Tiny Batteries Are Big Problems for Kids

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The small coin-sized batteries found in many toys, electronics and singing greeting cards could be life-threatening in children.

An analysis released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Consumer Product Safety Commission found 14 children who are aged 13 and under have died, and more than 40,000 have been injured from small batteries.

Scott Wolfson, director of communications for the CPSC, called these batteries a “serious hazard.”

“There is growing attention to this hazard and an increase in the number of fatalities,” Wolfson said. “Today, more of these small batteries are being used in products such as remote controls, greeting cards, flashlights and CPSC is seeing children getting access to those batteries.”

Statistics in the report appear to support Wolfson’s argument that these cases are on the rise.

Of the 14 deaths reported between 1997-2010 half were reported in 2009-2010 and 72 percent of ED visits throughout 1995-2010 were among children aged 4 and under.

Part of what makes these ingestions so dangerous is by the time symptoms like severe abdominal pain or vomiting appear burns, ulcers and severe damage to the esophagus or gut has likely already occurred.

“That’s what’s so scary about these, you can get damage so quickly,” said Alison Tothy, director of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Chicago. “But how many parents bring their kids to the emergency department for a little belly pain, but 8, 12, 14 hours later they are still having belly pain and starting to vomit…and there is even more damage that has been done because battery has sat there for 24 hours.”

She said it’s important to bring children in right away if you think they swallowed something.

“The window of opportunity to get those out before they cause damage is pretty small,” she said. “It’s usually within four hours a battery can cause damage.”

A May study in Pediatrics showed similar findings.  Children being taken to emergency departments with battery ingestions have increased—with more than 65,000 ED visits involving kids 18 and under between 1990-2009.

“We live in a world designed by adults for the convenience of adults, and the safety of children is often not considered,” said Gary Smith,  director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and author of the May study.

Smith found ED visits doubled from 2,591 visits in 1990 to 5,525 in 2009 and the number of button batteries swallowed by children also doubled.

Chairman for the CPSC, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, has called on major manufacturers of button and coin-cell batteries to address the safety of their products and wants to see safety standards in place to address the problem.

Wolfson says the changes can’t come soon enough.

“We want these products that use button cells to be designed in a way that children can never get access to them,” Wolfson said. “We believe that there can be innovations in both the way the battery is made and how it is used in various products.”

In the 1980s, toys and other children’s products were required to secure tiny batteries so kids can’t get to them.

A bill introduced last year by Sen. Jay Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., would require all products with button batteries to be childproof.

The CPSC said parents should never let kids play with batteries and take caution to make sure they are disposed of properly.

If you think your child swallowed a battery call the national batteries ingest hotline: 202-625-3333 or the national universal poison control hotline: 1800-222-1222.

 

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Quick Study: Mo' Belly Fat, Mo' Problems

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Heavy Drinking in Pregnancy Linked to Host of Problems in Children

HealthDay – 1 hr 40 mins ago MONDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Central nervous system abnormalities are common among children whose mothers drink large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, a small new study finds.

Most children exposed to large amounts of alcohol while in the womb do not go on to develop fetal alcohol syndrome. Diagnosis of this condition requires abnormalities in three areas: facial features, physical growth and the central nervous system.

The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord.

In many cases of children exposed to alcohol in the womb, specific problems are classified under the term "fetal alcohol spectrum disorders," which includes a wide range of potential physical and neurological problems.

The effects of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may be mild or severe and may affect each child differently, explained study corresponding author Dr. Devon Kuehn, a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.

She and her colleagues looked at the risk of developing components of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders among the children of 101 women in Chile who consumed at least four alcoholic drinks per day while pregnant. The children were evaluated until they were about 8 years old.

About 80 percent of the children had one or more abnormalities associated with alcohol exposure. Central nervous system abnormalities were the most common problem in the children and can affect learning, behavior, language or mental function, Kuehn said.

"Other studies have shown that binge drinking may have the greatest risk on children, but we are the first to show binge drinking remains a risk factor even in women drinking heavily every day," Kuehn said in a journal news release.

The study appears online July 23 and in the October print issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

"It is critical to note that while physical characteristics associated with

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Lactoferrin Helps Bones, Periodontal Problems and Weight Loss

Lactoferrin is one of the most potent immune modulating compounds known.  It should be naturally produced in your saliva, and has been proven to be lacking in individuals who are overweight or who have insulin resistance.  The lack of lactoferrin in your saliva enables germ imbalances that promote the wear and tear of your jaw bone, leading to periodontal problems.  This leads to a triad of overlapping problems: general bone loss, dental problems, and difficulty losing weight.  Several new studies explain how bovine lactoferrin can help.

