Dr. Howard Smith Reports

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...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAWkQEJjdq/ Data from a wearable, in this case the Apple Watch, can predict a person’s ability to cope with adversity and manage stress.  Digital health researchers at New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital and medical school have studied data from 329 healthcare workers, average age 37 years, 63% women and 37% men.  All had iPhones and Apple Watches and downloaded a...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAVpBnPmwc/ The Israeli startup Salignostics has developed  a pregnancy test on a card similar to the CoVid tests.  The test, called Salistick, detects the presence in saliva of human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that surges in the body during pregnancy.  The test is 96% accurate on the first day of a missed period and 97% accurate on the second day.  Th...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAUolwvmnl/ University of Pennsylvania dental researchers in collaboration with Penn bioengineers have developed metallic nano-robotic particles that can be directed to sites of fungal infection and eradicate these dangerous yeasts.  The team has utilized catalytic iron nanoparticles called nanozymes to create microscopic robots that can be driven to infected...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuATUmxucVk/ The key to curing male hair loss may come from the unlikeliest source: an ugly hairy mole.  Stem cell researchers at UC-Irvine have discovered that such moles contain hair stem cell hyperactivity.  Investigating the triggers for hair growth in these moles using a mouse model, they found overproduction of a hair signaling factor called osteopontin o...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuASZwuuk9o/ Targeted low level electrical stimulation improves blood flow to  sections of the brain that lost this vital circulation as the result of  ischemic strokes.  UCLA neurologists mounted a preliminary study of 10 ischemic stroke patients.  Seven were randomized to receive individually focused very low transcranial direct current stimulation across th...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuARaSKNGBM/ Estriol, a relatively weak estrogenic compound that surges during pregnancy due to placental production, can reverse the deterioration of myelin nerve sheaths and may help control or even cure multiple sclerosis or MS.  UCLA neurologists studied the effects of estriol on brain tissue in a mouse MS model. Exposing the experimental animals with an M...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAQi-mvJJT/ CoVid viruses can damage the vagus nerve, critical for speaking, swallowing, proper digestion, and control of heart rate.  German infectious disease researchers conducted intense studies of 30 individuals with long CoVid and an average age of 44 years.  Eighty percent were women.  Two sets of controls were used: 14 who fully recovered from CoVid;...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAPOY-rmLB/ A full 20% of women who required so-called assisted reproductive technology, either IVF or ICSI, later become pregnant naturally.  University College London reproduction scientists conducted a meta-analysis of 11 human reproduction studies dating back to 1980.   These studies followed 5,180 women for over 2 to 15 years after they had either in vit...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAObRZgT7o/ Older individuals regularly using their computers, tablets, and phones to browse the web, email, and use social media enjoyed more than 50% lower risk of dementia.  NYU public health researchers followed 18,154 adults 50 to 65 years of age for 17 years.  Of the group, 65% were regular internet users. The data revealed that regular but moderate int...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuANT8wtYeB/ The odds that a football player will develop the devastating Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy appears to be triggered not by the numbers of concussions but rather by the cumulative numbers of head impacts and their severities.  This the result of a Harvard Mass. General Hospital retrospective study that reviewed the records of 631 deceased footbal...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAL2nZPnIt/ Head injury victims taking the blood pressure drug prazosin, branded as Minipress, experienced half as many headaches as those on an inactive placebo.  Washington state Veterans Administration healthcare researchers performed a randomized pilot study of the drug on 32 military veterans and active duty personnel.  An additional 16 received a placeb...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvwGXPsJbJ/ Recall by: FDA; Wawona Frozen Foods, Inc. Problem: Year old 4 lb. Packages of Wawona Frozen Foods Organic DayBreak Blend may contain the hepatitis A virus. Affected: Use By dates of 09/23/2023, 09/29/2023, 09/30/2023 and 10/18/2023 Sold: Costco stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Washington state. Actions: If you think that you may h...