0 Beware of scams during Hurricane Sandy cleanup

Whether you're a victim of Hurricane Sandy seeking relief or someone who wants to help out, don't become a victim of fraud. Our experts and those at the Federal Trade Commission note that scammers target disaster-affected areas trying to defraud those seeking help or wanting to donate. Protect yourself from financial harm or identity theft by following the tips below. Before you donate: Give to only charities you know and trust, such as the American Red Cross. Check a charity before you donate. See the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. Be alert for charities that seem to have sprung up overnight. Ask if the caller is...

0 Did the storm ruin your drugs?

The ravages of Hurricane Sandy may have ruined your medications. Follow this advice from the Food and Drug Administration to make sure the drugs you take are safe: Refrigeration needed. Drugs that require refrigeration should be discarded if your power has been off for awhile. But if the drug is absolutely necessary and you don't have access to a replacement, use it until you can get a new supply. Unsafe water. Any drugs exposed to flood waters may be contaminated and must be discarded. Use only bottled or purified water for children's medications that need to be mixed with water. Fires. If your medication was exposed to high heat...

0 Finding clean water after a flood

Floods can contaminate the water you drink, making a bad situation worse. Obviously, the simplest step is using bottled water if you can. If that's not available, follow this advice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: If you don't have bottled water, boil water. That kills most types of disease-causing organisms. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water before boiling. Boil the water for one minute, let it cool, and store it in clean containers with covers. If you can't boil water, disinfect it with household bleach. Bleach will kill some, but not all, types of...

0 What to do after a hurricane if you use a home medical device

If you rely on electricity for home medical equipment like an oxygen tank, ventilator, medical bed, wheel chair, or blood glucose monitor, losing power can be much more than an inconvenience. Your first step should be to call your electric company and fire department to let them know that you have a medical device that needs power. While you wait for power to be restored or help to come, here's some advice from the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration on what else to do: Read your user instructions or call your distributor or device manufacturer to find out if your device can be used with batteries or a generator. If it can, hook the...

0 In Sandy's wake, roll up your sleeves—for possible fight with your home insurer

As survivors of Superstorm Sandy start cleaning up the estimated $20 billion in destruction, homeowners need to prepare for another possible squallwith their insurance company, according to the latest data from the Consumer Reports National Research Center. When disaster strikes, your home insurer might not live up to your expectations, especially if you have a large claim, based on the results of our 2011 survey of 11,250 subscribers who filed claims in the past few years. The greater the damages, the greater the likelihood that home insurers paid less than expected, we found. Overall, almost 10 percent of respondents reported disagreements...

0 Food safety when the power goes out

If you lost power during Hurricane Sandy, don't taste the food to see if it's OK. Instead, follow this advice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. That will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for about 48 hours, or 24 hours if it is half full and the door stays closed. If you can, get block ice or dry ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer as cold as possible. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days. If the power has been out for several days, check the temperature...

0 Medicare open enrollment: Did I mess up by not taking Part B when I retired from my federal government job?

Q. I retired from a federal government agency and did not enroll in Medicare Part B when I became eligible. Instead I continued my coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program. I understand that if I ever want to enroll in Part B in the future there will be a 10 percent penalty for every year that I delayed. Did I make a mistake? A. Last week brought a spate of queries from federal retirees who are in the enviable situation of having multiple health coverage options. But with options comes complexity. While most of us who retire from private-sector jobs have no choice but to sign up for Medicare Part B when that day...

0 Is your pharmacy open during Hurricane Sandy?

Want to find out if pharmacies in your area are open during Hurricane Sandy or other disasters? A useful online tool we discovered is from a group called Rx Response, which has just activated its emergency response system in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Here, you can see on a detailed map which drugstores are open and their address, if they participate in the program. The map currently shows, for example, several pharmacies have already closed in lower Manhattan and along parts of New Jersey and Brooklyn. The group is an effort between a number of pharmacy associations and biopharmaceutical groups as well as the American Red Cross,...

