The finding follows an analysis that looked at self-
injury risk among more than 21,000 high schoolers in
Parenting  News 
Lesbian, Gay Youth at
Higher Risk for Self-
Harm
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, June 3, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- An
alarming number of teens practice self-harm, but
lesbian, gay and bisexual teens may be more than
twice as likely as their straight peers to cut, hit or
bruise themselves, new research warns.
While between 10% and 20% of heterosexual teens
engaged in these dangerous behaviors, 38% to 53% of
lesbian, gay and bisexual teens did, the study found.
"Rates of non-suicidal self-injury were consistently
elevated among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth,
compared to heterosexual peers," said study author
Richard Liu.
What's more, "rates of [self-harm] have decreased
among heterosexual youth from 2005 through 2017,
but not among [lesbian and gay] youth over the same
time period," added Liu. He is an assistant professor in
the department of psychiatry and human behavior at
the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in
Rhode Island.
That is a "striking" development, he said, "given that
the very high [lesbian, gay and bisexual] rates meant
that there was greater room for potential
improvement."
What explains the trend? Liu suggested that the
"stigma and discrimination experienced by these
youth may be contributing factors," putting these
teens at greater risk for "poor mental health
outcomes, including depression, and suicidal thoughts
and behaviors."
the state of Massachusetts between 2005 and 2017.
Bridget Hughes serves as senior director of youth
services at the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) in New
York City, the nation's first and largest organization
that provides free services and advocacy for LGBTQ
youth.
"While the findings are alarming, they aren't surprising
to us at HMI, given what we see regularly among youth
coming in to our programs," she said.
Hughes noted, for example, that from an early age,
LGBT youth -- particularly those of color -- are often
subject to "emotional isolation" as a result of blame,
shame and criticism of their core identities and
feelings. They are also much more likely to end up
homeless, in foster care or involved with the juvenile
justice system, and they face a harder time finding
work, she added.
Hughes also pointed out that prior studies have
demonstrated a clear link between self-harm and
emotional distress, psychiatric conditions and self-
directed negative emotions and self-criticism.
"[So] it's not a surprise to me that these realities have
an impact on mental health, and that the result is
higher levels of self-harm," she said.
As to what can be done to reduce risk, Liu noted that
"unfortunately there is unlikely to be a single, simple
solution for this issue. [But] greater focus on educating
and training parents, teachers and primary care
providers regarding signs of risk and available mental
health resources may be an important step."
Data from the study was drawn from the
Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
System. Liu pointed out that Massachusetts was the
first state in the nation to specifically gather
information on its residents' sexual orientation, and
2005 was the first year in which the state launched
surveys that included a focus on non-suicidal self-
injury rates.
The findings were published online June 3 in JAMA
Pediatrics.
Heart Disease  News 
Oral Care  News 
Patient Catches on Fire
Study: Dentists
During Heart Surgery
Prescribe
By Steven Reinberg
Antibiotics Far Too
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, June 4, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Having emergency
heart surgery is always risky, but a new case report reveals an
Often
unexpected danger: A flash fire ignited a man's chest during By Steven Reinberg
such a procedure.
HealthDay Reporter
A 60-year-old man underwent lifesaving heart surgery for a torn
aorta, the main artery that carries blood away from the heart. WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2019 (HealthDay News) -
- Dentists tend to be overeager when it comes
The patient had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD
) and had undergone a heart bypass operation the year to prescribing antibiotics , new research
before. suggests.
As the surgery began, doctors found that one lung was stuck to The study authors found that antibiotics
the chest bone forming bullae, which are like blisters and often
prescribed to prevent infection during dental
occur with COPD. The surgeons punctured one of the blisters,
causing an air leak.
procedures weren't necessary 81% of the
time. That's important because 10% of all
So that the patient wouldn't have trouble breathing, the
antibiotic prescriptions come from dentists,
anesthesiologist increased the amount of oxygen.
the researchers said.
Fed by leaking oxygen, a spark from an electrocautery device set
a dry surgical pack on fire. Doctors immediately put the fire out "Preventive antibiotics in these patients gave
and continued with the procedure, successfully repairing the them risks that outweighed the benefits,"
torn artery. researcher Jessina McGregor, an associate
professor at Oregon State University in
The findings were presented Sunday at the European Society of
Corvallis, said in a university news release.
Anesthesiology meeting, in Vienna.
"While there are only a few documented cases of chest cavity Antibiotics have been recommended to dental
fires -- three involving thoracic surgery and three involving patients who have certain heart conditions to
coronary bypass grafting -- all have involved the presence of dry
prevent mouth bacteria from infecting the
surgical packs, electrocautery, increased inspired oxygen
heart , the researchers explained.
concentrations, and patients with COPD or pre-existing lung
disease," researcher Dr. Ruth Shaylor, from Austin Health in But antibiotics can cause serious side effects
Melbourne, Australia, said in a meeting news release.
and contribute to the growing problem of
This case highlights the need for surgeons to be trained to act antibiotic resistance.
fast when such fires occur. They need to be particularly cautious
when operating on patients with COPD, the researchers added. Using a national database, McGregor and her
colleagues collected data on nearly 170,000
WebMD News from HealthDay
antibiotic prescriptions from dentists between
Sources 
2011 and 2015. Prescriptions were for more
than 90,000 patients.
Although 90% of the patients had a procedure
that might require an antibiotic, less than 21%
had a heart condition that fell under that
recommendation.
Across the country, the number of
unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions varied by
region, the findings showed. Most were in the
West -- of more than 13,700 prescriptions
written, 11,600 (85%) didn't follow prescribing
guidelines.
In the Northeast, 78% of the prescriptions
were unnecessary, as were 83% in the
Midwest and 80% in the South, the
researchers said.
Cities accounted for 82% of unnecessary
prescriptions, and rural areas accounted for
79%, according to the report.
The researchers used a broad definition of
high-risk cardiac patients, which suggests the
number of unnecessary antibiotic
prescriptions may be even higher.
Researcher Susan Rowan, of the University of
Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, added
that "dental providers should view this study,
which is the first to look at preventive
antibiotic prescribing for dental procedures,
as a powerful call to action, not a rebuke."
The study was published online May 30 in
JAMA Network Open.
WebMD News from HealthDay
Sources 
Copyright © 2013-2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Children's Health  Children's Vaccines  News 
U.S. Measles
Outbreak Hits
1,000 Cases, CDC
Says
June 6, 2019 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention now pegs the number
of measles cases at over 1,000 -- the most in
27 years.
So far this year, the CDC has counted 1,001
cases, with many occurring among New York
City's Orthodox Jewish community, the
Associated Pressreported.
The last time America saw this many cases
was in 1992 when over 2,000 cases were
reported by that year's end.
Before a vaccine was available in the 1960s
measles was common. But the vaccine
made the disease rare in the U.S. Ten years
ago there were less than 100 cases a year, the
AP said.
Although most Americans are vaccinated for
measles, outbreaks are now often occurring in
communities where "anti-vaxxer" parents
have refused to have their kids receive
vaccines.
WebMD News from HealthDay
Copyright © 2013-2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Palliative Care  News 
Could You Afford Home Health
Care? Maybe Not
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, June 6, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The seniors most likely to
need paid home care to maintain independent living are the least likely to
be able to afford it long-term, a new study reports.
