The trouble with recalls

It’s simple: Not everybody hears about recalled products even when they get a lot of publicity. So it’s worth bringing up two recent recalls because you and your children need protection from products that can kill babies or – and this isn’t much of a stretch – burn the house down. We’re talking about cribs and laptops, believe it or not.

• The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than one and a half million Delta Enterprise Drop Side Cribs in October after they “trapped and suffocated” two eight month-old babies. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the cribs have two lethal defects: missing safety pegs and spring peg failure.
• One hundred thousand Sony laptop batteries were recalled in October after 40 incidents of overheating.  Users reported smoke and flames. Twenty-one cases involved damage to property. Minor burns were involved in other instances. Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell are involved in the recall. In 2006, Sony recalled almost 10 million laptop batteries for fear they could catch fire.

Houston’s 2008 child drowning already top 2007’s

Just because summer’s winding down doesn’t mean pool safety isn’t as crucial as it was when school vacations began. That’s because summer has been anything but a vacation from child drowning tragedies, with Houston in 2008 already eclipsing its total child drowning victims for 2007. By the end of July, Houston had 24 child drownings. In all of 2007, it had 22.
Yet another drowning was added to this year’s list on Aug. 11, when a 16-year-old boy who was visiting a cousin at an apartment complex in northwest Houston drowned while swimming by himself. Family members indicated the boy wasn’t a good swimmer, but that didn’t stop him from trying. And since no one was responsible for watching him, it was too late when he was spotted on the bottom of the pool to rescue and save him.Some safety experts say it takes only 20 seconds for a child to drown. That means every child who swims should be closely monitored at all times. Leaving the poolside for even a minute to grab more sunscreen or take a call is hardly worth the possible tragic tradeoff of having a young person drown. So even with summer vacation ending, no one should take a vacation from swimming safety and vigilance.

Car safety factors to become more visible for consumers

Kick the tires. Check under the hood. All finished and ready to buy? Not really. What about the most important component of any new vehicle: safety? Sure, you can check for yourself online or elsewhere, but do you really have authoritative answers? Maybe not – not yet. But starting with 2010 model cars, you will. When they hit dealerships in 2009, they’ll be the first to be sold under improvements to a federal government five-star safety rating program. As a result we will have – for the first time – an overall safety rating combining side, frontal and rollover crash tests. New cars also will gain a first-time rating on new crash-avoidance technologies, such as lane departure warning systems, electronic stability control and forward collision warning systems. This rating will alert consumers as to whether such elements are optional or standard features on the new vehicle they’re considering. Until then, you should do all you can to check out a car’s safety before you buy it. Getting a car in your favorite color is one thing. Having a car that’s as safe as possible is everything.

Safety in the Sun

Play it safe! Drink plenty of water and other fluids throughout the day, especially when you’re engaged in strenuous activities, and also when temperatures hit the 90s or above. Avoid alcohol and caffeine drinks, which won’t help hydrate your body. Good old fashioned water is your best bet, along with juice. And you should drink these vital liquids regularly, whether you feel thirsty or not.

That doesn’t mean you should exercise outdoors all you want, just because you’re drinking proper fluids. You might want to scale down your exertions in the heat of the day. The best times for vigorous activities are in the early morning hours, just before and just after sunrise. Like a good breakfast, exercise is a solid way to start out a day. If your outdoor activity ensues despite the heat or time of day, at least try to take breaks. Playing organized softball with some friends? Don’t wait for the “seventh inning stretch.” Maybe call a truce after three innings and take a water break in the shade, then resume play. Playing nonstop despite the heat might be a strike-out for your body, and it’s at least a foul ball.

Of course, when possible, you can plan some of your summer activities for indoors. Then you won’t need to take a heat break.

Outside, be sure to wear protective sunscreen over your exposed body parts, and for those that you cover, pay less attention to fashion than to comfort. That means dressing lightly, both in terms of fabric (cottons are good) and colors (white and light colors reflect much of sunlight’s heat, while black and dark colors absorb it).While you’ve got a green light to gulp down more fluids, don’t apply such binging to foods. When you do eat, try to have small, light meals, such as a turkey sandwich with mustard, not mayo, and a cup of fruit. Skip the chips and fries, and avoid salt, sugar and fat. Besides, you can eat such smaller meals more often, because it helps your metabolism to space out food intake.

Do these things and you should have a healthier, happier summer. And don’t forget to take time to take it easy. The body needs rest as well as exercise, and those lazy, crazy days of summer are as good a time as any to get it.