IWRW Newsletter

By Lindsay Grace Weber, October 7, 2009
On June 30th, 2009, a health advisory panel urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lower the maximum dosage of acetaminophen in over-the-counter medications. A popular ingredient in both prescription and non-prescription painkillers—including Tylenol, Excedrin, Nyquil, and many generic brands of pain and fever reducers—acetaminophen has been linked potentially serious liver damage and death.

By Maranda Herner, September 9, 2009
MRSA is a type of Staphylococcus aureus, or “staph,” bacteria. This particular strain poses heightened concern because it is resistant to most antibiotics used to treat staph infections. Accordingly, MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Fortunately, MRSA can be treated with specialized antibiotics. Most MRSA cases occur in hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis centers and earn the name health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA).

By Erin Clark, August 26, 2009
Nearly 80% of women have used ‘the Pill’ since its introduction in the 1960’s. Though this number is estimated to be less among Native women, oral contraceptives remain a heavily relied upon birth control choice for millions, yet access to information about its side effects is not always easy. Recently, the brand of oral contraceptive Yasmin (also known as Yaz or Ocella) has come under strict scrutiny for the possibility of severe side effects, and many of these side effects are closely tied to health problems in Native communities.

By Kathryn Au, August 12, 2009
Chemicals in our everyday environment may be harming our health as well as our ability to have children. The latest chemicals to come under public scrutiny by the media are a group of compounds known as perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, which are chemicals with fluorine atoms attached to chains of carbons. They are very stable chemicals that do not break down easily. Used in the production of many household items for stain resistance and water and oil repellence, these chemicals are found everywhere.

By Lindsay Grace Weber, July 29, 2009
The Center for Disease Control identifies skin cancer as both the most common, and the most preventable, type of cancer in the U.S. [1] Though most skin cancer prevention and awareness campaigns target individuals in higher risk groups—i.e. light skinned individuals who burn or freckle easily—people with darker skin are also at risk for developing skin cancer. Individuals with increased skin pigmentation, including African-American, Asian, Latino and Indigenous people, do have additional protection from the harmful UV rays of the sun that lead to skin cancer. Despite this added protection, skin cancer is associated with higher mortality and morbidity within these populations due to the atypical presentation of skin cancer in dark skin, and the subsequent misdiagnosis of skin cancer by medical professionals. [2] With the summer sun now out in full force, it is important that all individuals take precautions against skin cancer.

By Maranda Herner, July 1, 2009
The current outbreak of the swine influenza virus has been attracting worldwide attention. The growing number of reported cases and H1N1 related deaths have raised concern among the public, particularly in susceptible communities such as Native American reservations. Swine flu typically infects the upper respiratory tracts of pigs and until recently, rarely appeared in humans. Of the four subtypes of the influenza type A swine flu virus identified in pigs, the popular strand now spreading among humans is labeled H1N1.

By Kathryn Au, May 20, 2009
Skin care products in our bathroom shelves may be doing more harm to our health than good. That’s because most of these products contain parabens, a group of chemicals that are used as preservatives. Parabens are used to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungus in a variety of household products. In other words, they make products last longer. They are cheap to produce and effective as preservatives, so companies use them in literally thousands of products. You can find parabens everywhere: in cosmetic products like makeup, lipstick, and nail products; in hygiene products like hand lotions, sunscreen, deodorant, soaps, shampoo, and toothpastes; and in many food products like processed foods, condiments, soft drinks, fruit juices, and ice cream.

By Kathryn Au, April 29, 2009
Eating barbecued and grilled foods may be increasing our risk of cancer. These foods are more likely to contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a type of chemical compound that may pose health dangers to our bodies.

April 15, 2009
“Guard Us All? Immigrant Women and the HPV Vaccine” is a new radio program that explores the intersections of reproductive justice and immigrant human rights. On this edition of Making Contact, we partner with organizations in the reproductive justice movement to explore an HPV vaccination that’s at the center of these issues.

By Kathryn Au, April 1, 2009
Parents are becoming increasingly concerned over the presence of the chemical bisphenol A in baby products. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor—it imitates the hormone estrogen and throws the endocrine system off balance, affecting the development of reproductive organs.

By Kathryn Au, March 18, 2009
Bisphenol A is a man-made organic compound found in many household products in the form of epoxy resin and polycarbonate plastic. Epoxy resin is used to line the insides of canned foods to protect the food from metal contamination, and polycarbonate plastic is used to make baby bottles, water bottles, eyeglass lenses, CDs and other household electronics, white dental fillings and dental sealants, sports helmets, and children’s toys. Bisphenol A (BPA) often leaches out of the plastic in food containers and canned goods into food and drinks. Scientists are alarmed about its chemical properties as an endocrine disruptor when it enters the body through food and drinks.

By Kathryn Au, March 4, 2009
The Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), a little-known piece of government legislation that was passed in August 2008 in response to the “Made in China” toy scare last year, will require all products sold to children to be tested for certain chemicals. One of the targets is a group of chemicals known as phthalates.

By Stacy Tressler, February 18, 2009
We know that there are many health benefits to be gained from exercise but if it was that easy then everyone would be exercising. With all the information out there it can be hard to know exactly how much and what types of exercise we should be performing. The good news is that you do not need to go to the gym, use fancy equipment or train for a marathon in order to reap the many benefits that exercise has to offer. The most important thing to remember is that it is never to late to start exercising and that everyone can be active in some way.