Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHeabmDPrFD/Large and small boxes with lot code 11152026 are contaminated with bird flu virus (H5N1).These recalled boxes were distributed to retailers in California, Colorados, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington in November 2024.If you bought this cat food,  stop feeding it to your pets.  Return this feed to the place of purchase for proper destruction and a full refund.If you already fed your cat this recalled food, watch for symptoms of bird flu including fever, lethargy, eye discharge, breathing issues, and neurological signs. If you handled the product, watch for bird flu symptoms including eye redness, cough, sore throat, fever, and fatigue.  For more information, contact Savage Pet at 1-619-270-0295 or via the email info@savagecatfood.com.https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/savage-pet-recalls-savage-cat-food-chicken-large-and-small-boxes-because-possible-bird-flu-health#savage #cat #chicken #h5n1 #birdflu

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHeZ68SgMUF/The affected black batteries overheat and ignite creating fire and burn risks.About 40,370 batteries were sold nationwide through Amazon, Costco, Sublue, West Marine, and other online retailers from June 2018 through February 2025.Stop charging and using these recalled batteries and contact Sublue at 1-855-206-8698 or via the email support.us@sublue.comfor a free replacement battery. A battery collection kit will be provided for the return of the recalled battery, and the new battery will be sent upon return. Follow local guidelines for safe disposal of lithium-ion batteries.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Sublue-Recalls-Lithium-Ion-Batteries-Sold-for-Sublue-Mix-Underwater-Scooters-Due-to-Fire-Hazard#sublue #batteries #overheat #fire #burns #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHeZQ90OMiG/The fork steerer tube on these affected bikes and framesets can crack, break, or separate creating a risk of serious injury. Only bicycles and framesets with a V5 fork are affected.About 1,300 units were sold nationwide through authorized BMC bicycle dealers and online from July 2022 through February 2025.Stop riding the recalled bicycles or using the recalled framesets and contact an authorized BMC dealer for a free inspection and fork replacement. For more information, call BMC USA at 1-888-262-7755 or via the email kaius-fork-recall-USA@BMC-Switzerland.com.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/BMC-Recalls-Kaius-01-Bicycles-and-Framesets-Due-to-Fall-Hazard#bmc #kaius #bicycles #steering #falls #injuries #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHeYuQIPaIM/This heater’s fan fails to turn on leading to overheating and ignition. Affected is model number BHN2133.About 6,050 fans were sold at Meijer stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Kentucky from September 2024 through January 2025.Stop using these recalled heaters and return them to any Meijer store for a full refund.  For more information, call Meijer at 1-800-927-8699 or contact the company online via the contact form at help.meijer.com.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Meijer-Recalls-Konwin-Desktop-Heaters-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards#konwin #heater #fan #overheating #fires #burns #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHeYGjVuyu5/The safety snap clasp on these teethers can detach and create a choking risk to young children. The recall affects multiple models including Assisi, Little Flower, God’s Grace, Cecilia, John the Baptist, and Divine Mercy for the Rosary teethers, and Genesis, Maccabees, Esther, Wisdom, Divine Mercy, Psalm, and Proverbs for the Decade teethers.About 5,700 teethers were sold online at chewslife.com between January 2024 and April 2024.Take these recalled teethers away from your baby and contact Chews Life at 1-888-742-2276 or via the email sandy@chewslife.com to arrange a free repair. The company will provide a prepaid shipping label to return the recalled items, and repaired teethers will be mailed back at no charge.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Chews-Life-Recalls-Silicone-Rosary-and-Decade-Teethers-Due-to-Choking-Hazard#chewslife #teether #rosary #clasps #aspiration #choking #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHeXk0NNGcd/These Black Diamond harnesses degrade over time, fail to support climbers, and create serious injuries or death.About 1,580 harnesses were sold in the US and 130 were sold in Canada at Liberty Mountain, REI, and at other specialty outdoor stores nationwide as well as online at blackdiamondequipment.com, backcountry.com, and evo.com from January 2018 through February 2025.Stop using these recalled harnesses and contact Black Diamond at 1-866-306-0865 Or via the email VisionHarnessRecall@bdel.com for a full refund in the form of a credit card reimbursement or a one-time-use $200 store credit for purchases at Black Diamond stores or online. The company will provide a pre-paid shipping label for returns.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Black-Diamond-Equipment-Recalls-BD-Vision-Climbing-Harnesses-Due-to-Fall-Hazard-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-and-Death#blackdiamond #climbing #harness #fail #injuries #death #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHeWm3vvxOD/These stools collapse or tip over while in use creating a serious fall and injury risk to children.About 10,300 toddler stools were sold exclusively on Amazon.com between March 2024 and December 2024.Immediately stop permitting your children to sit on these recalled stools. Contact Blissful-Time at 1-833-999-9327 or via the email support@onasti.net to receive a free repair kit or additional information.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Onasti-Toddler-Tower-Stools-Recalled-Due-to-Serious-Fall-and-Injury-Hazards-Sold-Exclusively-on-Amazon-com-by-Blissful-Time#onasti #children #stools #collapse #injuries #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHeV00BtmNv/These glass bottles tend to crack creating an injury risk.  Affected are lot numbers 11/28/2024 L and 11/27/2024.About 61,500 bottles were sold by Trader Joe’s in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas between December 2024 and January 2025.Stop using the recalled bottles and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. No proof of purchase is required. Refunds will be given as cash or store credit.  For more information, contact Gerolsteiner at 1-800-777-0633 or email the company at customerservice@consup.us. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Gerolsteiner-Sparkling-Water-Bottles-Recalled-Due-to-Laceration-Hazard-Manufactured-by-Gerolsteiner#gerolsteiner #traderjoes #sparkling #water #bottles #laceration #recall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHWsv0DpXHF/It turns out that consistently filling your glass with white wine leads to a 26% higher risk of any cancer but only in women.  A white wine habit is also associated with a 22% higher risk of skin cancer for men and women.  Brown University dermatologists and epidemiologists now report these conclusions from their meta-analysis of 42 studies and nearly 96,000 participants.Red wine has the reputation of being protective against many forms of cancer since it contains resveratrol, a natural anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory substance.  This compound does inhibit the proliferation of breast, colon/rectum, skin, stomach, and kidney cancer cells in tissue culture.  However, this clinical study fails to show any protective effect of either type of wine for these forms of cancer.The bottom line: neither red or white wine protects against cancer.  Those at risk for skin cancer, namely very light-skinned individuals, should avoid white wine.  And women would be advis

