When a child unintentionally shoots and kills another child in the United States, they’ve likely been playing around with an unlocked, loaded gun, new research reveals. Analyzing a decade’s worth of data, researchers also found that 4 out of 10 such gun deaths involve kids 2 to 4 years old. About two-thirds of the unintentional fatal shootings happen at the victim’s home, and both victim and shooter are usually male. Nearly all cases “involve a gun belonging to a parent or other family member that was stored loaded and unlocked,” said study co-author Nichole Michaels. “Often, the child was playing with the gun or thought the gun was a toy,” noted Michaels, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The critical message is that “these deaths are preventable, and safe storage of firearms is the key,” Michaels said. Guns have surpassed road crashes as the leading cause of death among American children and teens, according to a recent study using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the new study, investigators used data from the National Violent Death Report System (NVDRS), looking at 279 unintentional fatal shootings that occurred between 2009 and 2018. All the cases involved kids younger than…  read on >  read on >

The pain and discomfort of a herniated disk can significantly impact the quality of your life. Here is what you should know about having a herniated disk, including what it is, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Plus, learn about the medication, self-care, surgery and lifestyle options that may help relieve pain. What is a herniated disk? The Cleveland Clinic describes a herniated disk as a spinal injury. Your spinal cord is made up of bony parts called vertebrae; between the vertebrae are disks that act as cushions. These make it easier to bend and move. When one tears or leaks, it is called a herniated disk. The injury typically occurs in the lower back or neck region. A herniated disk may also be called a slipped disk, a ruptured disk or a bulging disk. Herniated disk causes and risk factors Disk herniation often results from aging; the disks become less flexible over time. The Mayo Clinic lists the following risk factors: Weight: Excess weight puts a strain on the back. Occupation: People with physically demanding jobs that require repetitive lifting, pulling, pushing and bending are more likely to have a herniated disk. Genetics Smoking: It is believed smoking lessens the oxygen supply to the disks and may cause them to break down more quickly. Frequent driving: Sitting for long periods can put pressure on…  read on >  read on >

After drugmaker Novo Nordisk tweaked its diabetes drug Ozempic into Wegovy — a formulation expressly designed to help users shed pounds — sales of both drugs skyrocketed. Other pharmaceutical giants took notice, and over the past weekend the results of multiple clinical trials from would-be competitors were unveiled at this year’s annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Published simultaneously in The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, trials of two diabetes drugs from Eli Lilly — Mounjaro, an injected drug which is already available to patients, and orforglipron, still in clinical trial — each showed effectiveness in helping users drop pounds. Also presented at the meeting and published in The Lancet, Novo Nordisk released the results of a trial of its new investigational drug, dubbed CagriSema, which contains semaglutide (Ozempic) plus a newer medication, cagrilintide. In that trial, the drug helped people with type 2 diabetes shed excess weight. Orforglipron Lilly’s experimental drug orforglipron comes from the blockbuster class of diabetes/weight-loss meds called glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists (GLP-1 agonists) that include Ozempic and Wegovy. However, unlike the latter two drugs, orforglipron is administered as a once-a-day pill rather than an injection, which should make it much more attractive to users. In one phase 2 trial, published online June 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine, 272 adults with overweight or obesity…  read on >  read on >

Smartphones are already handy devices, but researchers have now developed an additional use for them — to check for a fever. An app called FeverPhone is the first ever to transform a smartphone into a personal thermometer without adding new hardware to the device, according to its developers from the University of Washington (UW). The app uses the phone’s touchscreen and repurposes existing battery heat sensors to gather data and estimate a person’s core body temperature, researchers report. The app estimated body temperatures in 37 patients in an emergency room with accuracy comparable to some consumer thermometers. The findings were published recently in the Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies. FeverPhone needs more training data to be widely used, but the technology holds great potential for helping people track their health, the researchers said. “People come to the ER all the time saying, ‘I think I was running a fever.’ And that’s very different than saying ‘I was running a fever,’” said co-researcher Dr. Mastafa Springston, a UW clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. “In a wave of influenza, for instance, people running to the ER can take five days, or even a week sometimes. So if people were to share fever results with public health agencies through the app, similar to how we signed up for COVID…  read on >  read on >

If you have had a sharp pain shooting down one leg, you may be experiencing a condition called sciatica. Here is what you need to know about sciatica, including what it is, its causes, symptoms and treatments. Plus, learn about medications, self-care and stretches that may provide relief. What is sciatica? Sciatica refers to pain that travels along the path of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve travels from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg. The pain may be severe but usually clears up in a few weeks. Sciatica nerve pain causes and risk factors Causes of sciatic nerve pain include anything that affects the sciatic nerve, according to Penn Medicine: Slipped or herniated disk Spinal stenosis Piriformis syndrome Pelvic injury or fracture Tumors Spondylolisthesis The Cleveland Clinic notes that risk factors include: A current or previous injury Normal wear and tear Excess weight or obesity Insufficient core strength Your job Type 2 diabetes Physical inactivity Improper form when lifting Tobacco use Sciatica symptoms Penn Medicine further reports sciatica pain can vary from mild tingling to a dull ache or a burning sensation. Typically, the pain affects one side of the body. It may worsen: After standing or sitting At night When sneezing, coughing or laughing When bending backwards or walking a few yards When straining or holding your…  read on >  read on >

