Community Safety

Alexandria, VA – Experts’ advice for keeping your ears clean remains the same. In recently updated guidelines, experts from the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation reiterated that cotton swabs are not appropriate tools for removing earwax.

Columbia, MO – Parents with young children should be aware of the potential for burns to the mouth caused by electrical cords, University of Missouri School of Health researchers caution in a recent study.

Washington – Do you sleep only five or six hours a night? If so, your risk of being involved in a vehicle crash is doubled – and that risk increases sharply the less you sleep – according to research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

San Francisco – With the holiday shopping season officially underway, the American Academy of Ophthalmology is reminding consumers that keeping safety in mind when buying toys for children can help prevent toy-related eye injuries.

Washington – The number of adults in the United States who smoke cigarettes fell below 40 million for the first time since modern recordkeeping began in 1965 – but not everyone has benefited from the trend. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the country, according to two new reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Essen, Germany – Tai chi, a low-impact martial art that features slow and meditative movements, can be as useful as conventional exercises in alleviating neck pain, according to researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen.

New Haven, CT – The rate of children hospitalized for prescription opioid poisonings nearly doubled between 1997 and 2012, according to a recent study from the Yale University School of Medicine.

Elk Grove Village, IL – Citing an expansive social landscape in which millions of young children and adolescents are “growing up immersed in digital media,” including streamed television and movies, video games, and virtual reality, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a set of recommendations for parents to promote healthy screen-time use by being their child’s “media mentor.”

Quincy, MA – Nine out of 10 people in the United States don’t know how often smoke alarms should be replaced, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by the National Fire Protection Association.

Cincinnati – People who suffer from headache disorders, such as migraines and cluster headaches, are at greater risk of developing hypothyroidism, according to a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine study.