Community Safety

Alexandria, VA – A new, free online tool from the American Association of Poison Control Centers aims to provide users with swift, expert responses to questions related to poisonings.

Columbus, OH – About once every eight minutes, a child 3 or younger is taken to the hospital because of a nursery product-related injury, according to a study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Champaign, IL – Add sugars, milks, creams, flavored syrups or honey to your coffee or tea, and you’re adding calories that can lead to extra pounds, a recent study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shows.

Aachen, Germany – People with pacemakers may experience a device disruption when standing very close to common household appliances and electrical tools, as a result of the electric and magnetic fields generated by these items, according to a recent study from the RWTH Aachen University.

Baltimore – An increase in eye injuries among preschool-aged children has been tied to laundry detergent pods, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University.

Aurora, CO – Do not drink peroxide. Ignore the claims that it works as an alternative medicine. That is the message from researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who recently reviewed a decade of poison control records for high-concentration peroxide ingestion from the National Poison Data System.

Columbus, OH – Medication may help a family pet feel better when sick, but parents and caregivers need to be aware that the medicine can pose a poisoning risk to children, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital warns in a new study.

Columbus, OH – Low back pain is common in school-age children, but only 7 percent of adolescents get medical care for the pain, according to research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine.

Aberdeen, Scotland – Behind hot dogs and candy, do you know the third most common cause of food-related choking among children younger than 5? Grapes, according to a case report from the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland.

Washington – New and expectant mothers, as well as those who are breastfeeding, should avoid fish with high mercury levels, according to new guidelines released Jan. 18 by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.