Only two out of five older adults with significant disabilities have the assets
on hand to pay for at least a couple of years of extensive in-home care,
researchers found.
Without some help, those elderly are much more likely to wind up in a
nursing home, said lead researcher Richard Johnson. He is a senior fellow
with the Urban Institute's Income and Benefits Policy Center, in
Washington, D.C.
"We have this perception that the risk of becoming frail is evenly distributed
across the population, but it's really not," Johnson said. "It is more
concentrated among people with less education, lower lifetime earnings
and less wealth."
Aging folks increasingly want to stay out of nursing homes as their health
declines, maintaining their independence by living in their own houses,
Johnson said.
But there hasn't been a large increase in the number who are shelling out
for paid home care, national statistics show.
To see why that might be, Johnson and his colleagues turned to data
gathered by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
The researchers broke paid home care down into three scenarios: limited
care of 25 hours each month costing $475; moderate care of 90 hours a
month costing $1,170; and extensive care of 250 hours per month costing
$4,750 per month.
Initial results looked promising.
The investigators found that 74% of all seniors aged 65 and older could
afford at least two years of moderate home care if they cashed in all their
assets, and 58% could afford two years of extensive home care.
Then the researchers turned their attention to people most likely to need
home care -- those suffering from severe dementia or who require help with
two or more activities of daily living. These activities can include eating,
bathing, dressing, using the toilet, getting out of a chair or walking across a
room, Johnson said.
Only 57% of those most frail seniors could afford two years of moderate
home care, and only 40% could afford extensive home care for two years,
the findings showed.
For these people, the burden will fall hardest on their family at first,
Johnson said.
"Most people who become frail at older ages rely on unpaid family
caregivers," he said. "Those are the people who provide the vast majority of
care."
Paid home care provides relief for family caregivers, giving them a "respite
from the grind of constantly being on call to help a frail loved one," Johnson
said.
Without that respite, family caregivers are more likely to wear down. That
makes it even more likely that an elderly person who suffers a setback will
wind up in a nursing home, Johnson said.
The findings are "disturbing," said Eliot Fishman, senior director of health
policy at Families USA, a consumer health care advocacy group. "But it's
not surprising to me," he added.
"It's an issue I worry gets lost in the health care reform discussion, because
there tends to be a huge and understandable focus on health insurance
and the affordability of health care," Fishman said.
At the moment, paid home care tends to be expensive -- an average $22 an
hour -- and isn't typically covered by insurance, the study authors said in
background notes.
Only 11% of seniors aged 65 and older have long-term care insurance, and
Medicare doesn't cover home care services, the researchers noted.
Medicaid does cover home care, but there's a waiting list and people have
to be financially wiped out to qualify.
There's also a looming shortage of home care workers, which the Trump
administration's immigration crackdown could make even worse,
according to a Harvard Medical School study published this week in Health
Affairs.
Immigrants account for one in every four people working in long-term care
and direct care, that study showed. Reducing immigration will make the
labor-starved field even less stable.
So what can be done?
Johnson points to a recent innovation by Washington state as one path
forward.
Washington passed a law that imposes a 0.58% payroll tax on workers -- a
premium that pays into a fund to pay for home care, nursing home stay or
family caregivers if they become disabled, Johnson said.
"We could think of some sort of public insurance like that as a way to deal
with this problem," he suggested.
Fishman said another option is to change Medicare and Medicaid to cover
long-term care. Consideration of such a change probably should be
pursued outside the larger health care reform discussion, he added.
Discussions of paying for long-term care have typically tied into other
health care reform. "I wonder if that historically has been a mistake,"
Fishman said.
The new study appears in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs.
Brain & Nervous System  News  Mental Health
Having an Extra Finger Might
Be A Good Thing
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, June 7, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Though rare, some children are
born with an extra finger, a condition known as polydactyly.
Now, for the first time, a team of researchers set out to see whether having
this extra appendage is somehow beneficial.
The answer is yes.
The bottom line: Having an additional finger significantly boosts a person's
ability to manipulate objects, so much so that they can execute movements
with a single hand that would otherwise require two.
For the study, investigators at the University of Freiburg in Germany,
Imperial College London in England and the University Hospital of
Lausanne in Switzerland focused on two patients, each of whom had an
additional finger between their thumb and forefinger, on an otherwise
normal hand.
"We wanted to know if the subjects have motor skills that go beyond
people with five fingers, and how the brain is able to control the additional
degrees of freedom," explained study author Carsten Mehring, from the
University of Freiburg.
The researchers conducted a series of brain scans and behavioral
experiments designed to track how the two patients used their hands, and
their brain activity while doing so.
In each case, the investigators found the extra finger had its own muscles,
which enabled each person to move that finger separately from the other
five fingers.
"Our subjects can use their extra fingers independently, similar to an
additional thumb, either alone or together with the other five fingers, which
makes manipulation extraordinarily versatile and skillful," Mehring said in a
university news release.
But the bonus does not just derive from the placement of the physical
finger alone, as the team tracked much of the additional movement
capacity to parts of the brain that control motor skills, unearthing neural
networks that were specifically dedicated to control the extra finger.
According to researcher Etienne Burdet, from Imperial College London, "In
a nutshell, it is amazing that the brain has enough capacity to do it without
sacrificing elsewhere. That's exactly what our subjects do."
The findings were published June 3 in the journal Nature Communications
. "Notwithstanding its limitations, current estimates warrant greater
WebMD News from HealthDay
 News  Diet & Weight Management
1 In 5 People In Conflict Zones
Is Mentally Ill
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, June 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- About 22% of people who
live in conflict areas suffer from mental health problems, a new study
review finds.
Common problems include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress
disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, according to the World Health
Organization. About 9% have a moderate to severe mental health
condition.
These conclusions are based on a review of 129 previously published
studies. The numbers are significantly higher than the global estimate of 1
in 14 in the general population.
Researchers said earlier studies underestimated how living in war zones
and other conflict areas affects mental health. They found that depression
and anxiety increased with age, and said depression was more common
in women than men.
Mild mental health conditions were the most common (13%). An estimated
4% of conditions were moderate, and 5% were severe.
The Lancet.
The report was published June 11 in the journal
"I am confident that our study provides the most accurate estimates
available today of the prevalence of mental health conditions in areas of
conflict," lead author Fiona Charlson said in a journal news release. She is a
postdoctoral researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia and
the University of Washington in Seattle.
Conflict areas today include Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, South
Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In 2016, the number of wars was at a historic high -- with 53 ongoing
conflicts in 37 countries and 12% of the world's population living in an
active conflict zone, the study found. Almost 69 million people worldwide
have been displaced by violence and conflict, the most since World War II.
Researchers said the complexity of collecting data in conflict areas may
result in faulty estimates. Cultural differences in how conditions are
diagnosed may also affect the findings, they added.
Cristiane Duarte, a professor of child psychology at Columbia University in
New York City, wrote an accompanying editorial that called for greater
attention to mental health in conflict zones.
investment in prevention and treatment of mental disorders in conflict-
affected populations," she wrote.