0 Avoid injury when carving your Halloween pumpkin

Jack-o'-lanterns are an essential part of Halloween decorations, whether you're going to create a sophisticated, over-the-top masterpiece or more of a homespun, simple look. No matter the effort, you need to be careful, because pumpkin carving can be dangerous. According to the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, each October pumpkin carving results in hospitals dealing with four to five times more hand injuries than normal. Cuts, lacerations, and puncture wounds to the hand can damage nerves, tendons, and joints. Read our advice and watch our video (below) so you can avoid a pumpkin-carving nightmare: Don't let young kids carve....

0 Don't let these allergy and asthma triggers ruin your child's Halloween

Some 41 million children 5 to 14 years old could hit the trick-or-treat trails this Halloween, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and for children with asthma and allergies, the holiday fun can turn into a scary reality. Candy and other treats are among the usual suspects, but costumes and makeup can also bring on allergy and asthma symptoms. Consider these tips on how to help your little ghost or goblin stay wheeze- and sneeze-free this Halloween: Treats: Eggs, milk, peanuts, and tree nuts are common ingredients in chocolate and other confections. For kids with food allergies, eating these Halloween treats can bring on anaphylaxis,...

0 Energy drinks linked to cases of caffeine toxicity

Incident reports filed with the Food and Drug Administration linking the energy drink Monster with five deaths in recent years have cast doubts on the safety of these highly caffeinated beverages. And rightly so. Other research suggests that more than 13,000 people a year visit U.S. emergency rooms because of symptoms associated with these drinks, and thousands more call regional poison control centers. And our tests of energy drinks, out today, found that, per serving, some energy drinks contain as much as twice the caffeine in a typical 8 oz cup of coffee. Often, labels don't reveal the caffeine levels. Energy drinks are found on...

0 Many Banana Boat sunscreens pulled from shelves, and lose our top Rating

Twenty-three Banana Boat sunscreens are being pulled from shelves because of concerns they might burn your skin if you come too close to a spark or flame before they dry. As a result, we no longer recommend one of the products, Banana Boat Clear UltraMist Sport SPF 30, and are removing it from our sunscreen Ratings. The other affected products were not included in our Ratings. The maker of the sunscreens, Energizer Holdings, Inc., says it has received five reports of burns associated with the UltraMist Sport SPF 30 and SPF 50 products. The company says the spray valves on the products dispense "more than is typical in the industry for...

0 Consumer watchdog to oversee debt collectors

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published a rule that will allow the agency to supervise large consumer debt collectors for the first time. Today, the CFPB is holding a field hearing in Seattle to gather information about the consumer debt collection market from both the industry and the public. Approximately 30 million Americans have, on average, $1,500 of debt subject to collection, according to the CFPB. The CFPB is also publishing new questions and answers about debt collection in its Ask CFPB database. For example, whether a debt collector can still try to collect even if you are disputing the debt, or whether collectors...

0 The pumpkin patch takes over: Store shelves are bursting with pumpkin goodies

If you love pumpkin, then this is the year for you: It's everywhere. Supermarkets have gone way beyond the obligatory Thanksgiving pie. For the 2012 Halloween season you can fill your shopping cart with pumpkin bagels, bread, beer, cookies, coffee, custards, doughnuts, ice cream, muffins, pancakes, pasta, soups, and yogurt. Consider, for example, Trader Joe's "pumkin-ified" product lineup. Numerous pumpkin products are on the store's shelves this season, including pumpkin cream cheese, granola, tea, and even pumpkin-flavored dog treats. Is pumpkin just the latest flavoring fad, or is it here to stay? It's probably too early to know....

0 Trick or treat! Tips for Halloween safety

Parents know the drill--they want their little ones to have a super-fun and not-too-spooky time trick-or-treating, all the while staying safe. No problem: Follow these handy tips and your little princess, Batman, or Spider-Man should be good to go. There are about 41 million potential trick-or-treaters between the ages of 5 and 14, according to the latest U.S. Census data. That's a lot of kids out on the streets getting their Halloween on. And where children go, there go safety concerns. "Halloween is one of the most anticipated nights of the year for children," says Kate Carr, President and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network...

