Health Highlights: June 14, 2016

• Tweet
• Pin It

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Sales of Zecurity Migraine Skin Patches Halted

Sales of the migraine treatment skin patch Zecurity have been halted after patients reported suffering burns and scars where the patches were applied, Teva Pharmaceutical says.

The Israel-based company also said consumers with the disposable battery-powered patches should stop using them, the Associated Press reported.

The patches are applied to the upper arm or thigh and deliver medicine through the skin to treat migraine headaches. But some users have developed severe redness, skin discoloration, cracked skin, and pain where patches were applied, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Teva said it is recalling the patches and working with the FDA to determine the cause of the skin reactions, the AP reported.

—–

Kellogg Snack Products Recalled

Potential undeclared peanut residue has prompted the recall of certain varieties and batches of Mother’s, Keebler, Kellogg’s Special K brownies, and Murray and Famous Amos snacks, Kellogg says.

The company issued the recall after its supplier, Grain Craft, recalled wheat flour that may contain peanut residue.

Consumers with severe peanut allergies should avoid the recalled products, said Kellogg, which has not received any reports of illnesses related to the products.

People with the recalled products should throw them away and contact Kellogg for a full refund. Consumers can go the company’s website or call 1-800-962-1413, Monday through
Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

—–

Gay Men Outraged Over Inability to Donate Blood For Shooting Victims

Gay men are angry over a federal law that bans them from donating blood to help their LGBT “brothers and sisters” wounded in the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Under the Food and Drug Administration rules, men who have had sex with another man in the past 12 months are not allowed to donate blood, CNN reported.

Forty-nine people were killed and at least 53 other injured in the attack early Sunday morning.

The OneBlood donation center put out an urgent call for blood donors to help the injured, and more than 5,300 people donated blood through the OneBlood statewide network on Sunday. That was a single-day record, said Susan Forbes, OneBlood’s vice president of of marketing and communications, CNN reported.

But that huge public response did not include gay and bisexual men because of the blood donation ban. Some expressed their frustration online by saying it’s easier to buy a gun in the U.S. than for a gay man to donate blood.

There were conflicting media reports about whether the ban had been temporarily lifted, but OneBlood said in a tweet Sunday that all FDA rules were still in place, CNN reported.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

• Tweet
• Pin It