Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKeeh9vcqv/ Up to 90% of cosmetics contain the nastiest superbugs on the planet.  A British study just published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology cultured skin foundation blender sponges, mascara, and lip gloss finding grossly unhygienic conditions. These contaminated products contain Staph aureus, E. Coli, and Citrobacter freundii that can trigger skin...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKdl-OuiSG/ If you’ve had a heart attack, living with a dog can lower your risk of dying prematurely by up to 35%.  A Canadian meta-analysis just published in the journal Circulation tabulated the data from more than 3.8 million participants over 10 years. This large study shows that dog ownership prolongs lives and builds on previous work that credited dogs...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKcz4VLHOc/ Those suffering from bronchial asthma can experience a severe, sometimes fatal, exacerbation of their asthma at night.  Japanese pulmonary physiologists now report that the sleep hormone melatonin may be the culprit. The investigators found that higher doses of melatonin trigger the MT2 receptor in airway smooth muscle that causes the bronchial ch...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKbxcoMFv0/ Waiting even a minute before clamping the umbilical cord of a just-born premature infant can reduce that child’s risk of death before the age of 2 by 30%.  Researchers at the University of Sydney now publish their followup results on some 15,310 Australian and New Zealand premies half of whom had the clamping of their umbilical cords delayed for 6...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKbEggAcZM/ University of Cincinnati researchers show that adding blueberries to the diet of mid-life adults may reduce their chances of developing dementia later in life.  Blueberries contain a high level of antioxidants known as anthocyanin. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1619/htm #blueberries #dementia #antioxidants #anthocyanins

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKaUfIuu9-/ Over the past decade, the numbers of melatonin poisonings in children and adolescents have soared more than 5-fold.  As of 2020, melatonin was the most frequently ingested substance by children.   These are just 2 of the startling findings by a CDC study that reviewed cases between 2012 and 2021.  Also during the same time span, 4,000 children req...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKZbbMvK0m/ If you experience nightmares during middle age, you are about 4 times more likely to develop dementia as you age.  Neurologic researchers from Britain’s University of Birmingham studied 605 adults aged 44 to 57 years who were followed up for as long as 13 years with cognitive testing. The analysis also showed that this tendency toward dementia was...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKYc2QPbou/ A multi-site meta-analysis by Australian obstetricians provided the necessary statistical power to demonstrate the superior safety profile of balloon cervical dilatation over prostaglandin drug cervical ripening.  The investigators analyzed the data from 5460 women who participated in 12 studies. While use of balloon cervical dilatation did not pr...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8k3ekAp5m/ Dr. Smith talks with Lewis First, MD, MS, formerly of Boston Children’s Hospital and currently chief of pediatrics at the University of Vermont and editor-in-chief of the journal Pediatrics.  They take an on-air call from a mother of twins and give e her advice regarding management of biting. #twins #pediatrics #biting #drfirst #wbznewsradio #pare...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8k3ekAp5m/ Dr. Smith talks with former WBZ Radio sports broadcaster John Hennessy about the health benefits and possible dangers of video and computer games. #videogames #computergames #exercise #seizures #tendonitis #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8iYsbgzWB/ Dr. Smith recounts cases from the New England Journal of Medicine documenting aspiration of foreign bodies into the airway and  choking as the result of improper use of asthma inhalers. #aspiration #choking #foreignbody #asthma #inhaler #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8hOyKg_vd/ Lead-in by Gary LaPierre Dr. Smith reviews studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of bladder training and pelvic floor exercises for women’s incontinence problems. #incontinence #bladder #pelvicfloor #kegel #bladderexercises #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8gUeUgITo/ Meditation is designed to relax you, but a new study from University College London finds that one in every four persons who regularly meditates experiences a decidedly unpleasant experience on a regular basis. The investigators surveyed more than 1200 persons who had regularly meditated for at least 2 months.   The unpleasant experiences included...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8fg6Dg0AS/ The myth that falling asleep to the TV is good for children is now dispelled by a study from the University of ‘Massachusetts-Amherst.  Developmental specialists and neuroscientists there studied some 470 preschoolers and their parents using electronic sleep monitoring and questionnaires for behavioral assessment.   Thirty-four percent of the kids...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8dw9Ygjaj/ First we had tennis elbow, more recently football CTE dementia, and now we have golfer’s wrenched back.  The latest study in the Joural of Neurosurgery:Spine sounds an alarm for golfers to ease up on their swings a bit.   Over the past 40 years, competitive pressure has driven the golf swing to become more and more powerful.  Golfers now seek stre...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8crYzgz37/ Looking for a little warmth this winter.  Finnish and British scientists urge you to spend some time in the sauna and not only warm up but enjoy substantial health benefits.   Their report in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings demonstrates that regular sauna use reduces your blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease, improves lung function, energi...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8bgX5gerM/ Ninety percent of video gamers are not addicted to the sport.  This conclusion stems from a Brigham Young University study of 385 teens over a 6 year period. Those who were obsessed with gaming, pursing the sport to the detriment of healthy functioning, had a definite profile.  The vidicts I’ll call them tended to be male with higher than average...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8adkhAJwQ/ Does tapping, humming, slurping, and loud chewing drive you nuts?  You may have misophonia that is a real disorder with real differences in your brain wiring. For years, many professionals doubted  the existence of this problem.   Then, after study by groups in Australia and the UK over the past decade, the annoyance by repetitive sounds has been...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7YOoiruyt/   Cornell neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Mosconi has identified brain and body differences between the two genders.  Parade magazine encapsulated her findings this past weekend.   Women: See doctors more often Benefit more from plant-based diets Have greater risks of dementia Experience more anxiety and depression Suffer more headaches and migraines  Hav...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7XWqlL6PJ/ Brain tissue exposed to explosive shockwaves suffer a 60-80% decline in proteins necessary to maintain working connections and information flow between brain cells.  Neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina collaborated with colleagues at the US Army Research Laboratory to test the effects of select battle shockwave trauma on hippocampa...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7WeOvvKLG/ Consuming foods rich in the monosaturated fat oleic acid could prevent the autoimmune attack on your central nervous system that triggers MS.  This the conclusion of a Yale University study.   The immunobiologists found that fat tissues of MS patients were deficient in oleic acid.  When they added it back to the fat in the test tube, they found it...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7VhzLMO4N/ Being overweight but also underweight boosts a woman’s risk of suffering recurrent pregnancy losses by 20%.  British obstetricians performed a focused meta-analysis of 16 published studies covering nearly 66,000 women.   Repeated miscarriages are 21% more likely in women with BMI’s >25 than those with normal body weight.  In those with repeated...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7UgbcLSY4/ The debate about egg safety continues.  Some say that ingesting cholesterol-rich eggs plugs your blood vessels while others insist that the dangerous cholesterol is manufactured in your own body due to saturated fat intake.   A huge Chinese study using the American NIH-AARP database looked at more than 521,000 persons reporting their dietary choic...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7SmdLtfBz/ Exploding cigars are an old prank, but e-cigarette explosions aren’t funny and can be devastating to an increasing number of teens.  University of Utah surgeons combed the case records for 9 children’s hospitals looking for e-cigarette-related injuries during the years 2016 through 2019.   A total of 15 children 13 to 18 years were injured.  Ten r...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq7RMIxpwIB/ Taking a daily cocoa supplement may reduce your chance of dying from cardiovascular disease by 27%.  Preventive medicine investigators at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study in which 420 persons took a commercially available cocoa extract supplement each day for 3.6 years.  Each of t...