0 Has my generic Lipitor been recalled?

Check your prescription container to see if a manufacturer is listed on the label. If your bottle says "Ranbaxy," call or take it back to the pharmacy where you filled the prescription to find out if it's been recalled. The pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy announced recently that it was recalling 41 lots of generic Lipitor (atorvastatin) due to concerns that they might contain small glass particles. The Food and Drug Administration says the glass particles are so small they are unlikely to cause safety concerns, but the possibility of harm cannot be ruled out. Our medical advisers recommend that if your medication is included in the recall,...

0 CDC warns about bedbug pesticides

If you've got a bedbug infestation, you probably want to do whatever necessary to get rid of them, including spraying your home with pesticides. But earlier this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned about a steep rise in injuries from misuse of pesticides to control the bugs. Health effects ranged from mild to serious, including one death. Using pesticides that are designed for outdoor use indoors or using too much pesticide were often the cause. If you have to use pesticides to kill bedbugs, consider this advice from the CDC: Follow all label instructions to the letter. Don't use outdoor pesticides inside your...

0 Medicare open enrollment: Did Obamacare secretly increase Part B premiums?

Q. I heard that the Medicare Part B premium was going to go up to $120 in 2013 and $247 in 2014 as part of Obamacare, and that this was kept under wraps so as not to influence the outcome of the 2012 election. True or false? A. I've been sitting on this question for awhile awaiting the announcement of the 2013 Medicare Part B premium. Now it's time to answer. And the answer is that everything you heard was a fiction. Per a law that has been in effect now for 15 years and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Affordable Care Act, every fall Medicare sets the Part B premium for the coming calendar year at a level that will cover exactly...

0 FDA looking into safety of energy drinks

There's been a lot of buzz lately about the safety of energy drinks and shots. Following reports of harmful reactions and even deaths possibly associated with the products, two U.S. senators recently released a letter from the FDA stating that the agency is conducting a safety review of energy drinks and is considering requiring that labels disclose the amount of caffeine the products pack, limitations on use, and warnings about possible adverse effects. That makes sense, since our recent investigation found that the products sometimes have more caffeine than they claim. "We support the FDA's investigation into the health effects of...

0 FDA shuts down Sunland peanut butter plant with new enforcement authority

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has shuttered Sunland Inc.'s New Mexico plant after peanut butter made by the company was linked to an outbreak of Salmonella that sickened 41 people in 20 states. The FDA suspended Sunland's food facility registration, prohibiting the company from distributing any products. This was the FDA's first use of its registration suspension authority under the Food Safety Modernization Act, which was enacted in January of last year. Without the enforcement authority, the FDA would have had to take Sunland to court in order to halt production and distribution at the plant. In addition, according to the...

0 Time for a whooping cough booster?

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is rising sharply and a new study suggests that a contributing cause may be that the vaccine now used loses effectiveness over time. Which means it may be time for you to get a booster. The old vaccine, introduced in the late 1940s, dramatically reduced pertussis infections but was often associated with redness, swelling, pain at the injection site, and, in a few cases, serious complications. The current vaccine, which is called DTaP and also vaccinates against diphtheria and tetanus, was introduced in 1992 to reduce those risks. Infants are most likely to be hospitalized and die from pertussis,...

0 Stay safe online on Cyber Monday

Don't want to brave the lines, crowds, and general pandemonium of Black Friday? You could always stay home and shop online on Cyber Monday instead. Many online retailers will be offering substantial discounts, free shipping, and other attractive perqs to Web shoppers on the Monday after Black Fridaythat's November 26 this year. Here are some tips for safe online shopping:Never use the same password for multiple sites. Minimize the chance that a hacker who broke into one account can gain access to your other online accounts. Create and use separate e-mail addresses. Specific e-mail accounts for specific shopping sitessay, "MyAmazonAccount@gmail.com"will...

0 Meningitis cases from tainted steroids continue to rise

The outbreak of fungal meningitis due to a contaminated steroid has affected 490 people and caused 34 deaths, according to updated figures released earlier this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our medical advisers say the ongoing rise in cases means people who received a tainted injection and who feel fine should continue to watch for any signs of infection. It also underscores our advice to avoid using medication from compounding pharmacies if possible, and to turn to steroid injections for back pain only after trying other treatments. The fungal meningitis cases stem from three contaminated batches of the...

