News Moms Need

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Novartis Consumer Healthcare has voluntarily issued a recall of certain of its cold medications. The child-resistant caps on Triaminic and Theraflu products can fail to function properly and enable the cap to be removed by a child with the tamper-evident seal in place. This poses a risk of unintentional consumption and poisoning. These products contain acetaminophen and diphenhydramine which are required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act to be sealed with child-resistant packaging.

This recall involves Triaminic® Syrups and Theraflu Warming Relief® Syrups for coughs, colds and fevers. There are 24 types of these two products included in the recall. A complete list of products, lot numbers and National Drug Codes (NDC) can be found at www.novartisOTC.com.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled product and contact Novartis for instructions on how to return the product for a full refund. Contact Novartis Consumer Healthcare toll-free at (866) 553-6742 from 8 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday through Saturday, or online at www.novartisOTC.com for more information.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and four major retailers are announcing a voluntary recall to consumers who own Nap Nanny® recliners made by Baby Matters, LLC of Berwyn, PA after the deaths of five children. The Nap Nanny is a portable infant recliner designed for sleeping, resting and playing. The recliner includes a bucket seat shaped foam base and a fitted fabric cover with a three point harness.

Retailers currently participating include Amazon.com, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com and Toys R Us/Babies R Us. At the request of the CPSC, these retailers have agreed to voluntarily participate because the manufacturer is unable or unwilling to participate in the recall.

CPSC is warning parents and caregivers that these baby recliners contain defects in the design, warnings and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury and death to infants. This recall includes the Nap Nanny Generations One and Two, and the Chill™ model infant recliners.

For more information on this recall, visit the CPSC web site.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is recalling nearly 2 million Summer Infant Baby Bathers because of falling and head injury risks. When the bather is lifted or carried with a baby in it, its folding wire frame can suddenly become unfastened from the side hinge, dropping the baby out of the bather. CPSC has received reports of babies who suffered head injury from falling out of these bathers.

The bathers were sold in stores nationwide from September 2004 through November 2011. If you have any of the recalled Summer Infant Baby Bathers, CPSC urges that you stop using the bathers immediately and contact Summer Infant for a free repair kit at (800) 426-8627 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday or visit summerinfant.com/batherrepairkit. Do not return baby bathers to stores as the retailers will not have the repair kit.

The repair kit includes a locking strap and instructions. However, even with the new locking strap, never lift or carry the baby bather with a baby in it. To learn more about this recall, please visit cpsc.gov. Learn more about bath tubs and other bath products.

If you’ve been to a baby shower recently or visited a baby registry list, then you’ve probably seen the Bumbo infant seat. These baby seats, made of molded foam, are hugely popular in families with infants. But if you’re one of the millions of people who have a Bumbo, beware.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Bumbo International are recalling over 4 million Bumbo infant seats because several babies have fallen or gotten themselves out of their seats. This happened when the Bumbo was placed either on a raised surface or used on the floor. The CPSC has gotten reports of babies who suffered skull fractures, bumps, bruising and other injuries.

If you have a Bumbo seat for your baby, the CPSC urges you to stop using the seat right away until you get and install a free repair kit, which includes a safety belt. To order the repair kit, visit recall.bumbousa.com or call (866) 898-4999 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m EST Monday through Thursday, and between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday.

The Bumbo seats were sold in stores nationwide and online, including Sears, Target, Toys R Us (including Babies R Us), USA Babies, Walmart, and other toy and children’s stores from August 2003 through August 2012.

To learn more about this and other recalls, visit cpsc.gov. Visit marchofdimes.com for more information about baby gear.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is recalling nearly 1 million Safety 1st Push ‘N Snap Cabinet Locks with model numbers 48391 and 48442. CPSC found that young children can unlock the cabinet locks, giving children access to unsafe items moms and dads keep in cabinets. This can put your child at risk of getting hurt from these unsafe items.

The child safety locks were sold at Bed Bath & Beyond and other retail stores nationwide as well as at Amazon.com from January 2004 through February 2012 for between $2 and $4.

If you have any of the recalled child safety locks, CPSC urges you to remove the locks from the cabinets right away and store dangerous items out of reach of children. For a free replacement Push ‘N Snap lock, contact Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG), Inc. (the company that imports these child safety locks) at (866) 762-3212 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.djgusa.com.

For more information on the child safety lock recall, please visit the CPSC website. Learn more about keeping your baby’s environment safe.

Have you got a night light in your child’s room or the bathroom? Check it. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and American Tack & Hardware Company are recalling 261,000 LED night lights. An electrical short circuit in the night light can cause it to overheat and smolder or melt, which can burn consumers or result in fire.

The night lights were sold in hardware stores, lighting showrooms and home centers nationwide from March 2009 through January 2011. Three night light models are being recalled: model numbers 71193, 71194 and 327879. Only those with KML molded on the back are being recalled.

Consumers should stop using the recalled night lights immediately and unplug them from the wall. Contact the firm for instructions on receiving a full refund. To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recalled products, click on this link.

Toy manufacturer Fisher-Price announced Thursday that it has recalled about 10 million toys because they were dangerous to children.

Approximately 2.8 million of various baby play areas with inflatable balls were recalled in the U.S. due to problems with choking. (It also recalled 125,000 of the toys in Canada.)  The company found that a valve from the inflatable ball can come off and become a choking hazard.

Fisher-Price, which is part of Mattel Inc., also decided to recall more than 7 million tricycles due to a protruding part that had cut some children.  The company also said it recalled about 120,000 small car toys because of at least two reported cases where the wheels came off and caused a choking hazard.

Along with the toys, the company also recalled close to a million of several types of high chairs because of 14 reports of children being cut by the chair legs.  In seven of the cases, the injured children needed stitches, the company said.

You can read details of the recalled items on the Mattel website.   Customers can call the Fisher-Price hot line at 800-432-5437 for more information.

About 5 million Similac powdered infant formula containers, including Isomil and Go & Grow, are being recalled. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that these containers may have insect pieces or larvae in them.

The recall is for milk and soy-based Similac powdered infant formulas sold in United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, and some Caribbean countries. Some of these formulas were given to families through the federal government’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) health and nutrition program. Similac liquid formulas aren’t being recalled.

If you’ve already fed your baby some of the recalled powdered formula, the FDA reassures that your baby won’t have any long-term health problems. In the meantime, if you have a recalled container, stop using it immediately and return it to the manufacture for a full refund.

To learn more or to see a complete list of the recalled powdered infant formula products, visit the FDA Web site. You can also look at the lot numbers printed at the bottom of the formula containers and enter them in the search box on this FDA Web page to see if they’re part of the recall. Contact Abbott (makers of Similac) at (800) 986-8850 with any questions.

Back in May, we reported that several children’s medications had been recalled. McNeil Consumer Healthcare has expanded that recall to include several other products under the brand names Tylenol, Benadryl and Motrin. For a list of recent products recalled, click here.

A reminder: Do not give over-the-counter cough and cold products to infants and children younger than 4 years of age. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, these medications can have serious and life-threatening side effects.  

The U.S. government has launched 18 new applications for mobile phones. Several of them can help you and your family stay healthy. 

One app reports on product recalls. Another is a body-mass index (BMI) calculator for monitoring weight. One takes you straight to MedlinePlus, the federal health Web site that’s loaded with lots of useful info. And an ultraviolet (UV) index helps you check the air quality in you area.

So take a look and start downloading!