Collapsible Laundry Hampers May Pose Risk to Kids' Eyes

Two reports show wires can pop out, threatening vision

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- Collapsible laundry hampers can cause serious eye injuries to children if a sharp wire contained within the device breaks free, according to a new report.

The researchers documented the cases of two children, one 23 months old and the other 11 years old, who each suffered a puncture wound in one eye from a collapsible laundry hamper.

The devices collapse and then pop back into shape because they have embedded within them a flexible wire that winds around the outside of the cloth hamper.

"The wire has fabric holding it in place, and it's like a humongous spring," said study co-author Dr. Iris Kassem, an assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Medicine. "When the fabric becomes frayed, the wire pops out and the end of the wire is very sharp."

The 11-year-old boy suffered a corneal laceration while placing clothes in a collapsible laundry hamper, according to the report. The wire mechanism within the hamper suddenly snapped up and struck his right eye, puncturing it.

The report said the 23-month-old girl received her injury after being poked in the eye from a wire protruding from a collapsible hamper.

Both patients came to the University of Illinois at Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary for treatment within one year of each other.

The cases were detailed online July 1 and in the August print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

These types of penetrating eye injuries are uncommon but very serious, said Dr. Alon Kahana, an oculoplastic surgeon at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.

"The risk of vision [loss] is acute, and those patients require immediate evaluation in an emergency room," Kahana said. "Outcomes can be very good. There are some patients that end up with 20/20 vision, [but] there are some patients who end up with no vision at all."

In both reported cases, the children received prompt emergency treatment and, as a result, are expected to regain much of the sight in their injured eyes, Kassem said.

Both children required eye surgery to repair the damage. They have since required some vision therapy to fix developmental problems that occurred as a result of temporarily losing sight in one eye at such a young age. The boy has suffered from exotropia, a form of crossed eyes, while the girl has had amblyopia, or lazy eye.

"They both did extremely well," Kassem said. "They both got very lucky. They both beat the odds to do well."

The authors have reported the injuries to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Kassem said.

They urged parents to be aware of the risk to kids. "Children shouldn't be playing around these things, and if the integrity of the hamper is compromised in any way, you need to throw the product away," Kassem said.

Kahana agreed. "When it pokes out, it pokes out with force. You have the combination of sharp and force," she said. "Most of these are cheap items not meant for extended use. People should see when something approaches the end of its useful life and toss it away."

Kassem has two kids and, at the time of the injuries, had a couple of these hampers around her house.

"When the second kid came in with an injury, I said, 'That's enough of that,' and got rid of the hampers," she said. "It kind of freaked me out."

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Insurance Loss Hampers Young People With Asthma

MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- The loss of health insurance is the main reason asthma care for young people deteriorates after age 18, according to a new study.

Certain social factors -- such as leaving school and no longer having adult supervision -- also contribute to the decline in care, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.

"This study suggests that expanding insurance coverage will help many young adults with asthma receive the care they need," study leader Kao-Ping Chua, a staff physician in the division of emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, said in a Harvard news release. "But it also points to the importance of addressing other socially mediated factors in this population."

"Aside from the lack of financial protection, uninsurance poses fewer health risks to young adults than for older adults because they are generally healthy," study senior author J. Michael McWilliams, an assistant professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in the news release.

"But for young people with asthma -- or other conditions amenable to medical care -- it's important to understand and address the barriers to care," he added.

The researchers looked at data from nearly 2,500 asthma patients, aged 14 to 25, in order to determine if they had a regular care provider, if they visited that provider at least once a year, if they used asthma medications and if they made emergency-room visits.

Patients under age 18 were more likely to use primary care and asthma medications, while those over 18 were more likely to make emergency-room visits and have problems getting care and medications due to cost.

The loss of health insurance explained 32 percent of the decline in the use of primary care by patients over age 18 and between 47 percent and 61 percent of the increase in their cost-related problems getting care and medications, according to the study, which was published recently in the journal Pediatrics.

Under the federal Affordable Care Act, young adults whose parents have private insurance will be eligible to continue receiving coverage on their parents' policies until they are 26. But, the researchers said, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states do not have to extend similar coverage to people on Medicaid, low-income young adults will be left out.

Health insurance, however, is not the only problem, they added.

"Young people with asthma need to work with their care providers to create transition plans from pediatric to adult care that take into account their medical and social history," Chua said.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Harvard Medical School, news release, April 22, 2013

View the original article here

Insurance Loss Hampers Young People With Asthma

Harvard researchers report on impact of health insurance in youths' disease management

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- The loss of health insurance is the main reason asthma care for young people deteriorates after age 18, according to a new study.

Certain social factors -- such as leaving school and no longer having adult supervision -- also contribute to the decline in care, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.

"This study suggests that expanding insurance coverage will help many young adults with asthma receive the care they need," study leader Kao-Ping Chua, a staff physician in the division of emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, said in a Harvard news release. "But it also points to the importance of addressing other socially mediated factors in this population."

"Aside from the lack of financial protection, uninsurance poses fewer health risks to young adults than for older adults because they are generally healthy," study senior author J. Michael McWilliams, an assistant professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in the news release.

"But for young people with asthma -- or other conditions amenable to medical care -- it's important to understand and address the barriers to care," he added.

The researchers looked at data from nearly 2,500 asthma patients, aged 14 to 25, in order to determine if they had a regular care provider, if they visited that provider at least once a year, if they used asthma medications and if they made emergency-room visits.

Patients under age 18 were more likely to use primary care and asthma medications, while those over 18 were more likely to make emergency-room visits and have problems getting care and medications due to cost.

The loss of health insurance explained 32 percent of the decline in the use of primary care by patients over age 18 and between 47 percent and 61 percent of the increase in their cost-related problems getting care and medications, according to the study, which was published recently in the journal Pediatrics.

Under the federal Affordable Care Act, young adults whose parents have private insurance will be eligible to continue receiving coverage on their parents' policies until they are 26. But, the researchers said, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states do not have to extend similar coverage to people on Medicaid, low-income young adults will be left out.

Health insurance, however, is not the only problem, they added.

"Young people with asthma need to work with their care providers to create transition plans from pediatric to adult care that take into account their medical and social history," Chua said.

View the original article here