0 One-third of shoppers to hit the malls or keyboard on Black Friday

With just over a month until Christmas, 57 percent of consumers (and 65 percent of men) have yet to begin shopping, mostly because they think they have plenty of time, according to the latest Consumer Reports Holiday poll. However, in yet another reminder of ongoing tough times, 17 percent said they've delayed shopping because they just don't have enough money. Despite the economic upheaval of the past four years, most Americans are anxiously awaiting the holidays. Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they're looking forward to them; another 26 percent are really looking forward to celebrating the holidays. Nevertheless, there...

0 Hot cocoa makers recalled due to possible lead risk

Focus Products Group International, which owns the West Bend brand name, is recalling several hot cocoa drink makers today. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the small appliances have internal parts that may leach heavy metal lead while making hot cocoa. Although there have been no reported illnesses or deaths tied to the recall, safety experts warn that the lead-leaching can be dangerousespecially to young children. Exposure to heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, may bring irreversible health effects such as anemia, kidney damage, and brain damage. In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had lowered...

0 Is it OK to use a compounding pharmacy? (And what is one anyway?)

A: Until other much-needed changes occur, you should only use a medication from a compounding pharmacy if no other FDA-approved product is available, say our medical advisers. Compounding pharmacies create individual, customized drugs. They can, for example, omit ingredients such as lactose or gluten for people with allergies, flavor drugs to make them easier to take, create lower doses for children, or prepare a liquid, dissolvable lozenge, or suppository for those who can't swallow a capsule. The national meningitis outbreak, which has sickened at least 451 people and claimed the lives of 32, has heightened concern about the safety...

0 Open enrollment: My income is really low. Can I get help paying for health care?

Q. I am 68 and have only Medicare Part A. My sole source of income is $1,062 a month from Social Security. I'm in good health but concerned about future medical needs. Are there any plans for lower-income people? A.Yes, and it's a shame more Medicare beneficiaries don't know about them. It's understandable why they don't, as these programs are complex, vary from state to state, and seem to have been designed so everything about them is as baffling as possible. But let's give it a shot anyway. We'll start with a program that helps lower-income Medicare beneficiaries pay premiums and out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Parts A and B. Its...

0 Medicare open enrollment: Sandy victims get an extension

Medicare beneficiaries whose lives have been upended by Hurricane Sandy will be allowed to sign up for Medicare health and drug plans after the open enrollment deadline of Dec. 7, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced. If you don't plan to change your Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D drug plan for 2013, you don't have to worry about the deadline at all as you will be automatically re-enrolled in you current plan. If you do want to make a change, CMS would still like you to hit the December 7 deadline if you possibly can. But if you can't because of the big storm, you can enroll as soon as you're able by calling...

0 iPhone, Droid smarter picks than BlackBerry for people with allergies

In case BlackBerry users needed another reason to upgrade to a newer smart phone, research released today suggests there could be a health benefit to doing so, at least for people with skin allergies. In a small study presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, researchers measured the levels of cobalt and nickeltwo metals that can cause itchy allergic reactions in susceptible peoplein 72 cell phones, including 25 iPhones, 17 Motorola Droids, 9 BlackBerries, and 21 older-style flip phones. None of the iPhones or Droids tested positive for either cobalt or nickel, compared with...

0 Hurricane and nor'easter dramatize role of flood insurance

The one-two punch of last week's Superstorm Sandy and yesterday's nameless nor'easter is likely to put flood insurance on many East Coast consumers' shopping lists, joining generators, bottled water, batteries, and plane tickets the heck outta here. Unfortunately, unlike those other items, flood coverage is generally subject to a 30-day waiting period, so a policy bought today typically won't provide protection until a month from now. (FloodSmart.gov, the website of the National Flood Insurance Program, describes the few exceptions to the 30-day rule, along with other details.) Still, if your home is in danger of flooding, a peril typically...

0 Popping a daily multivitamin doesn't prevent heart attacks, study finds

Do you think of taking a daily multivitamin as a form of "health insurance"? More evidence suggests that you may be wasting your money. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard Medical School gave either a multivitamin or a placebo to about 15,000 male physicians, from 1997 to 2011. Over that time, the men who took the vitamin had the same rate of heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of cardiovascular disease as those who took a placebo. The study was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study's authors worried that people who take daily multis may think that the vitamins...

