Ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Advil and Motrin, works better than acetaminophen with codeine to help child cope with the pain of a broken bone, a new study finds.

The study looked at children with broken or fractured arms, one of the most common childhood injuries.

They study found that a  significantly lower proportion of children using ibuprofen reported pain interfering with playing and eating. In addition, more than half (50.9 percent) of the children receiving acetaminophen with codeine reported adverse effects compared to 29.5 percent of those receiving ibuprofen.

Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol. A prescription is needed when codeine is added.

The New York State Osteoporosis Prevention and Education Program at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw is offering bone health education seminars three times beginning next month.
The seminars are open to hospital patients, as well as people in the community who want to learn more about the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Participants will learn what their bone density test results mean, how to promote healthy bones and how to reduce the risk factors for osteoporosis and fracture.
The most current information about nutrition, exercise and medications available for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis will also be discussed.
The seminars will be held Sept. 30 from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m;  Oct. 26, from  9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and Nov. 17 from  9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Bone Health Seminars are free. Pre-registration is required. For additional information, or to register, call 845- 786-4772. For additional Information, click here

The average U.S. life expectancy has risen to an all-time high of 78 years old, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.

Record high life expectancy was recorded for both males (75 years)  and females (80 years).  The gap between male and female life expectancy has narrowed since the peak gap of 7.8 years in 1979.

For the first time, life expectancy for black males reached 70 years, the report also highlighted.

The report, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2007,” was issued today by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.  The data are based on nearly 90 percent of death certificates in the United States.

The 2007 increase in life expectancy – up from 77.7 in 2006—represents a continuation of a trend.  Over a decade, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years from 76.5 years in 1997 to 77.9 in 2007.

Scientific health data typically lag by two years.

Touting its effort to control health-care costs, Wal-Mart today announced that it will offer a 90-day supply of approximately 300 generic prescriptions, each for $10 via free mail delivery to residents in 22 states, including New York and Connecticut.

The offer comes after the retailer successfully completed a pilot program in Michigan, the company says.

To check whether your medications are on the list, go to the retailer’s Web site: www.Walmart.com/pharmacy. The list includes popular diabetes, heart and mental health medications.

To order a refill call 1-800-2REFILL.

More than 60 people went to a free screening Saturday in Spring Valley to see if they show signs of kidney disease. Many of them learned about the program from a story I wrote last week in The Journal News and LoHud.com. The program, run by the National Kidney Foundation Serving Greater New York, screens people and gives them several hundred dollars’ worth of blood tests for free to see whether they have early signs of kidney disease.

Another screening will be held in Ossining in June. For more information call the National Kidney Foundation at  212-889-2210, Ext. 326.

Peregrina Cheese Corporation of Brooklyn is recalling all products manufactured from March 17 to now because they might be contaminated with Listeria.

Listeria is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms can include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The cheese products were distributed to retail stores in New York and Pennsylvania.

For a list of cheeses recalled click here.

Consumers who bought the cheeses are urged not to consume them and to throw  them out immediately.  For more information about this recall contact  Peregrina Cheese Corporation at 1-718-456-2391, Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Want to cheer up a friend with cancer? Or remind a loved one to go for a cancer screening? Or how about congratulating someone you know with epilepsy who has been seizure free?

You can send them a health-e-card courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The federal agency offers nearly 200 e-cards in both English and Spanish. The topics range from health and climate to fetal alcohol syndrome to flu vaccines and healthy pregnancy advice.

The e-cards are free. Check them out. Some are cool.

Bring a friend and move to the beat for a fun and informative evening of Zumba®, refreshments, and insightful women’s health education.

On Friday, September 25, at Club Fit in Briarcliff Manor, from 6:30 – 9:00 pm, Support Connection presents “Move to the Beat, Tune In and Take Charge of Your Health.”

Following a light dinner at the Club Fit Café, Linda John, LMSW, LCSW, will offer guidance on how to tune in and take charge of your health.

Ms. John is President/CEO of a nationally recognized Employee Assistance Program provider offering integrated wellness solutions. She is also an ovarian cancer survivor and Director of the Survivors Teaching Students Program of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Her theme will be “Give Yourself Permission to Listen,” with discussion on achieving well-being, “listening” to your body, and being pro-active about your health. Staff from Support Connection will also provide information about the groups’ services for women with ovarian cancer.

Then join the party and come learn Zumba®! It’s a fun, aerobic exercise class inspired by Latin dance that’s often described as a “feel happy workout.” No experience needed – just wear comfortable clothes and sneakers and be ready to move.

This program is open to the general public and is for all women. It is free but pre-registration is required. Call Support Connection: 914-962-6402 or 1-800-532-4290.

This program is presented by Support Connection, Inc. as part of their 2009 “Tune In and Take Charge!” campaign to build awareness of ovarian cancer signs and symptoms, to encourage women to self-advocate for their own health, and to give women the tools they need to take action. It is being held in September which is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Physicians, nurses and other health care professionals are being asked to sign up on a registry of volunteers who may be called on to help out during public health emergencies.

The ServNY volunteer management system is a Web-based registry of health care professionals and other individuals who are willing to volunteer during an emergency. The registration process collects and verifies contact information, professional qualifications, current health care practice information, and other  data.

When registering, volunteers have the option of signing up for ServNY or for their local volunteer program.

The state might active the registry if there is a major resurgence of swine flu  in the fall and winter.  Volunteers may be needed to provide vaccines and assist in the delivery of other services.

For more information click here.

With the swine flu expected to make a come back in the fall, the federal government has issued a set of recommendations about how schools and communities should deal with the illness.

The recommendations include much of the same that we heard in the spring, when the H1N1 virus first appeared.

The guidelines recommend basic good hygiene, such as hand washing.  In addition, students or staff members with flu-like illness should stay home at least 24 hours after fever symptoms have ended.

The guidelines also recommend schools have plans in place to deal with possible infection. For instance, people with flu-like illness should be sent to a room away from other people until they can be sent home. Schools should have plans for continuing the education of students who are at home, through phone calls, homework packets, Internet lessons and other approaches. And schools should have contingency plans to fill important positions such as school nurses.

If H1N1 flu causes higher rates of severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths, school officials could add to or intensify their responses, the guidelines say. Under these conditions, the guidelines advise parents to check their children every morning for illness, and keep the children home if they have a fever.

In addition, schools could begin actively screening students upon arrival and sending ill students home immediately.  If one family member is ill, students should stay home for five days from the day the illness develops, the guidelines say.

To see the guideline, click here.