Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjY4HtvANv/ Recall by: CPSC and Electrolux Home Products Problem: The felt dryer seal tends to fold inward with lint accumulation, ignition, fire, and burn hazards.  Sold: About 13,600 of these laundry centers were sold at Lowe’s, Home Depot, and other independent appliance stores. Action: Stop using the dryer on these recalled laundry centers.  Contact the E...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjYK2wRPbz/ Recall By: CPSC and ECR International Problem:  These recalled boilers are missing the flue inspection cover plates leading to leakage of combustion flue gasses including poisonous carbon monoxide. Sold: 1745 Dunkirk boilers were sold in the Northeast and Midwest. Action:  Stop using these recalled gas-fired hot water residential boilers and conta...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjXi4muIo6/ Recall By: CPSC and Soojimus LLC Problem:  These stainless steel cups contain levels of lead above those permitted by federal regulations.  Lead is toxic to the neurologic systems of developing children. Sold: 346,000 cups were sold online at amazon.com and at cupkin.com. Action:  Stop using these cups and contact Soojimus at 1-888-721-0096 or via...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjW33HOk6D/ Recall By: CPSC and Soft play Problem:  The sky Wheels detach from the overhead rails leading to falls and injuries to children using these playsets.   Sold to: McDonalds, YMCAs, Lifetime Fitness gyms, Burger Kings, Crunch Fitness locations, LTF Club Organizations and other fitness and recreational play sites. Actions: Don’t let your children use...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjVwyBvce6/ Recall By: CPSC and GAF Energy Problem: The electrical circuitry in these shingles malfunctions leading to overheating, fires, and burns. Sold: 2100 units through contractors nationwide. Action: GAF is remotely shutting off systems with these recalled shingles until each shingle has jumper modules replaced and electrical components checked.  For m...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviHuxTL89c/ Good news for parents of kids with severe food allergies and asthma.  ARS Pharmaceuticals has developed a system for delivery of lifesaving doses of epinephrine via a nasal spray.  Named Neffy, the spray delivers a 2 mg dose of epinephrine to nasal linings where the drug is quickly and efficiently absorbed into the systemic circulation.  The compan...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CviHAg1NVtH/ UC-San Diego bioengineers have created a 3D printed fingertip blood pressure monitoring device that attaches to your smartphone’s camera and flash.  As you press your finger against the clip-on device with an internal spring and a pinhole, it creates a red dot with a size proportional to press on the clip and the intensity proportional to blood fl...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CviGE8nNtaH/ Patients report pain, often severe and chronic, but until now, we haven’t had objective tests that correlate with that pain.  In a search for just that type of test, neuroscientists at UC-San Francisco reports their studies on 4 subjects with chronic pain poorly treated with conventional therapy.  Each had electrodes implanted in 2 regions of thei...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CviFMJ5LBTc/ From MIT in Boston comes a miniature ultrasonic scanner that may attach to a woman’s bra and help to detect breast cancers when they are smaller and more treatable.  The patch, composed of special piezoelectric material, is created using 3D printing technology.  It rests on a framework that permits its movement to 6 different positions allowing th...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CviEXehrgGu/ Testing for circulating troponin is a mainstay of a heart attack workup.  Troponin is a cardiac protein that is released into the bloodstream by damaged heart muscle.   To investigate whether more routine troponin level testing might be of predictive value, University of Edinburgh researchers drew troponin levels on 4240 subjects with a history of...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CviDmlOrxL4/ Scrambler therapy is a technique for eliminating chronic pain by applying  electrical stimulation to the skin around the site of that pain.  The news is that it yields significant pain relief for 80-90% of patients who receive it.  From Johns Hopkins comes a New England Journal of Medicine review of both this scrambler technique and the more tradi...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviC1t9rXQ0/ When you microwave a plastic baby food jar or pouch, you release tens of billions of nanoplastic particles and tens of millions of microplastic particles.  This startling and troubling fact from environmental engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The researchers filled multiple polypropylene jars and pouches of the sort regularly sold ac...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CviCCbjrjH7/ That’s the bad news just published by researchers at Boston’s Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, the University of Mississippi, and Michigan’s National Sanitation Foundation.  Their studies analyzed 57 dietary supplements touted online to improve your sports performance. Forty percent failed to contain detectable amounts of the...

