Throughout the week of May 20th CDC will feature new information and updates on the impact of heat related illness nationally; climate change and health, there will be a special focus on student athletes and health during Extreme Heat Awareness Week. CDC will begin the weeklong observance by hosting 12 students from Henry County’s Flippen’s Elementary and Eagle’s Landing Middle Schools. Of the students participating in the event, three students from Flippen Elementary School in McDonough, will be recognized for an innovative product they created, COOL Pads designed to help student athletes maintain a safe body temperature during practice and while competing on the football field.  Read more at http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/a0520-extreme-heat.html.

She didn’t have breast cancer. But had been told she had an 87 percent chance of getting it. Leading to her decision. Read her article at the New York Times.

The move is an effort by GOP leaders to please conservatives, who are planning on running against the law in the mid-term elections next year.

The snails, researchers warn, are potentially dangerous to touch, in part because they can carry meningitis. Scientists have warned anyone who comes in contact with them to wash their hands thoroughly.

According to the new report, themed “Surviving the First Day,” every year more than 1 million babies die on the day they are born, making a baby’s birth day the most dangerous day of life — in the United States and almost every country in the world.

The Food and Drug Administration has lowered the age for girls as young as 15 to buy emergency contraception including the morning-after pill. Studies revealed that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how the Plan B One-Step and other generic brands work, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease. The decision was based in part on science that shows access to emergency contraception has the potential to decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States.

The pill will be made available for sale to all teens  15 and over who can provide proof of  their age. It will be placed on store shelves near women’s health or family planning aisles. The pill does not end a pregnancy but instead reduces the possibility of pregnancy if taken within so many days following unprotected sex. The pill prevents or delays ovulation, fertilization or, in some cases, implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterine lining. Discussion with a parent, counselor, doctor or pharmacist is highly recommended before using the pill.

For more information about contraceptives take a look at this post.