by Tripp Underwood on December 1, 2011
By Lois Lee, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine physician at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Now that the turkey and pumpkin pie are long gone, children have turned their holiday attention to what they think matters most—toys. But as you glance over those ever- growing wish lists, how can you be sure which toys are safest for your family? Fortunately for the safety conscious gift-giver in all of us, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) recently released Trouble in Toyland, their annual report on toy safety. This is the non-profit consumer organization’s 26th report, which for years has provided safety guidelines for consumers, as well as highlight toys currently on store shelves that could be potentially dangerous. It’s a great guide for parents, but by no means a rulebook; when shopping for your family, keep in mind that a little common sense goes a long way. Full story »
by Claire McCarthy on October 25, 2011
Dr. Claire McCarthy is a primary care physician and the Medical Communications Editor at Children’s Hospital Boston. Along with her blogs here on Thriving, you can find her at the Huffington Post and Boston.com. Follow her on Twitter @drClaire.
BPA is found in many plastics but evidence about its effects on pregnant women and babies has grown more worrisome recently.
Once upon a time, more than a hundred years ago, a scientist in Germany created a chemical called Bisphenol-A, or BPA.
Around thirty years later, other scientists discovered that BPA was similar to estrogen, the main female hormone of the reproductive system. They thought of using BPA as a synthetic estrogen. But there were better synthetic estrogens, so they didn’t.
Then, in the 1940’s and 50’s, yet other scientists discovered that BPA was a useful chemical after all. They found that it could be used to make all sorts of things, including plastic linings for cans and polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate plastic was particularly useful, because it is clear and shatterproof—making it perfect, for example, for baby bottles. Soon BPA was being used in hundreds of different products, from baby and water bottles to bike helmets to dental sealants and medical equipment.
It wasn’t until the 1970’s that laws came into place to regulate the safety of industrial chemicals. And that’s where the BPA story gets interesting. Full story »
by Tripp Underwood on August 16, 2011
Cigarette manufacturer Reynolds American Inc. recently released a new ad campaign for its American Spirit line, touting the eco-friendliness of the brand. The ads boast that the company uses recycled paper, electric hand dryers and ceramic mugs instead of paper towels and disposables cups. It even goes as far as to point out that their sales team drives hybrids. Thankfully it stops short of saying that America Spirits are a healthier cigarette than non-green alternatives, but the message is pretty clear: if you smoke and care about the environment, American Spirit is the brand for you.
Hopefully most people will recognize these ads for what they are, a green tinted smoke screen devised to push an otherwise unhealthy product. But regardless of the campaign’s success, the fact that these ads exist at all says a lot about how the eco movement influences people’s buying habits. If something as unhealthy as tobacco is rebranding itself as green, then it’s safe to assume that phony green marketing has infiltrated other markets as well. Full story »
by Andrea Mooney on July 8, 2011
Wide-brimmed hats are one way to keep your baby's skin safe from the sun
Long, lazy beach days, backyard barbecues and pool parties are all part of the perfect sunny summer day. But while we’re soaking it all up, we should also take in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new sunscreen regulations that were announced on June 14 – the first change the organization has made to its recommendations in the past 30 years.
Up until now, sunscreen makers could claim that a product offers “broad spectrum coverage,” but that phrase wasn’t clearly defined. Starting in 2012, this definition will be clearer:
- Sunscreen can only be labeled “broad spectrum” if it protects people from both ultraviolet-A (UVA) and ultra violet-B (UVB) rays.
- Because sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of less than 15 offers less comprehensive protection, it will now come with a warning label explaining that it may not protect skin from cancer, burn or premature aging.
- Since sunscreen can be washed and worn off, the words “waterproof,” “sweatproof” and “sunblock” will no longer appear, and instead we’ll see the term “water resistant.” It’ll also offer directions on how frequently it should be reapplied.
- SPF numbers will be lower. The SPF numbers had been confusing in that they’re not actually proportional. (SPF 30 is not actually twice the coverage as 15.) The FDA will cap sunscreens at SPF 50 (which is near 100 percent coverage), since SPFs 70-100 were doing little more than SPF 50.
