It is currently Poison Prevention Month, which was put into place in order to raise awareness of poisonous substances, thereby improving the ability to prevent and treat poison exposures such as lead poisoning. According to a recent alert released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one consumer product recently discovered to be a poison risk is a cosmetic clay called Bentonite Me Baby.

Bentonite Me Baby Could Cause Lead Poisoning

Bentonite Me Baby is a cosmetic clay that is sold online as well as at major retail outlets throughout the country, including Amazon.com and Target. According to the producer of Bentonite Me Baby, Alikay Naturals, the cosmetic clay is supposed to purify and clarify skin and hair. It is produced from aged volcanic ash and is supposed to be applied to the face once a week and to the hair no more than twice a month. Tests done by the FDA revealed that the clay contained high levels of lead. As a result, the FDA warns consumers against using the product.

Lead poisoning can cause damage to the central nervous system, the immune system and the kidneys. Children that are exposed to lead poisoning may suffer from behavioral and thinking problems. The FDA was warned of the potential high level of lead in the cosmetic clay by the Minnesota Department of Health. So far, there have been no cases of lead poisoning involving the clay.

Contacting a Poison Control Center

There are 55 poison control centers located around the country, all of which are supported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Anyone who is worried about having used the Bentonite Me Baby cosmetic clay can call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222 for free and confidential medical advice. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is a great resource for obtaining information about poisoning and can also help reduce costly hospital visits by providing in-home treatment advice.

Here at the Benefits Store, we strive to provide California residents with up-to-date news and information that could affect their health in addition to professional health insurance advice.

The final deadline for filing your tax returns is coming up soon. Before you file your taxes, make sure that you are taking precautions against identity theft. Tax-related identity theft continues to be a problem that the IRS is attempting to deal with. They have taken numerous steps to help protect taxpayers and assist victims of identity theft and refund fraud.

How Does Tax-Related Identity Theft Occur?

If your social security number is stolen by someone, then that person can use the number to file a fraudulent tax return in order to claim a refund. Your social security number can be stolen in several different ways, such as via a computer hack, a data breach or even through the physical theft of your social security card. Identity theft only affects a small percentage of tax returns, but if it occurs, it can cause a significant delay in your rightful tax refund.

How Can You Prevent Tax-Related Identity Theft?

The following are steps that you can take in order to prevent your social security number from being stolen and used for tax-related identity theft:

• Never carry your social security card or any documents that contain your social security number on your person—even if it’s in your wallet. Leave it at home in a safe place and only bring it with you if it is needed for a specific reason. The same goes for your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
• Be very careful about giving out your social security number or your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Just because a business asks for it doesn’t always mean you need to give it out.
• Go over your credit report every year to make sure there are no discrepancies.
• Use firewalls and anti-virus software to protect your computer against hacks.

If more than one tax return was filed on your behalf, if you owe additional tax, or if IRS records state you received more wages than you earned, you may be a victim of tax-related identity theft. Be sure to protect yourself against identity theft with our ID Shield, available at our Benefits Store.

For those who don’t know, there has been an outbreak of a new virus known as Zika throughout many parts of the world. The Zika virus is spread via infected mosquitoes belonging to the Aedes species. While being infected with the Zika virus is rarely deadly—in fact, symptoms can be relatively mild—it has been discovered that pregnant women who are infected give birth to babies with serious neurological birth defects. Although the Zika outbreak has occurred mostly in Brazil, a recent Zika case was confirmed in Yolo County.

Yolo County Zika Case

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that an individual recently tested positive for the Zika virus after returning to Yolo County from another country. Many health professionals have recommended that pregnant women avoid traveling to areas where the Zika virus has been found; however, people are now beginning to worry about the virus spreading from Latin America into parts of California.

Adding to that particular worry is the fact that the Los Angeles Daily News recently reported that the Southern California mosquitoes, which are small black and white striped mosquitoes, can carry the Zika virus as well. Even though these mosquitoes are found across the state and despite the fact that a Zika virus case was recently reported, health officials still believe that an outbreak of the Zika virus throughout the state of California is highly unlikely.