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHWsGm-M6lc/Those burgers, fries, donuts, and milk shakes during pregnancy not only load pounds on your frame but also create liver disease in your baby.  Collaborative research from the Universities of Oklahoma and Colorado using a macaque animal model reveals that steady ingestion of a high fat, high sugar typical Western diet during pregnancy creates undue stress of the baby’s developing liver.That liver condition, known officially as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), involves an excess buildup of bile acids.   That leads to long term liver damage in the form of scarring.  Even a healthy, post-birth diet fails to prevent this insidious liver disease.So ladies….Do yourself but, more importantly, your unborn babies a huge favor and consume a healthy diet of lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats from sources like nuts, avocados, and olive oil.  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/l

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHWrZMmM_b_/A nanogel coupled with a cell-penetrating compound more effectively delivers antibiotics to kill bacteria that hide within bladder lining cells and perpetuate urinary tract infections.  Pharmacologists and microbiologists from the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Campus report the successful development and deployment of just such a drug.The researchers combined polymeric nanogels with a peptide compound that eases their cellular entry and the antibiotic gentamicin in order to effectively kill pseudomonas bacteria that hide within bladder lining cells.  When injected into the bladder, this nanogel-peptide-antibiotic complex is able to convey 36% more of the antibiotic into the cell interior than conventional administration techniques.  When tested in animal models, it successfully eliminates more than 90% of bladder bacteria.  This technique shows great promise for more effective management of not only persistent and recurrrent bladder infections but also

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHWqt9XOIpA/Chemists from the Czech Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and the John’s Hopkins Drug Discovery unit have synthesized several compounds that, when swallowed and metabolized, create natural anti-inflammatory compounds that can help trigger the regrowth of hair.  Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that produces hair loss and bald patches.  These newly-synthesized prodrug compounds, once within the body, lead to the production and release of itaconic acid and 1-methyl itaconate.  Using a mouse model, the researchers show that oral administration of the prodrugs leads to release of these natural anti-inflammatory compounds with the skin.  The prodrug to drug trick is necessary since the itaconate compounds themselves are not readily absorbed into the body.This discovery is an exciting prospect for those suffering from alopecia.  Results with conventional therapy using steroids, minoxidil, or, recently, the chemotherapeut

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHWqGMHsxHy/Diabetes-related deaths dropped by 32% from 2000 to 2019.  That is a decline from 28.1 deaths per 100,000 people to 19.1  This progress in diabetic management occurred in all racial and ethnic groups.Epidemiologists from Seattle’s University of Washington report these heartening statistics after their review of data from US government databases.  The declines were most significant for non-white and non-Asian Americans.  Latino Americans had a 50% mortality decline, Native American and Alaskan Native peoples had a drop of 43.9%, and Black Americans had a drop of 43%.  Asian Americans had 30% decline.  White Americans had a 28% drop.  These improvements occurred due to better therapy with improved insulins, GLP-1 medications, and statins all leading to better blood sugar management. The most significant improvements occurred between 2005 and 2013, but the progress rates have slowed more recently.Though every group saw improvements, we have much further to go.

