Gear « Weekly Gravy

“Baby on Board” warning stickers apply even when there’s a mom-to-be in the vehicle, a new study argues. Pregnant women involved in traffic collisions are at heightened risk of potentially serious birth complications, even if the wreck only involves minor injuries, researchers report. These complications can include dislodgement of the placenta, very heavy bleeding, and the need for a cesarean section, according to a new Taiwanese study published March 20 in the journal Injury Prevention. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of trauma during pregnancy, with some reports suggesting they account for up to 70% of injuries to pregnant women, researchers said in background notes. To better assess the risk wrecks pose to pregnancies, the researchers analyzed births, insurance claims and deaths registered in Taiwan between 2007 and 2016. During that time, nearly 20,900 births were recorded among about 20,740 women involved in traffic collisions, researchers found. Each woman was matched with four other randomly selected women who were the same age and at the same stage of pregnancy, but hadn’t been involved in a car crash. Compared with their peers, women involved in crashes were: 31% more likely to experience prolonged contractions 51% more likely to experience dislodgement of the placenta (placental abruption) 19% more likely to bleed heavily before birth 5% more likely to require a C-section. Even women involved with minor injuries… read on > read on >

(HealthDay News) – Military pilots and the ground crews who fuel and maintain their aircraft have higher rates of certain types of cancer, a new study shows. The Pentagon researched cancer cases in nearly 900,000 military members who served between 1992 and 2017, comparing them to the general U.S. population. The study “proves that it’s well past time for leaders and policy makers to move from skepticism to belief and active assistance,” retired Air Force Col. Vince Alcazar, a member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, told the Associated Press. Congress required the study as part of the defense bill in 2021, the AP reported. Now, the new findings will necessitate an even bigger review. Overall, the study found that air crews had a 24% higher rate of cancer of all types and ground crews had a 3% higher rate of all types of cancer. Some specific types of cancer had even higher rates. Air crew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma, and a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer. Male air crew members had a 16% higher rate of prostate cancer, while women had a 16% higher rate of breast cancer. Ground crews faired more poorly in brain and nervous system cancers, with a 19% higher rate for those. They also had a 15% higher rate of thyroid cancer and… read on > read on >

U.S. Federal health officials have issued recall notices for two more brands of eyedrops. In the latest round of recalls, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted notices after the companies voluntarily pulled several lots of their eyedrops from the market. These recalls do not appear to be connected to other recent recalls or an outbreak in drug-resistant infections, the Associated Press reported. The companies involved in the recalls are Phoenix-based Pharmedica and Florida-based Apotex. Pharmedica is recalling its Purely Soothing 15% MSM Drops meant to treat eye irritation. The two lots were pulled because of problems “that could result in blindness,” the company said. People who have the eyedrops should immediately stop using them and return them to the store where they bought them, the company added. Meanwhile, Apotex is recalling six lots of prescription eyedrops distributed as Brimonidine Tartrate Ophthalmic Solution, 0.15%. They were sold between April 2022 and February 2023. These eyedrops are meant to treat glaucoma. Unfortunately, some of the eyedrop bottles have cracks in the caps, the company said. More information The U.S. National Eye Institute has more on eyedrops and the earlier recalls involving bacteria. SOURCES: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, recall notices, March 2, 2023 and March 3, 2023; Associated Press read on >

An outbreak of serious bacterial infections in 13 U.S. states linked to use of artificial tears has prompted experts to offer tips for keeping dry eyes safe. Five of the 58 people infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa had vision loss, and one person died, leading to the recall of EzriCare and Delsam Pharma artificial tears. Some of those sickened also reported lung and urinary tract infections. Tests of opened bottles used by those affected found a rare, highly drug-resistant strain of the bacterium — one never before reported in the United States, according to the U.S. National Eye Institute. While it’s unclear if the contamination occurred during or after manufacturing, and while testing continues, there are ways regular users of artificial tears for dry eye disease, contact lens use and refractive surgery can keep themselves safer. “Formulations with preservatives reduce the risk of bacterial growth and potential infection,” said Dr. Chantal Cousineau-Krieger, an ophthalmologist at the National Eye Institute. “However, commonly added preservatives such as benzalkonium chloride, polyquaternium, or sodium chlorite themselves can be irritating to the eye, especially if used five or more times a day,” she said in an institute news release. Repeatedly using an eyedrop bottle that contains no preservatives can lead to contamination, increasing infection risk. “People who require preservative-free artificial tears can purchase single-use, individual dose vials, which cut contamination risk… read on > read on >

Don’t put lip balm on your eyelid, even if you saw it on TikTok. It’s bad for your eyes, according to a Michigan Medicine expert. The trend first began back in the 2010s, but has seen a resurgence in 2023. Called “beezin’,” because the trend is to use Burt’s Bees lip balm in particular, some believe it gets them high, heightens the sensation of being drunk or high, or increases feelings of alertness. It doesn’t, said Dr. Olivia Killeen, a clinical lecturer in the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at Michigan Medicine, in Ann Arbor. “The peppermint oil or menthol in the balm can cause a tingling sensation, but it is not actually getting people high or causing the same type of chemical reaction in the body that’s produced by drugs or alcohol,” Killeen said in a Michigan Medicine news release. Rather, it can irritate the eyelids, causing redness, swelling and inflammation. If it ends up getting into the eyes, it can cause tearing, redness and painful burns to the surface of the eyes. It may even scar the eyes in severe cases or cause vision loss. It may also increase the risk of infection, especially if the balm was also used on the lips, because it may introduce viruses or bacteria into the eye. Among the potential infections are conjunctivitis, or “pink eye.”… read on > read on >