As I explained in yesterday’s article on oregano oil, people who are overweight and struggle with weight loss typically have too much toxic LPS coming from the germ gangs that line their digestive system.  When that LPS reenters the circulation one of the adverse things it does is travel to your bones wherein it provokes the inflammatory release of TNFa Cytokine involved with systemic inflammation and regulation of immune cells. It is able to induce cell death, and inhibits tumorigenesis and viral replication. When dysfunctional it is associated with a number of disease processes. within bone, in turn inducing bone loss.  One of the new studies documents the precise mechanism showing how bovine lactoferrin can help your bones in general, showing how it blocked the LPS activation of inflammation in various ways, including the suppression of TNFa Cytokine involved with systemic inflammation and regulation of immune cells. It is able to induce cell death, and inhibits tumorigenesis and viral replication. When dysfunctional it is associated with a number of disease processes. and NF-kappaB Protein complex that controls DNA transcription and is involved with cellular responses to stress, cytokines, free radicals, UV radiation, oxidized LDL, and infections. .  The authors concluded, “Bovine lactoferrin could be a potent therapeutic agent for inflammatory diseases associated with bone destruction, such as periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis.”

The second study was an observational clinical trial wherein bovine lactoferrin was rubbed into the gums of patients with periodontitis.  Fluid extracted from the inflamed areas showed a lowering of inflammatory signals.  Patients experienced a noticeable reduction in edema, bleeding, pocket depth, gingival and plaque index.  The authors concluded, “Even if other clinical trials are required, these results provide strong evidence for a role of bovine lactoferrin in curing periodontitis, thus extending the therapeutic potential of this multifunctional natural protein.”

While periodontal problems can occur in anyone, they are common in people who are overweight due to the reduction in natural lactoferrin from the stress of excess body fat.  I previously reported on an eight week clinical trial in overweight individuals demonstrating that 300 mg per day of bovine lactoferrin helped them lose their abdominal fat (the most inflammatory kind of fat). 

Whether you rub it directly into your gums or take it orally, bovine lactoferrin is one nutrient that can help three typically co-occurring issues:  bone wear and tear, periodontal problems, and sluggish metabolism.  On top of that, bovine lactoferrin is one of the best studied natural immune support compounds available.

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Common blood pressure drug linked to severe gastrointestinal problems

ScienceDaily (June 21, 2012) — Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an association between a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug, Olmesartan, and severe gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and electrolyte abnormalities -- symptoms common among those who have celiac disease. The findings are published online June 21 in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

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From 2008-11, Mayo Clinic physicians treated 22 patients with symptoms similar to celiac disease, including intestinal inflammation and abnormalities. Patients came from 17 states, and some had been diagnosed with celiac disease. They had chronic diarrhea and weight loss; the median weight loss was 39 pounds, and one patient lost 125 pounds. Fourteen of the 22 were hospitalized because of the severity of their symptoms. When given a blood test, however, these patients didn't come back with results typical of celiac disease. They also didn't respond to treatments such as gluten-free diets.

After examining their medications, Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, M.D., pulled several of the patients off Olmesartan. Their symptoms dramatically improved. Eventually, all 22 were taken off the drug, and all showed improvement. Eighteen of the 22 patients had intestinal biopsies after stopping the medication and showed improvement.

"We thought these cases were celiac disease initially because their biopsies showed features very like celiac disease, such as inflammation," says Dr. Murray, the lead author. "What made them different was they didn't have the antibodies in their blood that are typical for celiac disease."

Olmesartan -- prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure -- works by blocking substances that tighten blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more smoothly and the heart to pump more efficiently, according to the U.S. National Library on Medicine.

"It's really an awareness issue. We want doctors to be aware of this issue, so if they see a patient who is having this type of syndrome -- they think about medications as a possible association," Dr. Murray says. "We've reported an association. What needs to be known next is the science to understand why there is such an association."

The investigators were supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Gastroenterology Junior Faculty Development Award, the Swedish Society of Medicine, the Swedish Research Council and the Fulbright Commission.

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Arthritis Treatment Linked to Liver Problems in Study

HealthDay – 4 hrs ago MONDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- A "medical food" called Limbrel, which doctors prescribe to treat osteoarthritis of the knee, was linked to several cases of liver disease in a small study, but the effects so far seem to be rare and easily reversible.

Still, patients who take Limbrel, also known as flavocoxid, should be aware of the potential for liver problems, said study lead author Dr. Naga Chalasani, director of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Indiana University School of Medicine, in Indianapolis.

Patients should not assume that "medical foods," such as Limbrel, are 100 percent safe, he added.

In the United States, medical foods are not subjected to the clinical trials required of prescription drugs before coming to market.

According to Primus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., maker of Limbrel, the main ingredients of the pills are plant elements known as bioflavonoids, specifically baicalin and catechins. The company says Limbrel helps improve mobility and relieve joint discomfort and stiffness related to arthritis.

For the new study, Chalasani and colleagues analyzed 877 cases of liver injury and found four linked with Limbrel. The researchers said it's "highly likely" that the product caused the liver problems in three of the patients and possible in the other one.