https://www.instagram.com/p/CviBGNnRRno/ We know that CoVid attacks the smell receptors at the roof of the nose ruining the senses of smell but also taste.  It turns out, though, that our least favorite virus also directly damages the tongue adding to taste problems. Clinical investigators at the NIH launched indepth studies of 16 CoVid patients complaining of continuing taste issues.  Repeated bi...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvh_Ozutt-N/ The CDC is now out with a warning during this tick bite season that has nothing to do with Lyme disease.  Over the past several years, cases of a disease known as alpha-gal syndrome have been on the rise. Alpha-gal is a nickname for the sugar galactose-alpha-1,3 galactose, and this sugar is found in many mammals but not in us.  The alpha-gal probl...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsTBreuME_f/ Dr. Smith and WBZ Newsradio anchor Susan Rist discuss the proper way to insert a rectal suppository and a study that points out a popular misconception. https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/suppositories-how-to-use #suppository #rectal

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuBd6SAAHhL/ Here’s wishing you and your family a happy and safe 4th of July celebration.    Leave the firecrackers to the pros at public displays, protect your ears from the loud bangs and loud music, don’t drive or ride with a driver under the influence of drugs, and protect your skin with sunscreens.   I’ll be traveling from now until after Labor Day, so I’...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAkPGbAzNo/ Recall By: FDA; Scenic Fruit Company Problem: These frozen products are contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that causes a life-threatening infection in vulnerable individuals. Sold: Trader Joe’s retail stores, nationwide, and Cadia Health Food stores in California,Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Oregon and Texas. Actions: Re...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAeBZTOjSu/ Recall By: FDA; Foremost Foods Corporation Problem: These jelly cups are small enough to be accidentally aspirated leading to choking and death. Sold: Nationwide in large clear jars at Seafood City supermarkets. Actions: Return these jelly cups to the place of purchase for a full refund.  Alternatively, dispose of them in a sealed package inside a...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAcrGkpIj3/ Recall By: CPSC; Michael Giordano International Problem: These ceramic mugs are mislabeled as microwave safe. When microwaved, the metallic print on the mug sparks and creates fire and burn hazards. Sold:  About 26,400 were sold at Ulta Beauty stores nationwide and online at ulta.com as part of a promotional set with socks, hand and foot cream. Ac...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAb3SQO5Ax/ Recall By: CPSC; Zuru Problem: A child may fall or sit on the hard plastic top fin of these sharks creating risks of lacerations, punctures, and impalements. Sold: About 7.5 million sharks were sold at Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar General Corp., Family Dollar Services, HEB Grocery Company, Meijer, Target, TJX Companies, Ross, and Walgreens stores...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAavX3uCKn/ Recall by: CPSC; Sound Around Problem: These helmets fail to comply with the positional stability requirements of the CPSC federal safety standard for bicycle helmets. They fail to protect in the event of a crash creating a risk of head injury. Sold: About 1,800 helmets were sold at amazon.com, nordstrom.com, pyleusa.com and ruelala.com. Actions:...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAZzs-OvUI/ Recall By: CPSC; Research Products Corporation  Brands: AprilAire, Coleman, Luxaire, Bryant, Carrier and York. Problem: The humidifiers contain an electrode wire with a “D” shaped connector that can loosen causing arcing and/or overheating, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers. Sold: About 36,200 were sold in the US and about 3,800 were sold...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAYwbksIOC/ Recall by: CPSC; Infanttech Problem: The baby monitor’s battery can malfunction, overheat and burst, posing fire and burn hazards. Sold: About 17,100 units were sold at infant tech.com and amazon.com. Actions: Consumers should immediately remove the battery from the plush camera and can continue using the zooby plush camera and monitor if it is pl...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAXkKKuS6R/ The FDA has approved the oral medicine fezolinetant, branded as Veozah, as an effective treatment for severe vasomotor symptoms brought on by menopause.  This age is a neurokinin 3 receptor antagonist that effectively shields the receptor that controls body temperature.  The pill should be taken once a day, each day at the same time.  The drug’s e...