Maclaren USA, Inc. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced the recall of about one million Maclaren strollers because the 'stroller's hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller.'

There are reports of at least twelve fingertip amputations in these Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers that were sold nationwide from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360. Strollers involved in the Maclaren stroller recall have the word 'Maclaren' printed on the stroller, including the Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller Maclaren strollers.

Consumers should stop using the recalled Maclaren strollers until they can fix them with a free repair kit.

Related:
CPSC Alert:Maclaren USA Recalls to Repair Strollers Following Fingertip Amputations
Recent Recalls and Alerts
Baby Product Recalls
Strollers

Fairbank Farms has voluntarily recalled about 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef because it may be contaminated with the E.coli O157:H7 bacteria.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the CDC discovered the possible link while investigating a small cluster of E. coli infections which may have already sickened 28 people and caused at least one death.

Recalled ground beef was sold at grocery stores in the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont, with a sell-by date from September 19 through 28, 2009. Although already past their expiration dates, consumers who have the recalled ground beef in their freezer should not eat it and can return it for a refund. Recalled ground beef products include those sold by ACME, BJ's, Ford Brothers, Giant Food Stores, Lancaster and Wild Harvest, Price Chopper, Shaw's, and Trader Joe's.

Parents should keep in mind that in addition to people with weak immune systems, the very young can be very susceptible to food poisoning, including E. coli infections, which makes it very important that they watch for these types of recalls.

Related:
USDA: Fairbanks Farms Ground Beef Recall
Food Poisoning Symptoms
Preventing Food Poisoning
Food Storage and Food Safety
E . Coli Symptoms

In addition to turning your clocks back one hour last night, some good things to do when daylight saving time changes can include:

• changing the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
• in addition to replacing the batteries, you should consider replacing smoke alarms that are more than ten years old and carbon monoxide detectors that are more than five years old
• cleaning out your medicine cabinet to get rid of expired and unused medicines

And this can be a good time to make sure your kids are getting enough sleep, as the changes during daylight saving time can sometimes interfere with their sleep routines.

Halloween is always a fun holiday for kids. I still remember the year that I had to miss Halloween because I was sick with chickenpox, but hopefully too many kids don't miss out on the fun because of swine flu fears.

Of course, kids who are actually sick with swine flu should stay home on Halloween so that they don't get other kids sick. Most others should be able to enjoy Halloween and trick-or-treating though.

Keep these Halloween safety tips in mind, including that your kids:

• wear a safe costume
• go trick-or-treating with supervision in safe neighborhoods
• only eat Halloween candy that has been inspected by an adult to make sure it is safe
• don't overdo it with Halloween candy

Related:
Safety on Halloween
Halloween Costume Safety
Halloween Candy
Leftover Halloween Candy

There have been a lot of reports of Tamiflu shortages as swine flu cases continue to increase across the United States.

It is important to remember that according to current CDC guidelines, Tamiflu is only recommended for high-risk patients with swine flu, including children under age two to four years, adults 65 and older, pregnant women, and people with chronic medical problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and problems with their immune system, etc. Early treatment with Tamiflu is also recommended for patients with severe symptoms and those requiring hospitalization. Most other healthy children and adults, especially if they have mild symptoms, don't need Tamiflu or Relenza, the other flu medication.

In a media briefing today, Anne Schuchat, MD, the director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases again confirmed the CDC guidelines about Tamiflu when she stated that 'for the vast majority of people who have an illness that isn't severe and who don't have the underlying factors like very young age, pregnancy, or chronic health conditions, probably just bed rest, fluids and a little TLC is the right way to go.'

In addition to decreasing the chance that the H1N1 virus will become resistant to Tamiflu, like the seasonal flu viruses did last year, following the CDC guidelines and only using Tamiflu for high-risk patients will help to decrease the shortages, so that high-risk patients can get Tamiflu when they need it.

Related:
CDC: Questions & Answers: Antiviral Drugs, 2009-2010 Flu Season
Swine Flu Treatments
Serious Swine Flu Symptoms

There has been a lot of fear surrounding the swine flu pandemic this year. The declaration of a National Swine Flu Emergency by President Obama may increase fears for some parents, but it is important to realize that the move simply allows hospitals to better deal with the rising number of patients they are seeing, especially in their emergency rooms.

Other parents have a greater fear that the swine flu vaccine may come too late, as we are already seeing widespread flu cases in most of the United States. It is important to keep in mind that some experts think that another wave of swine flu may come later this winter and so getting vaccinated next month, even if cases seem to have peaked, can still be a good idea.

So get your kids vaccinated with a seasonal flu vaccine and the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine when it is available to them. It may not be as easy to get a flu vaccine this year as we have all become accustomed to, but it will be worth it to avoid getting sick.

Related:
Swine Flu News
Swine Flu Vaccine Safety and Controversies
Swine Flu Symptoms
Surviving Swine Flu

Plum Organics has announced the recall of one batch of its 4.22 ounce Apple & Carrot Portable Pouch baby food because of possible contamination with the Clostridium botulinum bacteria that causes botulism.

Affected baby food has been sold at Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us, has a best by date of May 21, 2010, and a UPC code of #890180001221.

Although no illnesses have been reported, consumers who have the affected baby food should not use it. They can return it to Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us for a refund or can contact Plum Organics for more information.

Related:
Food Poisoning
Food Poisoning Symptoms
Infants, Honey and Botulism
Baby Food Stages and Steps
Infant Feeding Guidelines

Consumer Reports magazine and an article in Pediatric Emergency Care first alerted parents to the dangers of glass-topped tables last March. They had found that there were almost 20,000 injuries a year caused by glass-topped tables breaking when children fall or climb on top of them.

The recent case of a five-year old in Phoenix, who fell onto a glass-topped table and the broken glass punctured a lung and her liver. Fortunately, she will make a full recovery, but many other children do not.

Instead of regular glass-topped tables, be sure to get a table made of tempered glass or don't get a glass-topped tables and avoid this hidden danger all together.

Related:
Strangulation Hazards
Elevator and Escalator Hazards
Winter Coats and Car Seats
Shopping Cart Safety

As swine flu cases continue to increase across the United States, many parents will be happy to hear that the first doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine are now arriving at doctor's offices and clinics.

Unfortunately, they will be in very limited supply, especially for the next few weeks when only a small number of doses of the FluMist nasal spray version of the swine flu vaccine are being delivered. Since FluMist can only be given to people between the ages of two and forty-nine years of age without any chronic medical problems, like asthma, that will leave out many of the high risk target groups for the swine flu vaccine who will have to wait for the swine flu shot. Instead, initial doses of the FluMist swine flu vaccine will likely go to toddlers and preschool age children between the ages of two and four years of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel, and household and caregiver contacts of children younger than 6 months of age.

We can expect more swine flu vaccine and seasonal flu shots in the weeks and months ahead though.

Related:
Swine Flu Vaccine
Swine Flu Vaccine Safety and Controversies
Find Flu Shots
Swine Flu Symptoms

Since children with asthma can be at higher risk for complications if they get the flu, the CDC recommends that they make sure that they have an updated asthma action plan and that they follow it if they start to get swine flu symptoms.

Children with asthma should also:

• get a seasonal flu vaccine
• get the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine
• receive treatment with Tamiflu at the earliest sign of flu symptoms

Related:
Asthma Attack Symptoms
Controlling Your Child's Asthma
Hard-to-Control Asthma
Asthma Photo Gallery