News in category: Protecting Your Family

Three lots of Vicks Sinex nasal spray is being recalled in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany after bacteria B. cepacia was found during a routine quality control inspection.

With three law firms and Erin Brockovich involved, the still mysterious cancer cluster at The Acreage in Palm Beach County is slowly moving toward litigation and some answers that the state of Florida has, so far, been unable to provide.

This new CDC study finds that between 1997 and 2007 incidents of allergic reactions to foods shot up 18 percent and parents of almost four percent reported a food or digestive allergy in their child. No one really knows why and until two years ago, the CDC was not even tracking.

They come with names such as Evil Eye, Max Fury, and Slingshot Party Gel. The FDA wants to make sure that so-called energy products combined with alcohol are safe since the agency has never approved the combination caffeine/alcohol.

A million Maclaren strollers will be recalled beginning Tuesday because a hinge that can trap little fingers and has amputated a dozen fingertips.

Kellogg's will remove immunity-boosting claims from the front of its cereal boxes of Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies after public scrutiny, rather than an FDA crackdown as some have received.

While Kellog's tells consumers that Cocoa Krispies helps boost immunity, the respected Dr. Andrew Weil takes down mention of his Immunity Support supplement from his Web site.

Birth defects are associated with the use of nitrofurantoins and sulfonamides, two antibiotics sometimes used during pregnancy.

The seasonal flu shot is sold for $100 in some places as the Attorney General's office in Connecticut investigates price gouging by distributors and manufacturers.

Swine flu inoculation side effects will be monitored by an independent panel of experts from public health to see if we repeat the side effects noted from the 1976 swine flu vaccine.

Children who go without insurance have 1.6 times the death rate during hospitalization of insured kids, this study from Johns Hopkins finds.

Atypical antipsychotics used in young patients for the first time led to a weight gain of anywhere from 11 to 19 pounds in just 11 weeks and an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides, making some question whether the drugs are a long-term solution for young people with psychiatric disorders.

Sony Corp. is voluntarily recalling certain VAIO AC adapters because they pose an electrical shock hazard to consumers. And Target is recalling 610,000 mini Halloween flashlights because they can overheat and melt.

The FDA does no testing of cosmetics or face paints  so a consumer group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, has taken over that job, testing 10 products from a Halloween store. The results are scary, but consumers aren't left in the dark if they are informed.

Pregnant women and mothers of young children are wary of the the swine flu vaccine. According to a new Harris Interactive poll, only one out of four plans to be jabbed - mainly out of fear of the new formulations.