 News 
When Healthy Eating
Becomes a Dangerous
Obsession
By Cara Roberts Murez
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, June 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- When eating healthy
becomes an around-the-clock obsession, it could be a sign of trouble.
An extreme preoccupation with clean eating is an eating order called
orthorexia nervosa. Though less well-known than anorexia nervosa or
bulimia -- and not as well-documented -- a new study review says
orthorexia can also have serious emotional and physical
consequences.
"Orthorexia is really more than just healthy eating," said review co-
author Jennifer Mills, an associate professor of health at York
University in Toronto. "It's healthy eating taken to the extreme, where
it's starting to cause problems for people in their lives and starting to
feel quite out of control."
The review of published research from around the world on the
disorder was recently published in the journal Appetite
.
Mills and her colleague Sarah McComb looked at risk factors and links
between orthorexia and other mental disorders. Orthorexia, unlike
some other eating disorders, is not yet recognized in the standard
psychiatric manuals.
Healthy eating to the extreme
No clear line divides healthy eating from orthorexia's extreme eating.
The foods someone with orthorexia might avoid are the same as those
someone with healthy habits might avoid -- such as preservatives,
anything artificial, salt, sugar , fat, dairy, other animal products,
genetically modified foods or those that aren't organic.
It boils down to whether avoiding foods leads to obsession -- excessive
time and energy thinking and fretting about what to eat. Some people
may eliminate numerous categories of food and eat only a very small
number of things. People with orthorexia are typically less concerned
about cutting calories than with the perceived quality of their food.
"They often are taking more and more time thinking about the foods
they're needing to purchase, particular foods, that makes it really
difficult for them to just live their lives," said Lauren Smolar, who
wasn't involved with the review. She is director of programs for the
nonprofit National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). "It can

A to Z Guides  News 
Maine Legalizes
Assisted Suicide
FRIDAY, June 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) --
Maine has become the eighth state to legalize
medically assisted suicide.
"It is my hope that this law, while respecting
the right to personal liberty, will be used
sparingly," Gov. Janet Mills, told the
Associated Press.
Under the law, doctors can prescribe a lethal
dose of a drug to terminally ill patients and it
will not be legally a suicide.
The bill had failed to pass in a state
referendum and also a number of times in the
state Legislature. It finally passed by one vote
in the House and a narrow margin in the
Senate.
The new law was praised by Staci Fowler, who
took on the fight for the law in honor of her
friend Rebecca VanWormer, the AP reported.
VanWormer died of breast cancer in 2017 and
had pressed for such a law for years before her
death.
"This is what she wanted," Fowler told the AP
"And now everybody has the option that she
didn't have."
WebMD News from HealthDay
Copyright © 2013-2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Parenting  News 
Study: Teens' Orientation a
Struggle for Some Parents
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, June 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Many parents of lesbian,
gay or bisexual (LGB) children take years to adjust after learning about their
sexual orientation, a new study finds.
The study included more than 1,200 parents of LGB youth aged 10 to 25.
The parents visited a website with LGB resources and were asked to
complete a questionnaire.
Of those parents, 26% had learned that their child identified as LGB in the
past month.
The parents were asked: "How hard is it for you, knowing that your son or
daughter is gay, lesbian or bisexual?" They responded on a five-point scale, the findings released Thursday by the Centers for
ranging from not at all hard to extremely hard.
The survey revealed that adjusting takes time. Parents who had learned
about their child's sexual orientation two years ago struggled just as much
as those who had recently been told.
Black and Hispanic parents reported a harder adjustment than white
parents, and parents of older youth had greater difficulty than parents of
younger children, the findings showed.
Fathers and mothers had similar levels of difficulty, as did parents of boys
Archives of
and girls, according to the study published June 18 in the journal
Sexual Behavior.
Parents who'd known for five years or more that their child is LGB reported
the least amount of difficulty.
"Surprisingly, we found that parents who knew about a child's sexual
orientation for two years struggled as much as parents who had recently
learned the news," said David Huebner, associate professor of prevention
and community health at George Washington University, in Washington,
D.C. "Two years is a very long time in the life of a child who is faced with the 2017,CNN reported.
stress of a disapproving or rejecting parent."
Previous research suggests that parents who have trouble adjusting are
more likely to disapprove or behave negatively, which can put LGB youth at
risk of serious health problems.
One reason parents may have trouble accepting that their child is LGB is
concern that he or she may face bullying or harassment, and a harder life
overall, Huebner suggested.
WebMD News from HealthDay
Sources 
Mental Health  News 
U.S. Suicide Rate Rose
33% Between 1999
and 2017
June 20, 2019 -- The United States' suicide rate in 2017
was 33% higher than in 1999 and is at its highest since
World War II, according to a new study.
It found that suicide rates among Americans ages 15-
64 rose from 10.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 14 per 100,000
What the Research Shows
in 2017,CNN reported.
American Indian or Alaska Natives had the highest
increase among all racial/ethnic groups, according to
Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for
Statistics.
There were significant increases in suicide deaths
among girls and women in all racial/ethnic groups
except Asian or Pacific Islander. The largest increase
(139%) was among American Indian or Alaska Native
girls and women, CNN reported.
Significant increases were also seen in suicide rates
among boys and men in all racial/ethnic groups except
for Asian or Pacific Islander. The largest increase (71%)
occurred among American Indian or Alaska Native
boys and men.
American Indian or Alaska Native, ages 15 to 44, had
the highest suicide rates for both males and females in
A separate study published Tuesday in the Journal of
the American Medical Association found that suicide
rate among U.S. teens ages 15 to 19 rose from 8 per
100,000 in 2000 to 11.8 per 100,000 in 2017. Among
young adults ages 20 to 24, the suicide rate rose from
12.5 per 100,000 in 2000 to 17 per 100,000 in 2017.
A CDC report released last year said U.S. suicide rates
rose 25% between 1999 and 2016, CNN reported.
June 24, 2019 -- Cannabidiol, or CBD, already being researched
and used for anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy and pain, may be the next
superbug fighter for resistant infections, a new study suggests.
The researchers tested CBD against a wide variety of bacteria,
''including bacteria that have become resistant to the most
commonly used antibiotics ," says Mark Blaskovich, PhD, senior
research officer at the Centre for Superbug Solutions at the
Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland
in Australia.
The development is important, as antibiotic resistance is reaching
dangerously high levels, according to the World Health
Organization.
CBD is a non-psychoactive compound taken from cannabis and
hemp; it does not produce the high that regular marijuana does.
To date, the FDA has only approved CBD for treating rare and
severe forms of seizure, although it is promoted for many other
health benefits.
Blaskovich presented the research Sunday at the American Society
for Microbiology annual meeting. The research includes work in
test tubes and animal models. Research presented at meetings
should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-
reviewed medical journal.
"The first thing we looked at is CBD's ability to kill bacteria," he
says. "In every case, CBD had a very similar potency to that of
common antibiotics."
The researchers tested the CBD against some strains of
, which cause skin infections, and streptococcus,
staphylococcus
which cause strep throat.
They compared how effective CBD was compared to common
antibiotics, such as vancomycin and daptomycin. "We looked at
how quickly the CBD killed the bacteria. It's quite fast, within 3
hours, which is pretty good. Vancomycin (Vancocin) kills over 6 to 8
hours."
