Category: Product safety

Air Bags Can Cause Eye Injuries in Children

At this point, it is well known that air bags make it dangerous for children to sit in to front seat of an automobile.  Infants in rear facing car seats are at risk because their heads are too close to the air bag and older children facing forward are more susceptible to head and neck injuries when sitting up front.

As if these risks weren’t enough to keep kids in the backseat, a study in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, concludes that children can suffer from serious eye injuries from the impact of air bags, the most serious of which included cataracts and glaucoma.  Among other injuries: blood in the front chamber of the eye; alkali burn; temporary loss of consciousness and visual acuity; eyelid laceration; black eye; swelling and hemorrhage of blood vessels under the outer surface of the eyeball; corneal lesions and abrasions; and inflammation of the iris.
Source: Medscape

Green Laser Pointers Can Cause Eye Damage

A new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology shows that inexpensive green laser pointers can damage the retina.  In a test of several models that were advertised to have a power output of 10 milliwatts, a number of them emitted more infrared light than indicated at levels that are harmful to the eyes. Inexpensive models like those tested lack a filter that can cut down on the unsafe infrared emissions.  More expensive devices include this simple filter.

As reported in ScienceDaily.com, “owners of the devices should never point the lasers at the eyes or aim them at surfaces such as windows, which can reflect infrared light back to the user — a particularly subtle hazard because many modern energy-saving windows have coatings designed specifically to reflect infrared.”

Source: NIST

Cell Phones, Airport Scanners & Radiation Exposure

People who use cell phones for at least half an hour every day over many years (ie, 10 years) have more than 33% chance of developing malignant tumors in the brain, according to a landmark 2010 study from the World Health Organization. (reported by the New York Times)

Researchers  examined the amount of radio frequency (RF) exposure cell phone users undergo in various scenarios. The findings, published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, show that older analog technology produced the highest RF levels.  Of the various digital communications networks used by cell phones CDMA networks had the lowest RF (major carriers include Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mobile) while with GSM (AT&T and T-Mobile) and TDMA  (major US carriers have left this system)  showing similar intermediate levels. Generally users are exposed to higher RF power output in rural areas.

Source: http://www.nature.com

Radiofrequency is a form of electromagnetic radiation.  The National Cancer Institute states that there is no known links between cancer risk and RF, but research is still ongoing.

Source: http://www.cancer.gov

While the debate continues, the Environmental Working Group, based in Washington, says it makes sense to chose a cellphone or wireless device with low radiation. They published a report on Cell Phones and Radiation Exposure and recommends specific makes and models.

Radiation and Airport Security Scanners

Researchers have determined that the airport security full-body scans with machines made by Rapiscan Inc. do expose the body to high levels of radiation that may contribute to cancer and other health conditions.

The travelers who are the most vulnerable are the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weak immune systems.

It should be noted that the amount of radiation exposure is no more than that received by two minutes flying at cruising altitude.  Nonetheless, those who don’t want to be screened may request a full body pat-down instead.

Researchers: University of California, San Francisco

 

FDA Warns Against Accidental Infant Vitamin Overdose

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a warning to parents and caregivers about the dangers of accidental overdose when giving infants liquid vitamin D supplement products.

Some products are sold with droppers that could allow harmful amounts of the vitamin to be given to an infant. These droppers can hold a greater amount of liquid vitamin D than an infant should receive.  Infants should not receive more than 400 international units (IUs) of vitamin D a day.

“It is important that infants not get more than the recommended daily amount of vitamin D,” says Linda M. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., interim chief medical officer in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Parents and caregivers should only use the dropper that comes with the vitamin D supplement purchased.”

Vitamin D helps in the formation of strong bones and is essential to keep children from developing rickets.  Opinions vary as to whether breastfed babies require additional vitamin D supplementation (it is a part of most infant formulas).  Regular exposure to sunlight can provide children with a good source of vitamin D and is, in fact, the way that human were designed to receive the vitamin.  Darker skinned children and babies whose mothers suffer from a vitamin D deficiency (rare in the developed world) might have deficiencies that require supplementation.

Source: FDA and Kellymom.com

Arsenic-Treated Wood Linked to Cancer

Many outdoor wooden structures still contain arsenic including playsets, picnic tables, and decking. Children can be especially susceptible to the deleterious effects of arsenic.

Arsenic was labeled a known human carcinogen in 1980 and the US stopped producing it in 1985.  It was still being imported into the country at a high rate and was used as a wood preservative for “pressure-treated” decking, landscaping, walkways, picnic tables and playground equipment through the early 2000s.  Since that time, under pressure from Congress, the FDA, and consumers, the lumber industry agreed to stop using arsenic-based products to preserve wood.  In 2003 the EPA also moved to ban arsenic in pesticides, but the proposition has not yet passed.  Many outdoor wooden structures still contain arsenic including playsets, picnic tables, and decking. Children can be especially susceptible to the deleterious effects of arsenic.

Arsenic exposure has been linked to skin, bladder, liver, lung and prostate cancers.

Sources: EWG and Environmental Health News

Common Food Additive Bromide Endangers Thyroid Function

Bromide is a common food additive and pesticide that is known to be an endocrine disruptor (exogenous substances that act like hormones in the endocrine system and disrupt the physiologic function of endogenous hormones).  It is also a halide, meaning that it competes for the same receptors that the thyroid gland uses to capture the iodine that is essential for the production of vital thyroid hormones and thus contribute to hypothyroidism. Bromide is most commonly found in the form of methyl bromide, a common pesticide used on strawberries; as brominated vegetable oil which is often added to citrus drinks and asthma inhalers; as a fire retardant in fabrics and mattresses; and as potassium bromate, a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.

Source: NaturalTthyroid Choices

Statin Drugs May Cause Eye Disorders in Some

Eye disorders related to statins are rare, occurring in about 0.1 percent of patients (0.5 to 2.5 percent when gemfibrozil, another type of cholesterol-lowering drug, is taken simultaneously) but had not been systematically reported prior to the study led by F.W. Fraunfelder, MD, of the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University. The research appears in the December issue of Ophthamology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthamology.]

Fraunfelder’s group analyzed statin-associated reports of double vision (diplopia), drooping of the upper eyelid (ptosis), and loss of full range of motion of the eyes (ophthalmoplegia) in the databases of the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration. Since statins were known to cause
skeletal muscle disorders in some patients, a similar affect was plausible in the eye muscles. The average patient age was 64.5 years, and the case reports included 143 males, 91 females, and 22 persons with gender unspecified. The average statin dose of patients who exhibited one or more eye disorder was within ranges recommended by drug manufacturers, and the average
time from beginning of therapy to developing an adverse drug reaction (ADR) was 8.3 months. There were 23 cases of loss of eye range of motion; 8 cases of ptosis, and 18 cases of ptosis in conjunction with double vision; disorders in all patients apparently resolved completely when statins were discontinued. From the ADR reports, the researchers could not determine
precisely which eye muscles were involved, or time needed to full recovery after statin discontinuation, for individual cases.

Learn more about drugs that can harm vision.