0 Isis Mobile Wallet tests begin—but will consumers take to pay-by-phone?

Three big cellular service providers yesterday announced a "milestone" in the transformation of your smart phone into a payment device for purchases at bricks and mortar store cashiers. But October 22, 2012 will probably be as historically memorable as September 19, 2011. In case you've already forgotten, the latter date is when Google Wallet launched nationwide on the Sprint network, with great fanfare and a major glitch. And Google recently conceded that mobile payments won't be an overnight success. Now, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile have commenced testing Isis Mobile Wallet in Austin and Salt Lake City. American Express,...

0 Medicare open enrollment: Can I put my wife and 20-year-old son on my Medicare Advantage plan?

Q. I am 82, retired, and on Social Security with a private Medicare Advantage plan. My wife is 52, unemployed, and uninsured, and we have a 20-year-old son in college. Is our son eligible for coverage under my Medicare Advantage Plan as per the Affordable Care Act? A. No, he's not. The provision of the Affordable Care Act that allows young adults to remain on parental plans until their 26th birthdays applies neither to Medicare (including Medicare Advantage and Medigap) nor to "retiree-only" health plans, employer plans that cover retirees only and do not have any active employees in them. Moreover, all Medicare and Medigap plans are...

0 American Academy of Pediatrics weighs in on organic foods

Organic foods don't seem to be nutritionally superior to conventionally raised foods, and there's no proof that eating them translates into less disease, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. But the report also notes that organic foods do have lower levels of pesticides, and that organically raised animals are less likely to be contaminated with drug-resistant bacteria, points that Consumer Reports' experts also stress. "While we wait for more research it's important to note that organic diets provide less exposure to pesticides and antibiotics, two important safety benefits," says Michael Hansen, Ph.D.,...

0 Should I take Crestor or Lipitor, with niacin, to lower my cholesterol?

A: No. The combination can be risky. Some doctors will prescribe high doses of niacin to help reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, increase HDL (good) cholesterol, or decrease elevated triglycerides, when a statin alone has not been enough. But the combination of the two might increase the risk of muscle pain that can be debilitating, and a rare, life-threatening form of muscle breakdown called rhabdomyolysis that can lead to permanent kidney damage and coma. There's also no clear evidence that statin drugs and niacin together work any better than a statin alone, according to an analysis by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality....

0 Medicare open enrollment: Will Obamacare end Medicare Advantage?

Q. I keep hearing rumors that the federal government will stop reimbursing Medicare Advantage plans in a year or two and people insured under these plans will have to look for new insurance. What do you know about this matter? A. Variations of this question arrive in my mailbox on a regular basis. This rumor is not true. Medicare Advantage is not being eliminated. In fact, since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010, enrollment in these plans has risen from 24 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries to 28 percent. Not only that, but the quality of the plans available to consumers is going up. "There's nothing in the law...

0 5 tricks for scaring up Halloween bargains

Halloween pop-up stores, which typically materialize a month or two before October 31 and disappear shortly thereafter, have become as sure a sign of the holiday as candy corn, Stephen King reruns, and trees full of toilet paper. This year they're back big time--and no wonder. Consumers are expected to spend a record $8 billion on Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations, according to the National Retail Federation. Pet costumes alone are expected to fetch $370 million in sales. So what's the trick of finding the best treats at a Halloween store? As we reported this time last year: 1. Don't go batty. The temporary nature of pop-ups...

0 Multivitamins to prevent cancer? Not so fast.

A study out today in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that multivitamins might help prevent cancer. Does that mean you should start popping the pills? Not so fast, say our medical experts. The study is a good one, a randomized trial of nearly 15,000 male physicians 50 or older, led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard Medical School. After an average of about 11 years, 1,290 men who took the multivitamin (in this case, Centrum Silver) were diagnosed with cancer, compared with 1,379 men who took the placebo. That's promising, but as the researchers who led the study point out, it represents...