0 Bypass surgery beats angioplasty for people with diabetes

For almost two decades research has suggested that people with diabetes and multiple clogged arteries live longer and have fewer heart attacks if they undergo bypass surgery instead of angioplasty. Yet many of those people continue to be treated by angioplasty, since many doctors remain unaware of the evidence, or unconvinced by it. Now a major new study, out this week in the New England Journal of Medicine should finally settle the matter in bypass's favor. In the new study, researchers divided 1,900 people with diabetes plus multiple clogged arteries into two groups. About half underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG),...

0 Tips for a smooth transition on Bank Transfer Day

Today is Bank Transfer Day, which encourages you to switch your money to a credit union or smaller bank if you are unhappy with your current bank. According to a Consumer Reports survey this past summer, nearly one-fifth of all consumers with checking accounts considered switching to a new financial institution over the previous 12 months. "Consumer frustration has only grown over the past year as bank fees have continued to rise," says Suzanne Martindale, staff attorney for Consumer Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. "But many frustrated consumers end up staying with their bank because switching to a new financial institution...

0 Hurricane Sandy proves cash is still king in emergencies

The widespread and ongoing power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy not only left millions of people in the dark but reminded many of us of how useful it can be to have some good, old-fashioned cash on hand for an emergency. Many ATMs in Sandy's path were rendered useless by the storm. Those that remained in operation often had long lines, and some reportedly ran out of cash. Credit and debit cards weren't of much use either, dependent as they are on electronic store terminals. So, before the next big storm, it may make sense to round up a little extra cash. Some advice from our money experts: If you want to conceal cash in a safe...

0 Consumer Reports Index: Americans see major decline in financial difficulties

The Consumer Reports Index, an overall measure of Americans' personal financial health, revealed a major decline in the financial difficulties faced by consumers and a rise in consumer sentiment ahead of the election and winter holidays. The Consumer Reports Index comprises five measures: Employment, Retail, Sentiment, Stress, and the Trouble Tracker. The Trouble Tracker, a gauge of financial difficulties, was at its lowest level since first measured in April 2009, declining from 50.2 last month to 38.7. The largest improvement was among those earning $50,000 or more, although lower-income Americans also saw modest improvement. ...

0 FTC cracks down on robocalls hawking deceptive credit card rates

Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, praised the Federal Trade Commission's legal action today against five companies accused of making millions of illegal prerecorded calls to pitch allegedly deceptive offers of reducing credit-card interest rates in exchange for staggering upfront fees. The FTC said the telemarketer calls sometimes identified themselves as "Cardholder Services," suggesting they were associated with your bank or credit card company. The telemarketers guaranteed a lower rate, but then did little to nothing to secure that rate. The upfront fees ranged from several hundred dollars to nearly...

0 Coping with the emotional aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

One of the frustrations of Hurricane Sandy is that even our best efforts could not prevent a huge amount of destruction. Consider my friend Adam Wexler, owner of Resolution Audio Video in the waterfront section of Red Hook in Brooklyn. Before the storm he moved all his equipment up to 5 foot high scaffolding and thought it was safe. But when he arrived at work on Tuesday, he found the steel doors to his building had been caved in by the force of the water, which reached a high water mark of 8 feet. His equipment was scattered and soaked. As a clinical psychologist, I urge Adam and the millions of others affected by the hurricane to...

0 New 401(k) and IRA limits could make saving a little easier

The IRS's recent announcement of new, higher limits on 401(k) and IRA contributions didn't make a lot of headlines. And no wonder, given that it was competing against both the presidential race and a looming hurricane. Still, for those of us who are scrambling to save enough money for retirement, it's news we can use. So, in case you missed it, a quick recap: For 401(k) contributions, the new annual limit for 2013 is $17,500 for anyone under 50. That's up from $17,000 this past year. The additional catch-up contribution for people 50 and older remains at $5,500. So the combined limit for that latter group is now $23,000. For IRAs,...

0 Consumer Reports poll: Election outcome will impact holiday mood and spending

With the presidential election looming and millions of Americans trying to piece their lives back together following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, it's easy to understand why many consumers haven't begun to think seriously about the upcoming winter holidays. But the clock is ticking; Black Friday is just three weeks off. And in the first of our series of annual holiday polls, it appears as if the outcome of Tuesday's election could play a significant role in peoples' outlook and willingness to dig into their wallets. One-third of American adults surveyed between Oct. 25 and 28 expect to be more cheerful this holiday season than...