Symptoms included nausea, fatigue and yellow skin, Chalasani said. The four patients were women between 57 and 68 years old who showed signs of liver illness between one and three months after taking Limbrel.

They recovered within weeks of discontinuing the drug.

"Our report provides convincing evidence that flavocoxid is capable of causing clinically apparent, acute liver injury," the study authors wrote. They also noted that the pharmaceutical company has discovered 31 possible cases of liver problems among more than 284,000 users since the drug was brought to market in 2004.

It's not clear why Limbrel might cause liver problems, although the researchers suspect one of its chemicals may be at fault, Chalasani said.

According to Dr. Robert Levy, director of clinical development for Primus Pharmaceuticals, "Limbrel is, by far, the safest anti-inflammatory on the market."

Limbrel has an "extraordinary safety profile," he added. He said medical foods must be prescribed and used under the direction of a physician, adding that physicians should monitor the livers of patients who take the drugs.

"Because the liver is the site of metabolism of most drugs and foreign chemicals, a great many drugs, including all anti-inflammatory agents, are known to have some liver toxicity," Levy said.

Painkillers, another common treatment for osteoarthritis, only provide limited relief and are also associated with adverse events, the study authors said.

About 20 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, which is the leading cause of disability in the United States, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Study lead author Chalasani said patients and physicians should be aware that medical food products haven't gone through the same kind of review as regular prescription drugs.

"I'll bet most people who prescribe Limbrel think it's gone through the typical review process," he said. "If a physician chooses to prescribe Limbrel, he or she should be aware that it can cause this toxicity." If patients develop symptoms of liver damage, they should stop taking Limbrel, he added.

The study appears in the June 19 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The authors of an accompanying journal editorial said that the current policy of allowing medical foods to come to market without rigorous testing may need to be reconsidered, given their popularity and potential for damage.

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about medical foods.

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Researchers Link Joint Deterioration to Periodontal Problems

For the first time researchers have linked bacterial problems in the mouth to the deterioration of joint health.  They found that the spread of adverse mouth bacteria, through the inflamed gum tissue and into the circulation, could wind up in the synovial fluid of joints and cause major problems associated with both osteoarthritis Degenerative joint disease. Most common type of arthritis that causes a chronic, progressive, breakdown in cartilage in middle-age adults and older. and rheumatoid arthritis.

While this is not the only reason for joint pain and arthritis, I believe it is a common reason for such problems and a contributing factor for a majority of people.  I have observed for many years the relationship between digestive inflammation and joint deterioration.  For example, in children inflammatory joint problems are almost always caused by digestive imbalance.  The same is true for many adults.  The health of the mouth is oftentimes a reflection of general digestive health.

The take-home message is clear.  People suffering from joint pain should also consider their digestive and periodontal health both have potential to affect their joints.  Recently I explained that silver could readily disrupt biofilms (germ gangs) in the mouth, making gargling with colloidal silver one approach to this.  At the most fundamental level of solution is increasing intake of friendly flora and fiber.  Other natural immune support compounds may be needed, including fully addressing the Candida issue.  Dental work as well as routine cleanings may be very important.

There is plainly no reason to watch your joints disappear simply because you have an unmanaged dental or digestive problem.  As the above study points out, even a joint replacement is likely to fail if the problem goes uncorrected.

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Swaddling Infants Too Tightly May Cause Hip Problems

HealthDay – Fri, May 4, 2012 FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- When swaddling an infant, make sure to leave the blankets loose enough to allow leg and hip movement, experts say.

They warn that wrapping infants too tightly may cause their hip joints to develop abnormally, causing the ball of the thighbone to dislocate from the socket. The condition, called developmental dysplasia of the hip, can lead to limping, differences in limb length, pain and arthritis, according to the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

"Many cultures, and a growing number of Americans, practice traditional swaddling -- the tight wrapping of infants with their legs together and fully extended," said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter Waters, president of the society, in a news release.

"Unfortunately, this practice places infants at a high risk for dysplasia," he said. "Instead, the infant's arms and torso should be snugly wrapped, while the legs are wrapped loosely, ensuring the legs are bent up and out. The legs should be free to move, and, most importantly, the legs should never be wrapped in a straight-down position."

The society joined the American Academy of Pediatrics and the International Hip Dysplasia Institute in recommending an updated method of swaddling that allows more wiggle room for infants.

Animal studies have found that forcing the hip and knee to extend right after birth increases tension in the hamstring and hip muscles, increasing the risk of loose ligaments, instability and dislocation of the thigh bone from the hip socket.

More information

The International Hip Dysplasia Institute provides more information on infant hip dysplasia.

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Problems Alcohol Can Help You Solve

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Esophageal Cancer Surgery Can Leave Lingering Health Problems, Study Says

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