The CBD also disrupted the biofilm, the layer of ''goop'' around
bacteria that makes it more difficult for the antibiotic to penetrate
and kill.
Finally, the lab studies showed that "CBD is much less likely to
cause resistance than the existing antibiotics," Blaskovich says.
The CBD ''is selective for the type of bacteria," he says.
He found it effective against gram-positive bacteria but not gram-
negative. Gram-positive bacteria cause serious skin infections and
pneumonia, among other conditions. Gram-negative bacteria
 include salmonella (found in undercooked foods) and E. coli ( the
cause of urinary tract infections, diarrhea, and other ailments),
among other bacteria.
In another study, also presented at the meeting, the researchers
tested topical CBD to treat a skin infection on mice. It cut the
number of bacteria after 48 hours, Blaskovich says, although it did
not clear the infection. That research is ongoing.
How It Might Work, Caveats
The researchers can't say exactly how the CBD may prove to be a
superbug infection fighter. "We thought it might work by
damaging the outer membrane of the bacteria, to make it leaky,"
Blaskovich says. "It doesn't seem to do that. It might be a
completely new mechanism of action."
He says the research results are promising but in early stages. He
also warns people that it's much too early to self-treat infections
with CBD.
The study was funded by Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which is
researching uses of CBD for skin conditions, and the Australian
government. Blaskovich is a consultant for Botanix.
Perspective
Brandon Novy, a microbiology researcher at Reed College in
Portland, OR, calls the study findings ''very promising,'' since the
results show the bacteria were not able to form resistance to the
CBD, and since the bacteria were not able to form a biofilm.
Both findings are important. "The biofilm is an important part of
the whole infection process," he says. "It helps the bacteria attach
[to whatever surface or host] and survive."
At the same meeting, Novy presented a preliminary study, finding
that CBD also looks promising to fight some gram-negative
infections.
"It is an important study that deserves to be followed up on," says
Amesh Adalja, MD, an infectious disease doctor and senior scholar among 13- to 19-year-old girls and and a 66%
at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
He was not involved in the new study. But he cautions that ''it is
important to keep it all in context. I think it is a good thing that reduction in three other types of HPV -- 31, 33 and expected to do so by 2021.
people are looking at the use of CBD for infectious uses in a
systematic way."
But the work so far is only in test tubes and animals. Many
question remain, such as looking at whether it is toxic, doses, and
the best way to deliver the CBD, Adalja says. He, too, cautions
against self-treating with CBD for infections.
WebMD Health News | Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on June 24, 2019
Sources 
© 2019 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
Cancer  Cervical Cancer  News 
HPV Vaccine
Beating Cancer-
Causing Virus
Worldwide
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, June 26, 2019 (HealthDay News) --
HPV vaccination programs significantly reduce
human papillomavirus infections and
precancerous cervical lesions, a new global
review finds.
Vaccination protects against the HPV strains that
cause the majority of cervical cancers.
Researchers analyzed 65 studies that included
data collected over eight years from more than 60 study author Marc Brisson. He is a researcher at
million people in 14 high-income countries.
They found a significant decline after vaccination Researchers noted there is a lack of data from
in the two types of HPV that cause 70% of cervical low- and middle-income countries, where
cancers -- HPV 16 and 18.
In addition, they reported an 83% decrease
decrease among women in their early 20s five to
eight years after vaccination. There was a 54%
45 -- in teen girls.
Researchers also found significant decreases in
precancerous cervical lesions, with a 51%
reduction in 15- to 19-year-olds and a 31%
reduction in 20- to 24-year-olds.
There were far fewer cases of genital warts, as
well. Cases decreased 67% among 15- to 19-year- about the vaccine's effectiveness; and resistance
old girls and 48% in boys; 54% in 20- to 24-year- to vaccination.
old women and 32% in men; and 31% in 25- to
29-year-old women.
The study was published June 26 in The Lancet
journal.
"We saw that programs with multiple age cohorts
[different age groups] of girls vaccinated and high
vaccination coverage have greater direct impact
and herd effects," study author Melanie Drolet
said in a journal news release.
Drolet is a senior research associate at CHU de
Quebec-Laval University Research Center in
Canada.
She said the findings reinforce a new position
from the World Health Organization (WHO),
which recommends vaccinating multiple age
cohorts of 9- to 14-year-old girls when the vaccine
is introduced in a country.
"Because of our finding, we believe the WHO call
for action to eliminate cervical cancer may be
possible in many countries if sufficient
vaccination coverage can be achieved," said
Laval University in Chemin Sainte-Foy, in Quebec.
cervical cancer rates are much higher than in
high-income countries.
At least 115 countries and territories include HPV
vaccine in their immunization programs, and
nearly 40 low- and middle-income countries are
Silvia de Sanjose, of PATH USA, wrote an editorial
that accompanied the study.
It said the findings should help promote HPV
vaccination worldwide in the face of such
challenges as cost and competing budget
priorities; inadequate supply; lack of awareness
HIV & AIDS  News 
Most Americans
Have Never Had
an HIV Test: CDC
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, June 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) --
Fewer than 4 in 10 Americans have ever
heeded federal government
recommendations to be tested for HIV, health
officials reported Thursday.
"Getting tested for HIV is quicker and easier
than ever before -- and when you take the
test, you take control," said Dr. Eugene
McCray, director of the Division of HIV/AIDS
Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. The agency
encourages everyone between the ages of 13
and 64 to get an HIV test at least once as part
of their routine health care.
Instead, the latest CDC survey found that:
Less than 40% of Americans have ever
had an HIV test .
Less than 30% of those most at risk for
HIV were tested in the last year.
In 50 places where more than 50% of HIV
diagnoses occur, less than 35% of those
who should be tested annually were
tested in the past year.
Only 26% of those in rural areas where
annual HIV testing is recommended were
tested in the past year.
Those who should get an HIV test each year
include:
Sexually active gay and bisexual men
Drug abusers
People with multiple sex partners since
their last test
People who have other sexually
transmitted diseases, hepatitis or
tuberculosis.
"Diagnosis and treatment are the first steps
toward affording individuals living with HIV a
normal life expectancy," CDC Director Dr.
Robert Redfield said in an agency news
release.
"As we encourage those at risk for HIV to seek
care, we need to meet them in their journey.
This means clearing the path of stigma,
finding more comfortable ways of delivering
health services, as well as learning from
individuals already in treatment so the
journey becomes easier for others who
follow," he added.
Regardless of whether the test is positive or
negative, it will help you take control of your
health, the CDC said.
People whose test is negative can help
prevent getting HIV by taking pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PrEP), in a single daily pill.
A positive test can lead to treatment that can
reduce the amount of the virus in your body,
extending your life and lowering the risk of
passing HIV to others, the CDC said.
The report was published June 28 in the CDC's
Most people infected with salmonella develop
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
. "We need trials directly comparing the efficacy and safety of
WebMD News from HealthDay
Sources 
Food & Recipes  Food Poisoning  News 
Salmonella
Outbreak Linked to
Mexican Papayas:
CDC
July 1, 2019 -- A salmonella outbreak that's
sickened 62 people in eight states appears to be
linked to whole, fresh papayas from Mexico, U.S.
health officials report.