Pedestrian deaths have surged on U.S. roads in recent years, and they are climbing again. Pedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high in 2021, and numbers for the first half of 2022 were up about 5% over the same period in 2021, according to a new Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) analysis. It cites a variety of contributors, including heavier vehicles that are more likely to injure or kill people on foot. Roads, meanwhile, are designed to prioritize fast-moving traffic over the slower speeds that are safer for pedestrians, according to the GHSA. Many parts of the United States lack adequate sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting, the group noted. In addition, dangerous driving surged at the start of the pandemic and has not abated. “There is a pedestrian safety crisis on our roads, and it’s only gotten worse since the start of the pandemic,” Jonathan Adkins, chief executive officer of GHSA, said in an association news release. “A single roadway death is tragic. But it’s absolutely mind-boggling and heartbreaking that drivers are killing an average of 19 pedestrians every single day.” GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report is based on preliminary data from state highway safety offices. GHSA said the increase is even more alarming compared to 2019, before the pandemic. Between the first half of 2019 and 2022, pedestrian deaths surged 18%, the GHSA found.… read on > read on >

If you’re struggling to find ways to get a good night’s sleep, you may not want to use YouTube videos as a resource. Researchers found what they described as an alarming amount of medical misinformation in YouTube videos about sleep disorders. “What’s tricky is that so much of health information is very nuanced, and a lot of popular YouTube videos have clickbait and appeal to shorter attention spans,” said lead study author Rebecca Robbins. She is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and investigator in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston. “People today often want very bite-sized pieces of information. However, science is fundamentally more nuanced than a one-liner or the 280 characters in a Twitter post,” Robbins explained in a hospital news release. More than 60% of U.S. adults say they used the internet to find health information, the study authors noted. To learn what they might find there, the investigators searched YouTube using terms such as “insomnia” and “sleep tips.” They sorted videos by views, labeling those with the most views as “popular.” The researchers then compared these popular videos to ones from credible sources. These were identified by a YouTube feature that places content from health care systems at the top of search results for health-related terms. Sleep experts then assessed the… read on > read on >

MONDAY, Feb. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Federal officials plan to tighten access to drugs that have the potential for abuse by reinstating federal prescribing requirements that were loosened during the pandemic. The Biden administration will require that patients see a doctor in person, rather than through a telehealth appointment, to get a first prescription for opioid painkillers and the attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Prescription refills will still be allowed during telehealth appointments, however. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also plans to tighten prescribing for less addictive drugs, such as codeine, Xanax, Ambien and buprenorphine. Those drugs will be allowed to be prescribed once via telehealth for a 30-day dose, but then patients will need to see a doctor in person to get a refill. Codeine is used to reduce pain and coughing. Xanax is an anxiety medication. Ambien is a sleep aid. Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid addiction. The DEA plans for this new rule to go into effect before May 11, when the COVID-19 public health emergency expires. “DEA is committed to ensuring that all Americans can access needed medications,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in an agency news release announcing the changes. “DEA is committed to the expansion of telemedicine with guardrails that prevent the online overprescribing of controlled medications that can cause harm.” It will… read on > read on >

All those images of beautiful-looking people on social media can deflate a young person’s self-image, but there may be an easy fix: limiting time spent on TikTok, Instagram and the like. A new Canadian study finds that teens and young adults who already had symptoms of anxiety or depression and who cut their social media usage by about 50% experienced a significant improvement in how they felt about their overall appearance in just a few weeks. They also felt better about their weight. “I don’t think it completely surprised me,” said study co-author Helen Thai, a PhD student in the psychology department at McGill University in Montreal. Past research on traditional media and the impact of unattainable beauty and body ideals has obtained similar results, Thai suggested. “Not only are there celebrities and influencers on there, but it’s also people within your social circle,” Thai said about social media, “which can make comparison a bit more easy.” The authors estimated that youth spend about six to eight hours each day on screens. A lot of that time is spent on social media sites, where they may see hundreds or thousands of images, internalizing them. In a news release about the study, lead author Gary Goldfield, a senior scientist with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, said that whether people who already have body… read on > read on >

If you spend hours a day scrolling on your smartphone or tablet, you might get “tech neck.” “Humans are upright creatures, and our bodies aren’t designed to look down for long periods of time, which puts extra pressure on the cervical spine,” said Dr. Kavita Trivedi, associate medical director of the Spine Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Americans spend about five hours a day on their cellphones and more on laptops and computers, Trivedi noted in a university news release. As a result, people can experience muscle stiffness, joint inflammation, pinched nerves, arthritis, and even bone spurs or herniated discs. A typical adult head weighs 10 to 12 pounds. Bending it at a 45-degree angle increases the force on the neck to nearly 50 pounds. “With repetition, that force can strain or injure the facet joints that connect our vertebrae,” Trivedi said. “When that happens, the surrounding muscles naturally tighten up to protect nearby nerves, which leads to inflammation, pain and knots in your neck — what is often referred to as tech neck.” Nonsurgical treatments for these injuries include medication and physical therapy, trigger point and steroid injections, nerve blocks and minimally invasive techniques such as radiofrequency ablation. Radiofrequency ablation is a procedure where radiofrequency waves are delivered to certain nerves, with the goal of interrupting pain signals to the brain.… read on > read on >