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHWphOavLTB/Receiving sequential CoVid vaccinations in the same arm boosts your initial protective antibody responses 4.5 fold.  Research immunologists at Australia’s University of Melbourne report this result after analyzing the immune responses to CoVid vaccination in a mouse model.  This more rapid, stronger antibody responses could better protect you during sudden outbreaks of CoVid.  Following the antibody response over time showed that, by one month post-vaccination, the antibody levels were statistically similar whether the animal was vaccinated in the same or the opposite extremity.The heightened initial antibody production occurs because already sensitized lymphocytes in the lymph nodes draining the vaccinated arm are ready and able to manufacture a new batch of antibodies.  Eventually, the vaccine’s antigens make their way through the body and trigger a more diffuse immunologic response.What’s the bottom line:  choose to receive your repe

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHWouikv4B-/University of Maryland virologists, in conjunction with staff at the Vaxart company, now report that a newly developed oral norovirus vaccine candidate is safe and effective.  This vaccine in tablet form, VXA-G1.1-NN, delivers a nonreplicating adenoviral vector that carriers the norovirus G1.1 major capsid protein VP1.  The vaccine underwent phase 1 testing in a group of 65 adults ages 55 to 80 years of age.  The vaccine is well-tolerated, and capable of producing a robust immune response  with both IgG and IgA antibodies appearing at one month and remaining protective for up to 210 days,Norovirus is the number one cause of gastroenteritis in the U.S. triggering 20 million cases per year.  It preys upon older adults, particularly those in nursing homes.   After this oral, easily administered vaccine undergoes further testing including that in a randomized, blinded Phase 3 trial, it will be ready for routine clinical use.  .https://medicalxpress.com/news/202

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHWnueHvHxv/The World Health Organization and the UK’s Francis Crick Institute sponsored an international meeting of influenza virologists to select those strains of the flu virus to be included in the 2025-2026 Influenza vaccines.   This vital conclave, usually held in the US on an annual basis, was just canceled by the our current government.The 3 strains selected for next season’s vaccines include two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain.  As in the past, the WHO continues to recommend a trivalent vaccine. They are for egg-based vaccines: A/Victoria/4897/2022 (H1N1); A/Croatia/10136RV/2023 (H3N2; and B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage).  For cell culture-, recombinant protein- or nucleic acid-based vaccines they are: A/Wisconsin/67/2022 (H1N1); A/District of Columbia/27/2023 (H3N2); and B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage).  For those vaccine with 4 strains, so-called quadrivalent, the B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata line

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHWnH5EMJ4m/Microplastics, the microscopic and nano-sized plastic particles that are invading our bodies, lend a hand to bacteria attempting to evade our most powerful antibiotics.  Boston University bioengineers studied this phenomenon using E. coli, the bacteria that often cause serious and sometimes deadly food poisoning,The investigators show that, when  these bacteria attach to microplastics, they are able to more readily form so-called biofilms.  These multi-layered film coatings serve as refuge for the bacteria and prevent even powerful antibiotics from killing them.The BU group is expanding its work from the laboratory to the clinic.  By understanding how these ubiquitous microplastics are empowering bacteria in their resistance tour  antibiotics, they hope to reverse the trend toward a greater number of antibiotic-resistant bugs.  Meanwhile, your best defense is keeping microplastics out of your body by drinking water, cooking, and storing food in glass and me

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHWmcgnMxf3/Two-thirds of children wearing peanut skin patches were safely desensitized to this common kid allergen.  Pediatric allergists at the University of Colorado followed 298 children 4 to 11 years of age in their phase 3 study of so-called epicutaneous  immunotherapy.The Viaskin Peanut Patch delivers 250 ug of peanut protein, and over 90% of the children were able to wear the patch for the entire 5 year study period.  The children’s level of tolerance to a stiff peanut protein challenge of 1000 ug rose gradually as they wore the patch.  After one year, one-third of the children tolerated this challenge but that figure tripled by the study’s completion.The Viaskin Patch still awaits FDA approval, but it represents a non-invasive, readily tolerated option to the oral route for peanut desensitization. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/epicutaneous-immunotherapy-future-peanut-allergy-treatment-2025a10005s3#peanut #allergy #patch #desensitiza

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHJpEFNOP0m/These slot car kits contain loose, high-powered magnets that pose ingestion hazards to children. When ingested, the magnets attract each other in the gastrointestinal tract leading to intestinal perforations, blockages, infections, and even death. Fully assembled models are not affected by this recall.About 55,000 kits were sold nationwide at Hobby Lobby, SlotsnStuff, NitroHobbies Inc., Hercules Distributors, RC Superstore, and at other hobby retailers, as well as online at autoworldstore.com, protinkertoys.com, and hobbylobby.com from July 2023 through February 2024.Keep these slot car kits away from your kids.   Contact Round 2  a 1-888-770-7120 or via the email deluxepitkit@realtimeresults.net to obtain a pre-paid return label and receive a full refund. Use these same contact routes for additional information about the recall.https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Round-2-Recalls-Auto-World-Unassembled-Deluxe-Pit-Kit-Slot-Cars-Due-to-Ingestion-Hazard-Violatio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/drhowardsmithreports/reel/DHJlClKPqCS/Those with sulfite allergies or sensitivities could develop serious or life-threatening reactions after consuming this product.These recalled lily flowers were sold at retail outlets nationwide.Those with a sulfite allergy should not consume this product and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.For more information. About this recall, phone U.S. Trading Company at 1510-781-1818.https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/us-trading-company-hayward-ca-recalling-joy-luck-brand-lily-flowers-because-it-may-contain#joyluck #lilyflowers #sulfites #allergy #recall