Most of the sick people are adults older than 60.
Twenty-three people have been hospitalized,
putting the hospitalization rate at 66%, compared
with about 20% in a typical salmonella outbreak,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The illnesses began between Jan. 14, 2019 and
June 8, 2019, and most have occurred since April.
No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses have been reported in Connecticut,
Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.
It's believed that the source of the outbreak is
whole, fresh papayas from Mexico that were sold in
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, according to
the CDC.
It said that people in those states should not eat,
serve or sell whole, fresh papayas imported from
Mexico or eat fruits salads or other foods that
contain papaya from Mexico.
diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps 12 to 72 hours
after eating contaminated food. The illness usually
lasts four to seven days, and most people recover
without treatment.
Sleep Disorders News
 
HEALTHY SLEEP TRENDS:Sleep Apnea Leg Cramps Insomnia Restless Legs Syndrome
Narcolepsy Snoring
Pot a Substitute to Opioids
or Sleep Meds for Many
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 2, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- In places where it's legal,
people are often turning to pot to relieve pain and insomnia, a new
study finds.
For many, cannabis is replacing over-the-counter painkillers,
prescription opioids and sleep aids.
"These aren't the only reasons people are using marijuana, but it's
one of the drivers for use," said study author Dr. Gwen Wurm, an
assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine.
"People who are using it for those reasons are finding it to be
effective," she said.
The findings stem from a survey of 1,000 people who use marijuana
in Colorado, where it is legal. Of the 65% who said they use pot to
quell pain, 80% said it was very or extremely helpful.
A similar percentage said they had been able to cut back on use of
over-the-counter painkillers by using pot instead, and 88% said they
stopped taking opioids, the study found.
Three-quarters of the interviewees said they used pot to help them
sleep. Of those, 84% said it helped, and 83% said they were no
longer using over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids.
Compared with other drugs, cannabis is safe, Wurm believes.
On the plus side, marijuana users are not at risk of the respiratory
arrest opioids can cause, and pot won't make you dependent as
some sleep medicines do, she said.
"That doesn't mean that it doesn't have its own risks," Wurm
cautioned. "But until we can begin to study cannabis use, we are
really not going to know how best to counsel patients."
Other pain and sleep medications can have serious side effects,
Wurm noted. Opioid addiction is an epidemic in the United States,
and fatal overdoses are not uncommon. And over-the-counter pain
relievers like ibuprofen can cause stomach bleeding if used for
extended periods, Wurm said.
Also, people can become dependent on sleeping pills, which leave
them groggy during the day and affect their work, she said.
However, marijuana is still a drug with its own addictive properties
and risks, another expert warned.
Emily Feinstein, the Center on Addiction's chief operating officer and
executive vice president, previously told HealthDay, "Misinformation
and misunderstanding about marijuana is rampant. Marijuana is
addictive, and people who are dependent on the drug exhibit the
same symptoms as those with other addictions, including cravings
and withdrawal."
For the study, Wurm's team relied on a survey of people who bought
pot at two retail stores in Colorado, where any adult with a valid ID
can purchase it for medical or recreational use.
But if states like Colorado think legalizing weed will help curb the
opioid epidemic, a study in the June 10 issue of the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciencescasts doubt on that assumption.
In that study, researchers found no association between medical
marijuana laws and opioid overdose death rates.
In fact, the overdose death rate increased by about 23% between
1999 and 2017 in states that legalized medical pot, though only an
association was seen, researchers emphasized.
Paul Armentano is deputy director of NORML, a group working to
legalize marijuana nationwide. He called the findings in the new
study "significant, though not altogether surprising."
Other studies have found that use of medical marijuana is
associated with the reduced use or even elimination of prescription
opioids, he noted.
Another researcher thinks cannabis has a role to play in relieving
pain and aiding sleep.
"Is use of cannabis for pain relief and improvement of sleep
defensible?" said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin
Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn. "The answer is
yes, whenever cannabis can contribute a therapeutic effect with less
risk than the established alternatives."
Treatments need not be completely risk-free, and few, if any are,
Katz said, adding their use is justified when benefits outweigh risks.
Using cannabis to treat pain and insomnia seems worthwhile when
you consider the risks of opioids and sleep medications, he said. But
a survey alone doesn't prove its effectiveness, he added.
therapeutic alternatives," Katz said. "The best treatments are those
that win these contests of comparative efficacy."
The report was published July 2 in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
.
WebMD News from HealthDay

Parenting  News 
Parents Who Listen Help
Kids Thrive Despite
Trauma
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 9, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Heartfelt talks between
parent and child are essential to help kids overcome tough times
and do their best at school, a new study says.
Traumatic events in a kid's life can cause the child to neglect
school work and increase the odds that they'll wind up repeating a
grade, researchers found.
But having even one parent lend a kind and caring ear appears to
help kids work past the toxic stress caused by those events,
resulting in better performance at school, according to the study.
A sympathetic parent has a stronger impact on a troubled child's
educational performance than whether they eat regular family
meals or live in a safe and well-kept neighborhood, said lead
researcher Dr. Angelica Robles. She's a pediatrician with Novant
Health Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics in Charlotte, N.C.
"The parent really had the biggest influence," Robles said. "Kids
were six times more likely to complete homework and six times
more likely to care about school" if they had a parent who could
share ideas or talk about things that matter.
For their study, Robles and her colleagues analyzed data drawn
from a 2011-2012 federal survey of more than 65,000 children ages
6 to 17.
They found that adverse childhood events could seriously affect a
child's interest in school -- among them domestic or
neighborhood violence, economic hardship, substance abuse or
mental illness in the home, the death or incarceration of a
caregiver, and divorce or separation of parents.
Worse, the negative effect on school performance increases with
each additional adverse event. Kids with four or more adverse
events in their lives were nearly three times more likely to repeat a
grade, three times more likely to not care about school and four
times more likely to shrug off homework.
However, researchers found that positive engagement with a
caring parent could go a long way in offsetting the damage caused
by life.
A caring parent increased by sixfold a child's likelihood of
completing homework and being engaged in school, and nearly
doubled the odds that the kid would never have to repeat a grade.
Mental Health  Substance Abuse and Addiction  News 
The findings were published online July 8 in the journal Pediatrics.
.
"A child who had experienced trauma in their life was able to do so Legalizing Marijuana Not
much better in school if they said their parent cared about them
and that they could talk about things together," said Dr. Rebecca a Trigger for Teen Toking
Dudovitz, an assistant professor of pediatrics with UCLA's David
Geffen School of Medicine. She wrote an editorial that
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
accompanied the study.
