professionals in community settings. ...

• 7:01 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The laxative-free 'virtual colonoscopy'

For many people, preparing for a colonoscopy is sometimes more daunting than the procedure itself. You typically stop eating solid food for at least a day, and then drink what seems like gallons of liquid to clean out your bowel. You need to stay close to a bathroom, because you ...

• Updated: 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 14, 2012

video

When to teach your child to swim

With summer in full swing, many parents are headed out to their local swimming pools and enrolling their children in swim lessons. But what is the appropriate age to get your youngsters started in swimming? The American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) recently endorsed swimming lessons as a water safety measure ...

• 4:13 p.m. Monday, May 14, 2012