Health Warnings

When I was in elementary school, I remember spending several hours following an appointment with the dentist chewing away at the inner portions of my mouth, thinking that it was neat that I could gnaw away without feeling any pain.

It just didn't occur to me that the local anesthetic that I had received made it impossible for me to feel pain while I was doing severe damage to the tissues that lined my inner mouth. Read more

Researchers at the University of California at Riverside are set to publish a paper in the journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine that indicates that sunscreens may actually be harmful to the health of your skin and make it age faster than normal.

Sunscreens contain special molecules called ultraviolet (UV) filters that are supposed to prevent ultraviolet radiation in the sun's rays from reacting with molecules in your skin and creating compounds called reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are unstable molecules that can damage your skin from the inside out and accelerate its natural aging process. Read more

Lead poisoning has become less of a health threat to the general population since lead-based paint and leaded gasoline were phased out in the 1970s. Still, those who work around lead, pregnant women, infants, and young children continue to be at significant risk of suffering from mild to moderate cases of lead poisoning. Unborn babies, infants, and young children are especially at risk because exposure to even small amounts can lead to permanent damage. Lead can be absorbed through the placenta and breast milk. Read more

A new study out of the Yale University School of Medicine indicates that exposure to ultrasound waves during routine ultrasound scanning can affect fetal brain development.

Lead researcher Pasko Rakic encourages pregnant women to avoid unnecessary ultrasound scans until more research is done. Read more