TUESDAY, July 9, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Despite what many
A caring parent mattered much more than any other factor in
might think, legalizing marijuana does not encourage pot use
either the home or the neighborhood, researchers found.
among teenagers, and it may actually discourage them from
For example, having five or more family meals a week only made it smoking weed, a new study suggests.
about a third more likely that a child would do their homework
Medical marijuana laws don't appear to influence teens' use
and care about school, results showed.
of pot one way or the other, according to survey data from more
"We thought regular family meals would be protective, and they than 1.4 million U.S. high school students.
were slightly, but what is more important is if during that meal do
you have a conversation or do you have the TV on?" Robles said. And teen marijuana use actually seems to decline in states that
have gone further and legalized recreational pot, researchers
A safe neighborhood that is well-kept also had some protective report online in the July 8 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
effect for kids, as did supportive neighbors and nearby amenities
like parks and community centers, researchers found. None came "There is simply no evidence that legalization -- for medical or
anywhere near the benefit from having a parent who listens, recreational purposes -- leads to an increase in teen use," said
however. lead researcher Mark Anderson, an associate professor of
agricultural economics and economics at Montana State
For example, a supportive neighbor could make a kid 85% more University. "Opponents of these laws generally state this as a
likely to finish homework, 60% more likely to care about school primary concern, but there is just no evidence that teen
and 40% more likely to never repeat a grade. consumption goes up."
Other studies also have shown that having any caring adult in
Medical marijuana laws have been enacted in 33 states, while 10
their lives will improve a child's chances of success, even if it's just
states and Washington, D.C., have legalized the recreational use
a neighbor, Dudovitz said.
of pot, researchers said in background notes.
"There's a lot of studies to suggest that even relationships with
For the study, Anderson and his team analyzed responses to
people who are not the parents make a huge difference," Dudovitz
federal and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys gathered between
said. "Just being able to cite that you have a caring older adult in
1993 and 2017. These surveys track alcohol, drug and tobacco
your life is associated with a whole host of positive health
use among U.S. teens.
outcomes for kids."
The researchers compared reported marijuana use among
For example, studies have shown that a positive relationship with
teenagers before and after pot legalization occurred in 27
a teacher or coach can reduce a kid's risk of substance abuse, she
different states and the District of Columbia.
said.
They found that medical marijuana laws had no effect
"Kids are constantly paying attention to adults in their lives, even
whatsoever on whether teens toked.
teenagers who don't seem to care at all about what we have to
say," Dudovitz said. "They really are watching us and want to be On the other hand, recreational pot legalization resulted in an
seen as whole individuals." 8% decrease in the odds of marijuana use and a 9% decrease in
the likelihood a teen would become a frequent marijuana
WebMD News from HealthDay
smoker.
Sources 
Copyright © 2013-2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
"This could be due to the fact that it becomes relatively more
costly to sell to teens post-legalization," Anderson said. "This
result is consistent with the argument that it is more difficult for
teens to obtain marijuana as drug dealers are replaced by
licensed dispensaries that require proof of age."
These results jibe with information gained from other studies,
Anderson noted.
For example, a December 2018 study found that pot use among
younger teens in Washington state declined a small but
statistically significant amount following the legalization of
recreational marijuana in 2012.
Another study, published in February 2019, found that states
with medical marijuana laws had 1.1% fewer teenage pot
smokers than states without such laws.
"Our paper is the most recent in a now-growing literature that
has come to the same conclusion," Anderson said.
But the picture isn't quite that clear, argues Pat Aussem, director
of clinical content and development at the Center on Addiction.
"This study conflicts with other studies that have found that
states that have passed recreational marijuana laws have
experienced increases rather than decreases in adolescent
marijuana use," Aussem said.
"For instance, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health
reports both an increase in reported marijuana use and a
decrease in the perceptions of risk associated with marijuana
use among teens aged 12 to 17, compared to the national
average," she said.
The 2018 Monitoring the Future survey discovered an increase in
past 30-day pot use among the nation's teens, Aussem added.
Kids who experiment with pot could be doing long-term
damage to their brain, she said.
"Marijuana use interferes with the developing adolescent brain
and can create problems with critical thinking skills, impair
reaction time and coordination, and increase the risk of
developing other mental health disorders," Aussem said. "When
teens and young adults use marijuana, they are nearly twice as
likely to develop a cannabis use disorder as adults.
"It's our collective responsibility to ensure the mental health
fitness of our young people against the landscape of
legalization, proliferation of dispensaries, aggressive marketing
efforts and the increase in THC potency," Aussem concluded.
"They deserve nothing less."
WebMD News from HealthDay
Lung Disease & Respiratory Health News
 
Brain & Nervous System  Autism  News 
Many Pneumonia Patients Get Autism Largely Caused
Too Many Antibiotics
by Genetics, Not
Environment
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, July 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Two-thirds of hospitalized By E.J. Mundell
pneumonia patients may be prescribed antibiotics for too long,
HealthDay Reporter
increasing their risk for potentially harmful side effects, researchers say.
In 93% of cases, overprescription involved the number of antibiotics
WEDNESDAY, July 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The largest
patients received upon being discharged from the hospital. study of its kind, involving more than 2 million people
across five countries, finds that autism spectrum disorders
Each year in the United States, pneumonia sends 1 million adults to the
are 80% reliant on inherited genes.
hospital. The new study examined the medical records of 6,500 pneumonia
patients treated at 43 Michigan hospitals. Of those, 60% were interviewed That means that environmental causes are responsible for
by phone within a month after they left the hospital. just 20% of the risk.
Most patients who received too-long prescriptions for antibiotics got an
The findings could open new doors to research into the
average of two extra days' worth of pills, according to a research team led
genetic causes of autism, which the U.S. Centers for
by Dr. Valerie Vaughn of the University of Michigan. As she explained, the
Disease Control and Prevention now says affects 1 in every
more days of antibiotics a patient received beyond the recommended
59 U.S. children.
minimum, the higher their risk of experiencing side effects such as upset
stomach or yeast infections.
It might also help ease fears that autism is caused by
"'Antibiotic stewardship,' which includes choosing the right drug and the maternal factors -- a mother's weight, mode or timing of
right duration for each patient, has become a part of most hospitals," said delivery, or nutrient intake, for example. The new study
Vaughn, an assistant professor of internal medicine. found the role of maternal factors to be "nonexistent or
minimal."
"But these results show us that we need to pay more attention to
stewardship at discharge -- and suggest that guidelines for prescribers
Instead, "the current study results provide the strongest
should be clearer about how to calculate an appropriate duration based on
a patient's condition," she said in a university news release. evidence to our knowledge to date that the majority of risk
for autism spectrum disorders is from genetic factors," said
Overprescription of antibiotics is also a known contributor to antibiotic
a team led by Sven Sandin, an epidemiological researcher at
resistance, where bacteria find ways to mutate around the drugs.
the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
The study found wide variation among hospitals in the percentage of
pneumonia patients who were prescribed antibiotics for too long. In some The new study might help dampen public interest in
hospitals less than 50% of patients got too many of the drugs, while other supposed -- but unproven -- "environmental" causes of
hospitals gave an oversupply to nearly every patient. autism , such as vaccines. Long-discredited, fraudulent
data linking childhood vaccination with autism is still widely
Adding to the problem is the fact that national guidelines for treating
cited by the "anti-vaxxer" movement.
pneumonia are not precise, Vaughn noted.