Summer’s here and the Mayo Clinic says babies need protection from the sun’s damaging UV rays, too. It only takes one severe sunburn during childhood or adolescence to nearly double the risk for a deadly melanoma later in life, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. Babies are far more vulnerable to sunburn than older kids, so it’s essential to protect them against UV rays, said pediatric dermatologist Dr. Megha Tollefson, who offers tips for keeping babies safe outdoors. “Sunburns can be very painful,” she said, adding that severe sunburn can be a setup for infection. Sunburns are usually short-term concerns, but they pose long-term risks, too. “The more UV exposure a child gets — especially the younger in life that it starts — and the more sunburns they have, the higher their risk for skin cancer later in life,” said Tollefson, who practices in Rochester, Minn. Protecting yourself from the sun during the first 20 years of life is crucial for guarding against the long-term risk of skin cancer. For infants, avoid peak sun hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If that’s not possible, cover the baby with shade or long-sleeved clothing and a hat. Tollefson also recommends using sunscreen on areas of exposed skin. “We would recommend that, at that age, parents use the sunscreens that have physical blockers rather than…  read on >  read on >

Nearly 8 million Baby Shark and Mini Baby Shark bath toys have been recalled because they can cause serious injuries to children. When using these bath toys, particularly in a bathtub or wading pool, a child can sit, slip or fall onto the shark’s hard plastic top fin, posing risks of impalement, lacerations and puncture wounds, according to the company, Zuru. This recall includes both full-size Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim bath toys and Mini Baby Shark Swimming bath toys. The toys were sold at Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar General Corp., Family Dollar Services, HEB Grocery Company, Meijer, Target, TJX Companies, Ross and Walgreens stores nationwide and online at Walmart, Target, Amazon and other websites. The full-size toys have tracking information on the bottom, including raised lettering with the model number #25282 and a date code beginning with the letters DG followed by “YYYY/MM/DD” in the date range DG20190501 through DG20220619. Only full-size Baby Shark toys with a hard plastic top fin are included in this recall. The mini-size bath toys also have tracking labels on the bottom, including raised lettering with model numbers #7163, #7175, #7166, or #25291 and a date code beginning with the letters DG followed by YYYY/MM/DD in the date range DG2020615 through DG2023525. Zuru knows of 12 reports of children falling or sitting onto the recalled full-size…  read on >  read on >

The future for a child diagnosed with scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine that typically occurs just before puberty, can feel uncertain. As a parent, you want answers to your questions about scoliosis and how it can affect your child’s development. Here’s what you need to know. What is scoliosis? Scoliosis is an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine. In some cases, the spine curves either to the left or the right in a “C” shape. In others, the spine curves both ways in an “S” formation, according to Boston Children’s Hospital. What causes scoliosis? The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) explains idiopathic scoliosis is the most common type and the cause is unknown; however, a combination of genes, hormones and changes in cell structure could be the cause. Other causes include: Congenital factors occurring during fetal development Genetic disease Traumatic injury Neuromuscular diseases like cerebral palsy Tumors Types of scoliosis “There are three primary types,” said Dr. Stephen George, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. George explains in an online video the three types are: congenital; neuromuscular; and the most common, idiopathic scoliosis. Congenital scoliosis is caused by malformed vertebrae during fetal development. Neuromuscular scoliosis is due to weak muscles that are unable to support the spine. This is the result of muscle impairment…  read on >  read on >

It’s not the late nights, but the smoking and drinking that happen during those late nights, that are killing people who are “night owls” earlier in life, a new study claims. Researchers studied twins in Finland for 37 years, looking at different chronotypes, the body’s natural inclination to sleep at a certain time. Although they saw that the evening types had a slightly increased risk of dying than the morning types, it was those other habits that were at the root of that greater likelihood of premature death, the study found. The findings were published June 15 in the journal Chronobiology International. “Our findings suggest that there is little or no independent contribution of chronotype to mortality,” said study author Dr. Christer Hublin, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki. “In addition, the increased risk of mortality associated with being a clearly ‘evening’ person appears to be mainly accounted for by a larger consumption of tobacco and alcohol,” Hublin said in a journal news release. “This is compared to those who are clearly ‘morning’ persons.” Researchers were inspired to do this study by past studies that had linked night owls to a higher risk of disease, including heart problems. Among those were data from the UK Biobank published as part of a 2018 study that found a small increased risk of death from…  read on >  read on >