Because the regulations won’t be in place until 2012, Stephen Gellis, MD, program director of Dermatology at Children’s Hospital Boston, suggests using common sense and keeping your own skin’s burning potential in mind when choosing a product. He says that sunscreen should be a second or third defense, and that staying out of the sun or covering up is a much more powerful way to keep your skin healthy. Full story »
by Tripp Underwood on April 22, 2011
Happy Earth Day! As people the world over take time to recognize the importance of protecting the natural world, I wanted to reflect on recent efforts Thrive has made to explore the ways the environment is linked to the healthy development of children. Not surprisingly, we’ve had a lot to talk about.
Lately Thrive has touched on topics like how air pollution increases ear infections in kids, the dangers of using environmental toxins like bisphenol A (BPA) in children’s products and how parenthood can sometimes change a person’s outlook when they think about the planet’s future. At the center of these discussions is Ari Bernstein, MD, MPH a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston and faculty member at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.
When not working as a pediatrician at Children’s, Dr. Bernstein spends much of his time thinking about how the environment shapes kids’ health. He’s also passionate about finding ways to improve the environment, which would support the well-being of children everywhere. That type of dedication makes him a great source of information for parents wanting to know more about how nature influences the healthy development of their family. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on March 25, 2011
Written by Aaron Bernstein, MD, MPH, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston and faculty member at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.
In the Middle Ages, people concocted mixtures of wormwood, mint and balm to treat stomach problems and applied rubs made of rose and lavender to alleviate chronic migraines. Considering how far medicine has come since, many people assume that modern science is the driving force behind today’s powerful drugs. It may surprise them to learn that he world around us is still the source of most of our modern medicines.
For the past 30 years, only 1/3 of the drugs approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration were created in labs, based on human resourcefulness alone. The remaining 2/3 were given to us, more or less, by nature. Although most of these medicines were made safer and in some cases more potent with the help of human ingenuity, most of what makes them medically useful comes directly from mother nature. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on January 24, 2011
Is poor air quality giving your child ear infections?
Aaron Bernstein, MD, MPH is a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston and faculty member at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.
As parents, many of you are well familiar with ear infections. They may start with mild discomfort and a little tugging on the ear but can quickly blossom into severe ear pain for your child and sleepless nights for everyone in the house.
In addition to all the inflammation, sleep loss and mounting crankiness, ear infections account for more pediatrician visits and antibiotic prescriptions than any other condition. All told, the United States spends about $5 billion each year diagnosing and treating ear infections. So although ear infections may each be considered a relatively minor illness, given all the cumulative pain and cost they can generate, they represent a major burden on kids, parents and the healthcare system. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on December 20, 2010
How safe is your baby’s bottle? Massachusetts is taking extra precautions limiting the level of BPA in kids’ drinking products.
Massachusetts has banned the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in all baby bottles and sippy cups sold in the state. BPA is a chemical used in the liners of cans and in plastic containers to prevent spoilage and/or make them clear and shatterproof, making it particularly attractive in the production of baby bottles.
BPA is one of the most common chemicals that people are exposed to, but concerns about how it could affect developing bodies have lead the Public Health Council to approve new regulations barring the production or sale of reusable food and beverage containers for toddlers and infants that contain the chemical. Studies have warned about the potential health effects of BPA- especially for pregnant women, nursing babies and children who eat formula- but data linking the chemical to proven health risks are somewhat murky.
In the following editorial, Aaron Bernstein, MD, MPH of Children’s Hospital Boston and faculty member at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, discusses BPA’s origins, why it’s so controversial and what is being done in Congress to protect children from it’s potential risks. Full story »
Now that the turkey and pumpkin pie are long gone, children have turned their holiday attention to what they think matters most—toys. But as you glance over those ever- growing wish lists, how can you be sure which toys are safest for your family? Fortunately for the safety conscious gift-giver in all of us, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) recently released Trouble in Toyland, their annual report on toy safety. This is the non-profit consumer organization’s 26th report, which for years has provided safety guidelines for consumers, as well as highlight toys currently on store shelves that could be potentially dangerous. It’s a great guide for parents, but by no means a rulebook; when shopping for your family, keep in mind that a little common sense goes a long way. Full story »