She said that determining the amount of antibiotics a pneumonia patient "The contribution of the environment to autism spectrum
requires depends on their diagnosis, plus how long it took them to stabilize disorder risk appears to be much smaller than the
after treatment began. In general, most patients without risk factors need contribution of genetics," a team of experts said in an
about five days' worth of antibiotics; while those with risk factors, or editorial comment on the new study, which was published
pneumonia caused by especially difficult bacteria, need about seven days' July 17 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry
.
worth, Vaughn said.
However, genetic factors are frequently ignored, and instead
The study was published June 8 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine
.
environmental factors "often receive disproportionate
WebMD News from HealthDay

attention from the public and the media, even when (as in
the case of vaccine fears), they are debunked," wrote
psychiatrists Drs. Amandeep Jutla, Hannah Reed and
Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele in the editorial. They are all
from Columbia University in New York City.
According to Sandin and colleagues, the new study is the
largest and most rigorous yet conducted into the causes of
autism. The researchers looked at the medical histories of
more than 2 million children born in Denmark, Finland,
Sweden, Israel and Western Australia between 1998 and
2012. All were tracked until 16 years of age. Of the group,
just over 22,000 went on to develop an autism spectrum
disorder.
Based on the data, about 80% of their risk of developing the
condition was due to genetics, with the remainder of the
risk tied to as-yet-unidentified environmental causes. Only a
negligible amount of risk, about 1%, was due to maternal
factors, the study researchers said.
They noted the new numbers are roughly in line with those
from prior, smaller studies on the issue, further bolstering
their validity.
Dr. Andrew Adesman directs developmental and behavioral
pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde
Park, N.Y. Reviewing the findings, he agreed that it "provides
stronger evidence that autism is mostly due to genetic, and
not environmental, factors.
"Although families are often most concerned about
environmental risk factors for autism, the reality is that
genetic factors play a much larger role overall," Adesman
said.
But he stressed that the findings don't let potential
environmental factors -- which, unlike genetics, can be
changed -- off the hook.
"Environmental factors also play a smaller, but important,
role," Adesman said, so "this does not mean that we can
completely ignore the environmental risk factors and their
interaction with the genetic risk factors."
And he noted that despite the new data, "we are not yet
able to identify a specific genetic cause for autism in many
children." The next step, according to Adesman, is for
researchers "to identify more of the different specific
genetic differences or abnormalities that lead to autism in
an individual child or family."
WebMD News from HealthDay
Children's Health  News 
EPA Won't Ban Pesticide
Linked to Harm in
Children
July 19, 2019 -- Even though the pesticide chlorpyrifos has
been linked to brain harm in children, it will not be banned
in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency
announced Thursday.The agency said data highlighting
health concerns about the pesticide was "not sufficiently
valid, complete or reliable," and added that it would
continue to monitor the safety of chlorpyrifos through 2022,
The New York Times reported.
In 2015, the Obama administration said it would ban
chlorpyrifos after EPA studies showed that the pesticide
could damage brain development in children. That ban was electric-shock drownings since 1986, estimates David Rifkin, the co-
reversed by the Trump administration in 2017, which
triggered legal challenges.
In April, a federal appeals court gave the EPA a July deadline
to issue a final ruling on whether to ban chlorpyrifos, The
Times reported.
One of the groups that challenged the 2017 Trump
administration decision on chlorpyrifos was Earthjustice,
which acted on behalf of farmworker organizations and
others.
"By allowing chlorpyrifos to stay in our fruits and vegetables about one in five victims of drowning are children 14 and younger.
, Trump's EPA is breaking the law and neglecting the
overwhelming scientific evidence that this pesticide harms
children's brains," Patti Goldman, a lawyer for Earthjustice, lax in their habits.
said in a statement.
She said the groups would continue their legal challenge,
The Times reported.
Hawaii banned chlorpyrifos in 2018, and California and New water is not risk-free. The risk exists wherever there are water and
York are considering similar measures. Consumers and
environmental groups are urging the European Commission
to ban the pesticide.
In the United States, the chemical industry and farmers have
lobbied to continue using chlorpyrifos, saying it's needed to engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "You become
protect crops, The Times reported.
July 22, 2019 -- McKenzie Kinley died this month while doing a
perfectly normal thing: swimming in the family pool.
McKenzie was 10 and lived in Citrus Heights, CA. She was electrocuted
as she swam. Memorial services are this week, and a GoFundMe page There is no visual warning or other clue that water may be electrified,
had surpassed the $15,000 goal for funeral expenses.
Electric-shock drowning happens when an electric current, typically
low-level AC current from boats, docks, or lights, "escapes" and shocks
nearby swimmers. The shock paralyzes them, so they can’t swim or
help themselves.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, which serves the
community of Citrus Heights, responded to a report of an electrocution
on July 14, says Diana Schmidt, public information officer and fire
inspector II. CPR was in progress when the emergency responders
arrived, she says.
McKenzie’s official cause of death was low-voltage electrocution
associated with water submersion, says Kimberly Gin, the Sacramento
County coroner.
With this most recent death, there have now been at least 98 reports of
founder of the Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association.
Many more people escape death but are affected and sometimes
injured, Rifkin says. "We have about five or six times the number of
near misses as deaths," he estimates. Statistics are difficult to compile,
he says, since many incidents are unreported. And some of the 98
reports his association has received involve multiple people, he says,
and not all of the reports have been confirmed.
The CDC has no statistics specifically on electric-shock drownings, but
it does track unintentional drownings and says about 10 deaths a day
are attributed to it. From 2005 to 2014, there were about 3,536
unintentional drownings not related to boating every year. Overall,
Each drowning by electrocution brings pool and water safety to front
of mind, Rifkin says, but people soon forget about the danger and get
Fresh Water Has Shock Potential
These tragedies are more common in fresh water, experts say. In fresh
water, the body conducts electricity better than the water itself, the
Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association says. Even so, salt
electricity.
In many cases, electricity from docks, marinas, boats near marinas,
and from home swimming pools or whirlpool baths escapes due to
faulty wiring or other equipment. The electricity overwhelms your
body, says Donald Burke, PhD, an assistant professor of mechanical
part of that electrical path."
Depending on the level of the electric current, you can feel tingling or
lose control of your muscles, he says. The current can also trigger a
fatal heart rhythm. Or you can become so weak, you can't move, and
you drown. And it can happen quickly, says Burke, who’s also graduate
director of advanced safety and engineering management at the
university.
experts say. And it doesn't take much electricity to cause drowning.
According to the association, as little as one-fiftieth the current in a 60-
watt lightbulb can be fatal to a swimmer.I
Electric Shock Drowning Prevention
Awareness of the danger is the first step, experts agree. They offer
these precautions:
Don't swim near marinas. Stay at least 50 yards (half a football
field) away. Burke cautions swimmers to stay 100 yards away from
docks.
If someone in the water appears to be shocked, don't try to jump
in and save them -- you will probably be shocked, too. Instead,
turn off the power, call for help, throw a preserver into the water,
and warn others in the area to get away.
Have your home swimming pool, whirlpool bath, boat, and dock
inspected each year. The Electric Shock Drowning Prevention
Association says these need to be properly wired with a ground-
fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). The devices turn off the power
when electricity escapes into places where it can be dangerous.
Make sure your electrician is certified. Burke suggests hiring one
certified by the American Boat & Yacht Council. Examine your
equipment between inspections, and call an electrician if you see
damaged wiring, he says.
