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FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Kids who get discouraged by idealized athletic bodies on social media may end up dropping out of sports, a small study suggests.In a preliminary study of 70 kids who played -- or used to play -- sports, researchers found that some had quit because they thought they didn't have the "right" body for the activity. And most got that idea from media images, including TikTok and Instagram posts.Experts said the findings add to evidence that unrealistic, often "filtered" or "edited," images on social media can make some kids feel bad about their own bodies.And in the case of kids who play sports, the study suggests, those feelings could translate into action: quitting.That outcome would be "heartbreaking," said researcher Dr. Cassidy Foley Davelaar,...

FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Climate change is bringing diseases once considered tropical afflictions to the United States, and new research warns that a parasite spread by sand flies may be the latest to join this growing list.The Leishmania parasite causes several forms of the disease leishmaniasis, including cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores. Cutaneous leishmaniasis infects up to 1 million people each year, mainly in the Middle East, central Asia, northern Africa and Latin America.Another potentially life-threatening form of the disease, visceral leishmaniasis, affects the spleen, liver and bone marrow, and a new study suggests this form may be gaining a foothold in U.S. sand flies when they feed on infected dogs brought into the country by well-meaning...

FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- CVS Health plans to pull cold medications that contain phenylephrine from its store shelves after federal regulators determined recently that the decongestant doesn’t work. Oral phenylephrine is an active ingredient in such well-known products as Sudafed and Dayquil. An FDA advisory committee ruled last month that the ingredient was useless in easing congestion."We are removing certain oral cough and cold products that contain phenylephrine as the only active ingredient from CVS Pharmacy stores," the company told CBS MoneyWatch."Other oral cough and cold products will continue to be offered to meet consumer needs," the company added.Another drugstore chain, Walgreens, said it "follows FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] regulations,”...

FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Tens of thousands of U.S. children received burns over a decade from beauty devices found in many homes: curling irons.“Hair styling tools are a timeless piece of our everyday routine, helping to create the picture-perfect look. Yet they have the greatest propensity to create a not so picture-perfect accident when not handled with care,” said Dr. Brandon Rozanski, lead author of a new study and a pediatric resident at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu.“Electric hair styling tools can reach temperatures as high as 450 degrees F in a matter of minutes, creating potential situations of unintentional burn injury for both the device user and surrounding bystanders,” Rozanski said in a news release from the American Academy of...