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Health Highlights: March 21, 2013
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: Axe Body Spray Not Welcome at Pa. High School Students and staff at a Bethlehem, Pa. high school have been asked to stop using Axe Body Spray after a teen suffered a serious allergic reaction to the fragrance and is now being home schooled. "The purpose of this posting is to make all parents, staff and students aware of a medical issue involving a Freedom High School student having an extreme allergy to Axe Body Spray. This allergy is potentially life threatening for this student," said a statement posted this week on the school's website, CBS News/Associated Press reported. "My request to all Freedom Family members is that we take into consideration this student's allergy to Axe Body Spray and refrain from using it as your cologne or fragrance of choice while attending Freedom High School," the statement urged. Rosa Silk told a TV station that the student who suffered the reaction was her son, 15-year-old Brandon Silk. Over a period of nine days, his throat closed up three times after breathing in the smell of Axe Body Spray and he had to be rushed to the hospital, CBS News/AP reported. ----- Health Care Law Saves Seniors $6.1 Billion on Prescription Drugs About 6.3 million American seniors saved more than $6.1 billion on prescription drugs because of the Affordable Care Act, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. She said the act makes Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D) more affordable by gradually closing the so-called donut hole, which is the gap in coverage where beneficiaries have to pay the full cost of their prescriptions out of their own pockets. People in the donut hole now receive discounts when they buy prescription drugs. Additional savings will be provided each year until the coverage gap is closed in 2020. In 2013, the discounts and savings were increased to 52.5 percent of the cost of most brand name drugs and 21 percent of the cost of covered generic drugs, Sebelius said. Also under the act, people who enroll in Medicare Advantage and Part D now have access to a wider range of high-quality plans, with more four- and five-star plans now available. ----- New NFL Rule Meant to Reduce Head and Neck Injuries In an effort to reduce head and neck injuries, a new NFL rule will prohibit runners and defenders from lowering their heads and striking a hard blow with the crown of their helmets when they are outside the tackle box. Breaking the rule will result in a 15-yard penalty from the location of the infraction, The New York Times reported. NFL owners passed the rule Wednesday by a vote of 31 to 1. The lone holdout was Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals. Along with improving the safety of professional players, another consideration in adopting the new rule was to change the message to younger players about making big hits at any cost, according to those involved in the discussions that led to the new regulation, The Times reported. ----- Children Getting Into Medicines a Major Problem: Report Each year in the United States, there are about 500,000 cases of children who get into medicines or receive the wrong dose, according to Safe Kids Worldwide report released Wednesday. The group found that each minute of the day, a poison control center receives a call about a potential medicine poisoning involving a child age 5 and younger. Every eight minutes, a child with medicine poisoning arrives at an emergency department, the CBS News reported. The numbers have increased 30 percent over the last decade and this rise is likely due to the increased amount of medications at home, according to Safe Kids Worldwide. The group noted that eight out of 10 adults said they took at least one medicine or vitamin in the past week, and three out of 10 said they took five or more. Ibuprofen is the medication that kids are most likely to get into, according to the report. "Ask any parent, and they will tell you they store medicine where children can't get them," Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide, said in a news release, the CBS News reported. "But they might not be thinking of pills stored in purses, vitamins left on counter tops or a diaper rash remedy near a changing table." The report was released to coincide with National Poison Prevention Week, March 17-23.
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. URL:http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=674654
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