Boaters who rent a slip should be sure the marina manager or
owner schedules annual inspections by a certified electrician to
be sure the power system on the dock is safe, Burke says. "You can
also have an electrician come out and inspect your boat every
year," he says.
If you swim in a neighborhood or community pool, talk to the
homeowner association representative or pool manager to be
sure they do regular inspections.
Be sure to report and fix any missing or loose caulking, Burke says.
"Loose or missing caulking can allow water to get behind the pool,
hot tub, or Jacuzzi walls, and therefore increases the likelihood of
coming into contact with a live electrical component. It is also a
sign that regular maintenance is not being performed."
''Green light'' devices, which tell people there’s electricity in the
water, get a thumbs-down from the Electric Shock Drowning
Prevention Association. Although they can tell you of danger at
that time, they can’t tell you that danger’s coming. Sometimes
water can be safe at first, but then become electrified when
someone on land turns on a switch.
If you are in the water and feel a tingling sensation, try to swim
away from anything that could possibly be energized.

First Aid & Emergencies  News 
Guns in Home, Greater
Odds of Family Homicide
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Family members
are at risk of being killed in homes with guns in the United
States, a new study suggests.
For each 10% jump in home ownership of guns, the risk of
someone in the household being killed rises by 13%. The risk
of a nonfamily member getting murdered is increased only 2% Murders of family members rose significantly with gun
with gun ownership, researchers found.
"This study suggests that some of the risks associated with
gun ownership are fairly localized in the home," said lead
researcher Aaron Kivisto. He's an associate professor of
clinical psychology at the University of Indianapolis.
"Considered alongside the robust literature showing an
association between gun ownership and suicide, however,
these findings further suggest that gun ownership is
associated with mortality and that the most likely victim is
someone in the home," Kivisto said.
The risk of homicide goes up for both males and females in
homes with guns, but women are more at risk, he said. Only
about 1 in 4 murder victims is a woman, but women account
for about 3 out of 4 victims of intimate partner homicide,
Kivisto added.
Dr. Megan Ranney is an associate professor of emergency
medicine at Brown University. She was not part of the study.
"This study reinforces for women, in particular, a partner's
access to a firearm puts her at risk," said Ranney, who is also
chief research officer of the American Foundation for Firearm
Injury Reduction in Medicine.
Kivisto noted that the "narrative about gun ownership and
personal protection" is a common rationale for gun
ownership. But it tends to ignore the risks associated with
owning a firearm, including the risks to others in the home, he
said.
"Gun owners should weigh these perceived benefits and risks, Journal of Preventive Medicine.
and engage in safe storage and other practices to reduce the
risk of a domestic incident becoming fatal," he added.
However, Kivisto cautioned that this study shows an
association between guns in the home and increased rates of
murders of family members. It doesn't prove a causal
relationship.
For the study, Kivisto and his colleagues used data from the
U.S. Census, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report.
They looked at annual murder rates in all states from 1990
through 2016. And they gathered data on murders of intimate
partners, other family members, acquaintances and strangers.
During that time, 316,000 gun homicides occurred in the
United States, according to the study.
ownership and also varied regionally, the researchers found.
Gun ownership ranged from 10% in the Northeast to nearly
69% in the South and West. As gun ownership increased, so
did murders of family members.
Compared with the states with the fewest gun owners,
household murders were 65% higher in the states with the
most gun owners, according to the study.
Overall, about 1 in 3 firearm murders was of a family member,
with most gun murders occurring in the South.
Kivisto said that they did not distinguish between handguns
and long guns.
Attempts byHealthDay to reach out to the National Rifle
Association for comment were unsuccessful.
Ranney said the sobering statistics about women being more
frequent victims begs the question: "How do we make the
world safer for women in America?"
Understanding more about gun killings is essential, she said.
It's a problem that the federal government is prohibited from
funding research on guns, and that the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention is banned from researching
gun violence, she noted.
"Gun violence is a public health epidemic, and we have never
had an epidemic that the CDC is not involved in helping to
research and prevent," Ranney said.
The report was published online July 22 in American
the
Infertility and Reproduction  News 
U.S. Fertility
Rate At All-Time
Low
July 25, 2019 -- The U.S. fertility rate
continued to fall last year and reached an
all-time low, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says.
The general fertility rate fell 2% between
2017 and 2018 among girls and women
ages 15-44, according to a report released
Wednesday by the CDC's National Center
for Health Statistics, CNN reported.
By race, fertility rates fell 2% for white and
black women, and 3% for Hispanic
women. Births among teens ages 15-19
fell 7%, with decreases of 4% among
black teens and 8% among white and
Hispanic teens.
The rate of preterm births rose from
9.93% to 10.02% and the rate of early-
term births rose from 26% to 26.53%, CNN
reported.
The proportion of full-term births fell
from 57.49% to 57.24% and post-term
births declined from 6.58% to 6.2%.
A report released earlier this year by the
National Center for Health Statistics said
the 2017 U.S. fertility rate continued to fall
below what's needed for the population
to replace itself, CNN reported.
WebMD News from HealthDay
Allergies  News 
Are Too Many Kids Prescribed
Antihistamines?
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 30, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Many U.S. doctors are much less
likely to recommend cough and cold medicines for young children ever
since experts advised against it in 2008, new research shows.
That's the good news. The bad news?
Physicians are still more likely to recommend antihistamines for children
under age 12 with colds, despite the fact that they provide little known
benefit, the researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey said.
"Sedating antihistamines such as diphenhydramine [Benadryl] may have a
small effect on some cold symptoms in adults," said study lead author Dr.
Daniel Horton. He is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Rutgers Robert
Wood Johnson Medical School.
"However, there is little evidence that antihistamines actually help children
with colds feel better or recover faster. We do know that these medicines can
make kids sleepy and some kids quite hyper," Horton said in a university
news release.
Just over a decade ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
recommended against cough and cold medicines for children under age 2
due to safety concerns and uncertain benefits. The American Academy of
Pediatrics later advised against cough and cold medicines in children under
age 6.
"Families often treat their children's respiratory infections with cough and
cold medicines, some of which include opioid ingredients, such as codeine
or hydrocodone. However, there is little proof that these medications
effectively ease the symptoms in young children," Horton explained.
"Also, many cough and cold medicines have multiple ingredients, which
increases the chance of serious accidental overdose when combined with
another product," he added.
In the study, the researchers analyzed more than 3 billion visits by children
to U.S. clinics and emergency departments from 2002 to 2015. They found
that physicians ordered a total of about 95.7 million cough and cold
medications, 12% of which contained opioids.
After the FDA's advisory, there was a 56% drop in physician
recommendations for non-opioid cough and cold medicines in children
under 2 and a 68% decrease in recommendations for opioid-containing
medicines in children under 6.
Yet the researchers also found a 25% increase in doctor recommendations
for antihistamines to treat respiratory infections in children under 12.
"It is nice to see physicians are heeding the advice to avoid cough and cold
medications for children, but switching them to antihistamines is not
necessarily an improvement," said study co-author Dr. Brian Strom,
chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
The study was published July 29 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics
.