Safety
Does Paxil Kill Children?
On June 10, 2003 the British government issued a very strong warning about the antidepressant Paxil, called Seroxat in Britain, saying that it "should not be used in children and adolescents under the…
Bottled Water: Summer Tip
Dr. Greene's take on bottled water... I came across an interesting article in the June 3, 2003 Boston Globe. "Water bottles are not all created equal." The article quotes Ryan Jordan, a biofilm engine…
Potato Chip Petition
On June 4, 2003 the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a formal petition with the FDA calling for them to take immediate action to require food manufacturers to meet interim safe l…
The Two Faces of Swimming Pool Chlorine
Splash! Getting our kids physically active is a top priority for their short and long-term health, and swimming is a wonderful, fun way to do it. Public pools are typically treated with chlorine-based…
Your Child’s Brain
One important way to take care of your child's brain is to protect it from injury. Thankfully, wearing helmets has become common and cool while riding bikes. I hope helmets become just as natural duri…
EPA Report on Children and the Environment (Lead, Tobacco, Asthma, and Mercury)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released their second report on America's Children and the Environment on February 24, 2003. Where we have taken decisive action, kids' health is getting bett…
Body Burdens
Our drinking water is tested to look for the presence of toxic chemicals. Our air quality is monitored as well. Recently, several important studies have reported the levels of these chemicals in our b…
Many Prepared Foods Contain Unacceptable Levels of Acrylamide
On December 4, 2002 the FDA released the results of their preliminary testing of levels of the genotoxic chemical acrylamide in over 275 different samples of foods ? by brand. (more…)…
Hot Flashlights
In November 2002, thousands of Kidz Club flashlights were recalled by Eveready Battery Co. in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. These multicolored plastic and metal flashli…
To Choke
Even though only about 160 children die per year from choking, over 17,000 children have choking episodes serious enough to send them to the emergency room, according to the October 25, 2002 issue of …
Cold Season, Alcohol, and Clean Hands
Many of the most common and most dangerous infections spread via germs on the hands that make their way into the mouth, nose, or eyes. How best to keep our children's hands clean? The Centers for Dise…
FDA Establishes An Action Plan For Acrylamide
French fries and potato chips are common parts of children's menus in fast food restaurants, school cafeterias and fine dining establishments. Early in the year 2002 we learned that these familiar foo…
Heat Wave
I've been in earthquakes, firestorms, and hurricanes. I've been in a storm cellar when a tornado passed outside. All of these natural disasters are powerful dramas, taking and changing lives where the…
Hidden Dangers of Lead
Deaths from lead poisoning are now rare, but it is not unusual for a child's blood to contain enough lead to cause intellectual and developmental delay, neurologic problems, kidney disease, and anemia…
French Fries Surprise!
The World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting for the end of June 2002 to look at an urgent health concern with potato chips, French fries, and some other fried and baked foods. (more&…
Poison!
Your toddler has swallowed some berries from a plant in the park. Are they safe? What should you do? Poisoning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries in children. (more…)…
Teen Alcohol Consumption Shockingly High
Even though the legal drinking age in the United States is 21, more than a quarter of all alcohol consumed here is drunk by people under the age of 20! Experts at Columbia University's National Center…
Butterbur – An Effective Natural Remedy for Allergies? Is It Safe? Or Does It Cause Liver Cancer? What You Need to Know
Petasites is a shrub with incredibly huge leaves, up to 3 feet in diameter, usually found in low-lying wet areas and marshes. The plant is sometimes called butterbur, perhaps because the large, soft l…
Body Art
Tattoos and body piercing continue to become more popular. The largest study yet of this subject, published in the January 2002 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, reports that now most university u…
Roller Coasters, Amusement Parks, Injuries, and Neurologic Damage
Roller coasters are fun! Nevertheless, a study in the January 2002 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine reported a disturbing trend in the rate of thrill ride injuries. (more…)…