0 Medicare open enrollment: Why should I sign up for Part B or Part D if I'm healthy?

I recently got a question from a woman who wondered why she should sign up for Medicare Part B, which covers doctor bills and other kinds of outpatient treatments, since she is in great shape and gets most of her care from a doctor who practices natural medicine. And I got another question from a man who said he didn't want to sign up for Medicare Part D, which covers drugs, because he doesn't spend much on medication. My opinion: Both people are courting disaster. Here's why. Both readers made the common, all-too-human mistake of basing coverage decisions on the current state of their health, instead of considering what might happen...

0 Wireless carriers on track to provide overage alerts to customers

Good news for anyone who's suffered from bill shock: The FCC announced today that wireless carriers have fulfilled their commitment to start providing free alerts to customers both before and after they exceed their usage limits. "Bill shock" is the unpleasant discovery that you've exceeded your cell phone's voice, text, or data limits for the month and incurred extra charges Ellen Bloom, Director of Federal Policy for Consumers Union (the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports), commented on the FCC's report: If you've ever struggled to make sense of your wireless bill and keep track of your limits, these alerts can offer some real relief......

0 Shingles vaccine can help prevent the disease in older adults

Older adults who get the shingles vaccine can cut their risk of this painful condition in half, according to a study out today. Unfortunately, many people who could benefit from the shot haven't had it, in part because the wrongly assume they don't need it, and because The new study, published by the Cochrane Library, found that the vaccine is more effective for people in their 60s than those 70 or older because they have a higher immune response. But those in their 60s also face a higher risk of side effects. Shingles is a painful skin rash caused by the same virus that causes childhood chickenpox. Anyone who has had chickenpox...

0 Medicare open enrollment: What's the best Medigap policy?

Q. No matter where I look, I find an overwhelming amount of data about Medicare Advantage but very little about Medigap. Where can I find ratings on Medigap policies? A. Unfortunately, nowhere. Although a lot of people confuse Medicare supplemental (Medigap) plans with Medicare Advantage plans, they're nothing alike. Medigap plans essentially begin where original Medicare leaves off, picking up some or all of out-of-pocket expenses such as the $1,156 deductible for hospitalization under Part A or the 20 percent coinsurance for outpatient and physician care under Part B. With most Medigap policies, this coordination is automatic: after...

0 Drivers' smoking give passengers high levels of secondhand smoke

Smoking tobacco while driving might seem harmless. But smoking drivers are subjecting themselvesand their passengersto extremely unhealthy levels of air pollution, say scientists. The study, conducted by British researchers and due to be published in the journal Tobacco Control, was the largest of its kind and examined more than 100 car trips made by 17 drivers, 14 of whom were smokers. Thirty-four of the trips were smoke-free and averaged about 7.4 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3), well below the 25 g/m3 safe level as recommended by the United Nations' World Health Organization. But in trips with smoking drivers, scientists found...

0 Peanut product recall expands due to Salmonella contamination

Sunland Inc. has extended its recall of peanut products because of Salmonella contamination to include raw and roasted shelled and in-shell peanuts processed at its plant in Portales, New Mexico. The extended recall is the result of an ongoing investigation by Sunland and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sunland has stopped producing and distributing all products from both its peanut butter and peanut processing plants while the investigation continues. The raw and roasted peanuts included in this recall are within their current shelf life or have no stated expiration date. For a list of the more than 70 peanut products added...

0 Drivers' smoking give passengers second hand smoke in spades

Smoking tobacco while driving might seem harmless. But smoking drivers are subjecting themselvsand their passengersto extremely unhealthy levels of air pollution say scientists. The study, conducted by British researchers, was the largest of its kind and examined more than 100 car trips made by 17 drivers, 14 of whom were smokers. Thirty-four of the trips were smoke-free and averaged about 7.4 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3)well below the 25 g/m3 safe level as recommended by the United Nations' World Heath Organization. But in trips with smoking drivers, scientists found interior pollution averaged 85 g/m3. The levels of particulates...

