Health Warnings

According to two studies out of the U.K., wearing daily disposable contact lenses or contact lenses that are supposed to allow more oxygen into the eyes does not lead to a lowered risk of developing dangerous eye infections.

Regardless of what type of contact lenses are used, the biggest risk factor for developing a painful infection of the cornea called microbial keratitis is sleeping with contact lenses on.

Melamine is a synthetic compound that is traditionally used to make plastics and laminates.

In 2007, melamine was suspected by the U.S. FDA to have tainted pet food, and in September 2008, almost 54,000 infants in China became ill after ingesting melamine that was found in baby formula and milk products; four infant deaths have also been reported.

Each year, just as multiple reminders on the need for and efficacy of getting a flu shot hit the news wires, I start receiving a steady stream of e-mails from readers, all asking the same basic question:

"Should I get a flu shot?"

My answer is an unequivocal no. I never recommend getting a flu shot. Based on everything that I know about flu shots, I think it's pretty clear that their main effect is to tax and possibly weaken one's immune system.

A 20/20 investigation suggests that fatal car accidents are regularly caused by old rubber tires spontaneously disintegrating on the road. This report focuses on the alarming reality that some new tires that are sold in stores like Wal-mart and Sears may actually be several years old. 20/20's investigation actually found some "new" tires on sale at Wal-mart and Sears stores in the States that were up to 12 years old.

View the complete 20/20 report here:

The headline is correct - brain tumors now claim more children's lives than any other type of cancer. There aren't any published studies in the medical literature that all epidemiologists can point to and offer as proof that regular use of a cell phone can increase a child's risk of developing a brain tumor. And there never will be such a study, as definitive proof in the research world requires a double-blind, randomized control trial; how can you conduct a trial in which you ask a group of children to use a cell phone for 'x' number of hours per week?

According to a study published in the August 1, 2007 issue of the journal Sleep, rotating shift workers have significantly lower levels of serotonin (precursor to melatonin) than people who work regular day shifts. A total of 683 men of European ancestry were evaluated for this study; 437 were day workers, and 246 were rotating shift workers.

Serotonin is a hormone that circulates throughout your body. It is also a neurotransmitter in your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). A chronically low level of serotonin is associated with many health challenges, the most common of which are:

Female night shift workers have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than the rest of the female population. An interesting study in the December 1, 2005 issue of Cancer Research provides new information that might partly explain why this is.

Researchers found that sleeping for several hours in nighttime darkness promotes a healthy blood level of a hormone called melatonin, which can significantly suppress the growth and proliferation of breast tumours.

Over the years, I have found that many people aren't aware that soap should not be used to clean the vaginal opening, the tip of the penis (urethral opening), and the anal sphincter.

Regularly applying soap to these areas can cause the mucosal lining in these areas to become dry and unhealthy. A chronically dry mucosal lining can lead to a number of uncomfortable health conditions, such as anal fissures, lichen sclerosus, chronic inflammation and a tendency to experience infections.

Since 1997, I've evaluated and worked with about two dozen people who have had knee or hip replacement surgeries. A few have reported having better quality of life following joint replacement surgery, while the majority have reported experiencing more difficulties than they did before having surgery.

If you have a severely deteriorated joint that prevents or significantly hinders basic activities of daily living, I think that joint replacement surgery is an option worth considering. But I think it's critical to do two things before undergoing surgery:

Before you use a conventional lice-treatment shampoo for yourself or your children, consider this: Many lice-treatment shampoos contain ingredients that have been banned as agricultural insecticides and are extremely toxic. For instance, the insecticide lindane, once used to protect crops such as barley, wheat, and corn from pests, is no longer used by farms in Canada, and has been banned in over 50 countries around the world. But it can probably still be found at your local drug store, in bottles of lice shampoo.

In 2002, the state of California in the United States banned lindane from being used in pharmaceutical products due to reports that the chemical was causing skin irritations, dizziness, headaches, convulsions, and even death.