H EALTH ALERTS

Bicycle helmets

Target, Academy and Mills Fleet & Farms storesnationwide from January to July 2004 for $17 to $20.Consumers should return the helmet to the place

ofpurchase for a replacement or refund, or send thehelmet back to the manufacturer. Contact PTI Sportsat (800) 515-0074 for more information.

Children's athletic shoes;-¢; >F;f>f -; s XNike USA Inc., of

* W 0F;i>>8S;>-Beaverton, Ore., is

~~~~~Little Get-Go chil-I G ~~~~~~drerfsathletic shoes

because a rubber tabat the top of the heel

can detach from the shoe, posing a choking hazardto young children.The company has received three reports of heel

tabs detaching from shoes, posing a choking hazardto young children. No injuries have been reported.The shoes come in various color combinations and

were sold in toddler and pre-school sizes 2C through3Y. "GET-GO" or "LITTLE GET-GO" is printed on theside. The recalled style numbers, found on a labelinside the shoes above theUPC code, read "308638,""308639," "308642"y or "308647." The shoes were soldin Nike stores, major athletic shoe stores, independ-ent shoe stores and chfldreiYs stores nationwide fromJune to August 2004 for $35 to $45.

Stop using the shoes and contact Nike at (800) 344-6453 or www.nikebiz.com to receive a refundvoucher.

Nursing, maternity pillowsBoston Billows

__ ~~~~~~Inc.of Nashua,_ ~~~~~~~~N.H.,is recalling

8,000 Boston

1_ S ~~~~~Billows nursingD _ j> ~~~~pillows because

_ s | ~~~~~~infant pillows andcushions are

banned under federal law. An infant is at risk of suf-focation when left unattended on any pillow.No incidents have been reported.The C-shaped pillows have a removable, 100%

hypoallergenic cover that comes in various colorsand prints. The pillow is washable and has "BostonBillows Inc." printed on the fabric tag. Theywere soldin hospitals and independent specialty stores fromFebruary 2000 to December 2003 for $34 to $38.Consumers should immediately stop using the pil-

lows and contact the firm at (877) 274-4606 for infor-mation on how to receive a refund.Theraline Inc., ofWendell, Mass., is recalling about

1,000 BigVMaternity and Nursing Pillows. If infantsare placed on the pillows and left unattended, thereis a risk of suffocation.No incidents or injuries have been reported.

Recalled pillows have a blue or peach-colored printfabric showing yellow moons, hearts and stars, ortan and blue teddy bears. The log-shaped pillowsmeasure about 5-feet in length. "THERALINE," "THEBIGV" and "Finest Micropearl Fffling"' are written ona fabric tag sewn on the pillow.

Pillows were sold at independent specialty storefrom June 2003 through May 2004 for about $60.

Consumers should stop using these pillows imme-diately and contact the firm for information on

receiving a refund. Contact the Theraline Inc. at (866)843-7254.

Scooters

fly-,tore I a moliffIRAW-118

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Product Safety News. To report an inj'ury, call theCPSC's toll-free hotline at (800) 638-2772.

PTI Sports Inc., of

Calif., is recalling 9,000i ~~~~~Schwinn toddler bicy-__ ~~~~clehelmets because

the helmets do notcomply with federal

_ ~~~~~~imnpacttestingrequire-

NO incidents havebeen reported.The helmets have "SCHWINN" printed on the

back. A white label, found inside the helmet, reads"lot #791913" and contains a date from 12/01/03through 5/15/04 as well as the model number SK103,SK107 or SK108. The helmets were sold atWal-Mart,

BMW of North America_ ! ~~~~LLC, of Woodcliff Lake, N.J.,_ ~~~~~isrecalling 161 SlideCarver

g - 7z^t 0 Scooters because the front

X1|r:- \ column ofthe scooter does0lAW i

not meet impact resistance

<-24i dl~ebar to break upon impact

a t t E ~~and injure the rider._ ~~~~~Thecompany has received

one report ofa front column breaking, causing a riderto fall and suffer minor injuries.The SlideCarver is a three-wheeled, foldable

scooter that is designed to be steered from both thefront and back. "BMW" and "SlideCarver" are printedon the underside ofthe rider platform ofthese scoot-ers. The scooters were sold atBMW dealerships andon the firris Web site from December 2003 to July2004 for $700.Consumers should return the scooters to anyBMW

dealership or call the firm at (800) 831-1117 for infor-mation on returning the scooter to receive a refund.In addition, consumers will receive a $200 gift certifi-cate forBMW lifestyle merchandise.

2'12 AAP News www.aapnews.org October 2004

Warn kids of dangers of inhaling heliumKids crack up when they hear the high-pitched, car-

toon-like voice of someone who has just inhaled helium.But the practice is no laughing matter.Youths inhaling helium for the vocal effect or as a recre-

ational drug should be made aware of the potentiallyfatal__consequences. This colorless, odorless, tasteless and non-toxic gas can cause inJury and even death after prolonged

Helium may be dangerous when inhaled from a balloon, _but it can be deadly when it comes from a pressurizedtank. Helium acts as a simple asphyxiant, displacing oxy-gen in the body and increasing the risk of suffocationwhen present in high concentrations.

Helium inhalation can result in a cerebral arterial gas embolism caused by air bubbles in the bloodstream, which can lead to a temporary stroke with symptoms including sudden loss of consciousness, nau-sea, dizziness, seizures, uncontrolled failing, visual disturbances, headaches and asphyxiation. Here, it isnot the helium itself that is dangerous, but the pressure of the gas; inhaling pressurized oxygen would beequally dangerous.Although serious cases are rare, prolonged inhalation has resulted in death, as in the case of one man

in 2002. A case report of a 1 3-year-old boy who inhaled helium directly from a pressurized tank and suf-fered cerebral gas embolism further highlights the potential danger of inhaling helium under pressure.Due to the growing availability of helium in rental tanks used to fill balloons, there is a greater chance

of helium inhalation incidents occurring.Damage caused by helium inhalation can be treated with decompression therapy, which forces oxygen

to replace the helium in the lungs. However, the inhalation of helium can result in permanent damage tothe lungs.

-Kari Bachmeier and Rachna Sheth

HEALTH ALERTS

Take Care of YourselfSo You Can Take Care ofYour Baby.

October 2004 www.aapnews.org AAP News 213

to young chfldren.There has been one