Safety Precautions

Even though a Zika virus outbreak is reported to be highly unlikely, it is still a good idea to take precautions. Women who are pregnant should reconsider traveling to areas where Zika outbreaks have been reported. Zika outbreaks have occurred throughout South America as well as Mexico. Anyone that has traveled to these locations and has shown symptoms of the Zika virus, which include mild fever, joint pain, rash, headaches and conjunctivitis, should be tested as the Zika virus can be sexually transmitted as well.

Here at the Benefits Store, we aim to provide California residents with up-to-date information about important health news in addition to providing health insurance advice.

It was recently discovered in a new trial that a treatment called eTNS (external trigeminal nerve stimulation) used for epilepsy and depression could potentially help to reduce the severity of chronic PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). eTNS is a wearable electrical brain stimulator—basically a patch that is worn on the forehead powered by a 9-volt battery.

The way the eTNS works is that it sends a weak electrical current through the patch while the patient is sleeping. The current helps to stimulate the cranial nerves running through the forehead. This, in turn, results in signals being sent to the parts of the brain that control thinking, behavior and mood. These parts of the brain also include the amygdala, the autonomic nervous system and the medial prefrontal cortex, all of which display abnormal activity in patients suffering from PTSD.

Promising Trial Results

The trial consisted of 12 patients with the average age of 53 suffering from PTSD. These patients were survivors of domestic abuse, car accidents, rape and other traumatic events. They underwent eight weeks of eTNS outpatient treatment by wearing the patch for eight hours every night as they slept. These patients continued previous treatments of their PTSD as they underwent the trial—treatments that included medication, psychotherapy or both. The patients completed a questionnaire before and after the trial that the researchers could use in order to assess how severe their symptoms were prior to the eTNS treatment and compare them to their symptoms following the treatment. They found that, on average, their symptoms were reduced by more than 30 percent, and the severity of their depression was reduced by more than 50 percent.

Following the success of the first trial, researchers are planning to collaborate with the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System to conduct a trial consisting of 74 veterans.

Results of the trial to treat patients suffering from PTSD using eTNS proved successful and could provide a new way to help PTSD patients. Be sure to visit us at the Benefits Store today to keep yourself informed about new medical news and healthcare information.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a condition that affects around 5.1 million Americans. Recently, a group of researchers at the University of Southampton in England stumbled upon the possibility that a chemical designed to reduce neuroinflammation may be able to protect against the memory and behavioral changes that are typically associated with Alzheimer’s patients.

Previous researchers linked chronic inflammation, which is caused by an overactive immune system, to Alzheimer’s. The new findings show that inflammation is not actually a result of Alzheimer’s, but is actually a key driver of the disease. Researchers conducted an experiment in which they compared the tissues of healthy brains with those of Alzheimer’s patients. They found that the brains of Alzheimer’s patients contained higher levels of microglia, which suggests brain inflammation. The molecules that regulate these levels of microglia within the brain became more active as the severity of the patient’s Alzheimer’s increased.

In a second experiment, the chemical GW2580 was given to mice that had a condition similar to Alzheimer’s. Researchers found that the chemical helped to reduce memory loss as well as reduce behavioral problems in these mice. Researchers then provided these mice with inhibitors that prevented the microglia from multiplying. Once the microglia levels stabilized, the progression of the disease stalled. The inhibitor helped to prevent the breakdown in communication between the brain’s nerve cells, which is what Alzheimer’s patients usually experience.

The tests that were conducted on mice have shown a particular pathway that is active in the development of Alzheimer’s. Researchers are now planning on using the results of these experiments in order to develop a safe and suitable drug that can be tested on humans. The findings have also shown that both diet and lifestyle may play an active part in preventing Alzheimer’s since they could possibly help to fight inflammation.

Alzheimer’s disease continues to be a serious problem for millions of Americans. Fortunately, new research could result in the development of drugs that may prevent the disease. To keep up to date with medical news, or for information about healthcare, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store.