0 Medicare open enrollment: How can I find a better plan?

Medicare open enrollment for 2013 begins today, October 15, and runs through December 7. Pay attention to it, Medicare people. Your pocketbook could depend on it. Daily for the next week, and at regular intervals through the end of open enrollment season, I'll be answering some of your most frequently asked questions about Medicare, starting with this one: Q. My wife and I are not happy with our current Medicare Advantage policy. We have to get a referral for almost everything, there's absolutely no dental coverage, and the choice of eye doctors is very limited. What would be a better option, since we will be able to change our coverage...

0 Should you avoid all steroid injections for your back pain?

The news about fungal meningitis from steroid injections has many back pain sufferers wondering if they should now avoid the shots entirely. Our medical experts say no: The deaths and health problems currently being reported are associated with three batches of the drug made by a single pharmacy. And steroid injections sometimes do seem to help relieve debilitating back pain. But our experts also caution that the injections should be used only for specific kinds of back pain, and even then only if a number of simpler methods have been tried first and failed, and if a number of precautions are carefully followed. The Centers for Disease...

0 Retail spending down as back-to-school shopping season kicks off

Retailers may be in for disappointing back-to-school sales this year. The Consumer Reports Index, a gauge of consumer financial health, shows that Americans' retail spending declined slightly in the past month. In addition, purchases registered a sharp decline when compared to a year ago. "This month's data indicates the fragility of the economy," says Ed Farrell, director of Consumer Insight at the Consumer Reports National Research Center. "Retailers might be expecting a back-to-school sales bump, but after showing some promise of improvement last month, retail activity has retreated, showing declines versus one year ago." The Consumer...

0 Tablets and smart phones go back-to-school shopping

A lot of back-to-school shoppingand shopping researchis happening on mobile devices this school year, according to the National Retail Federation. Its 2012 Back-to-School and College Surveys found that almost seven of 10 tablet owners will shop for school and college items using their tablets, and more than half of all smart-phone owners will shop via their phones. Some details: 43.8 percent of tablet owners will use the tablet to research products and compare prices. Nearly three in 10 shoppers with children in grades K-12 will make a purchase with their tablet, and 34.5 percent will buy college items with tablets. As to smart phones,...

0 Ab Circle Pro marketers to pay up to $25 million in refunds

The Federal Trade Commission filed deceptive advertising charges against the marketers of the Ab Circle Pro, for telling consumers that exercising on the device for just three minutes a day would lead to losing 10 pounds in two weeks. The defendants agreed to settlements that include $15 to $25 million in refunds, depending on how many requests are received. The Ab Circle Pro is a large disc with handlebars and knee pockets that you kneel on and then rotate your body from side-to-side. In advertisements, the makers of the device promised that a three-minute workout on the Ab Circle Pro was equivalent to doing 100 sit-ups. The infomercial...

0 More women than men sleep with their pets

Seventy percent of women and 57 percent of men admit to sleeping with their pets, according to a recent survey of 1,313 Consumer Reports subscribers who owned a cat or dog (or both). Women are also a lot more likely to sign cards with a pet's name or picture, and give holiday gifts to Rover and Garfield. Both men and women like to show off their furry friends. Almost a third of pet owners surveyed have posted their pet's pictures on social media sites. And love for pets is boundless for both genders. An equal number of men and women said, "Money is no object" when asked to pick an amount they would spend if a pet needed lifesaving...

0 Oversight of reverse mortgages needed to protect seniors

Reforms are needed to protect seniors from the potential pitfalls of reverse mortgages, says Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, and the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, which today urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt such measures. The CFPB is collecting public comment on reverse mortgages as it considers whether to strengthen oversight of the industry. Reverse mortgages let homeowners 62 or older draw on their home equity while continuing to live at home. The loan is due when the borrower dies, or moves out of or sells their home. Borrowers pay a loan origination fee, closing costs,...