~~~~~~report of a child placing_ ~~~~thesmall, wooden head_ ~~~~~inits mouth. No injuries_ - ~~~~have been reported.

The wooden Peek-a-_ _ ~~~~BooBalls are blue with six_ ~~~~holes located equally

around the ball, each hole containing a smallwooden head with a smiling face in various colors.Theywere sold exclusivelythrough HearthSong's cat-alog andWeb site from October 2001 to March 2004for $10.HearthSong is notify,ing consumers by mail regard-

ing a refund and a discount toward the next pur-chase. For additional information, call HearthSongtoll-free at (888) 623-6557 orvisitthe company'sWebsite at www.hearthsong.com.

Wooden bunk bedsPl Sleep Shop of Portland, Ore., is recalling 377

wooden bunk beds because gaps between parts of

__ ~~~~~theupper bunk_ _ i ~~~~~~end structure vio-_ - | | ~~~~late the federal

safety standard,_l ~~~~~posing entrap-

1 ~~~~~~~mentor strangu-I~~~~~~~lation hazards to

_J ~~~~~~~children.There have been no reported injuries.The recalled model numbers, twin/twin #1000,

twin/double #2000 and loft bunk #3000, can befound on the manufacturer's label, located on theinside of the upper bunk's end structure. They weresold at PJ Sleep Shop in Portland, Ore., and BannerFurniture stores in Portland and Hillsboro, Ore., fromJune 1, 2000, to Feb. 29, 2004. Model #1000 sold for$199, model #2000 sold for $325 and model #3000sold for $349.Consumers should stop using the bunk beds and

contact PJ Sleep Shop or Banner Furniture to obtaina free repair kit to cover up the entrapment hazards.Consumers in Oregon and Washington State cancontact PJ Sleep Shop at (888) 232-5225.

Regal Lager Inc., ofKennesaw, Ga., is recall-ing I11,500 Lascal "BuggyBoard" stroller attach-ments because the redconnecting pins canbreak, causingthe boardto detach from thestroller andt the user to

- ~~~~~~~~fall.The firm has received two reports in which the

Buggy Board has detached from the stroller, causingchfldren to fall off. One mninor injurywas reported.

The Buggy BoardE - V ^ ~attaches to a stroller or

w; 0 ~~~carriage to allow for an_L ) ~~~older child to stand- _ / ~~and ride behind

=_ ~~~between the arms of at ~~~caregiver. It comes in

_ t~~~~back(, blue, red andtechno styles, has the words "Buggy Board" printedon the top center of the board and "Lascal" moldedinto the plastic on the bottom center of the board.The recall does not involve boards with orange con-necting pins. The productwas sold at specialty retailstores, catalogs and Internet sites from January2003to July 2004 for $88.Consumers should stop using the product and

contact the firm at (877) 242-5676 or log on to thecompany'sWeb site atwww.regallager.com to receiveinformation on how to obtain a free repair kit.

"RIVANNIMMM.-

ogomk------

Red folding chairsMeco Corp., of Greene-

ville, Tenn., is recalling_ ~~~3,800 red folding chairs_ t ~~from the Kid's Essentials

[----= n five-piece folding furniture!**el sets because the red paint

t1^ ~~~~on the chair has a high lead;_ ) ~~~content, posing a lead poi-

soning hazard to young_ ~~~~children.

N~~~o incidents have beenreported.

The recalled chairwas sold as a part ofa childrerfstable furniture set that includes a green table, bluechair, yellow chair and green chair. It has a metalframe and vinyl padded seat back and base, with 11 -

88-3E1 and 11-88S3E1 and date codes H3, B4, D4 orE4 printed underneath the seat bottom. The brandname "Meco" or "Samsonite" also is printed on theseat label. The furniture sets were sold at furnitureand wholesale club stores nationwide from July 2003to June 2004 for $25 to $40.Consumers should stop using the red chair and

contact Meco at (800) 251-7558 or visitwww.meco.net for instructions on return and receiptof a free replacement chair.

Toy ballsHearthSong Inc., of Madison, Va., is recalling

22,500 Peek-a-Boo Balls because the wooden ringson the holes ofthe ball maycrack, allowingthe smallwooden heads to fall out and pose a choking hazard

It's a thin line between having a healthy baby and a baby that's sick. Don't take the risk.

If you're pregnant- or even diink you are -getting prenatal care early is the

most important step you can take. Call 1-800-311-2229. We'll put you in touch with

the many services available to you. The call is free and it's completely confidential.