H EALTH ALERTS Basketball nets Franklin Sports of llll Sussex, Wis., and ( l Lifetime Products of Clearfield, Utah, in i cooperation withi the U.S. Consumer _ _ _ Commission, are recalling 900,000 toy and youth bas- ketball sets because children can strangle on the loops and openings that come unhooked from the rim. Franklin Sports has received one report of a 3-year-old boy getting his head and neck caught in a basketball net without injury. Huffy Sports and Lifetime Products have received no injury reports. The basketball sets come in a variety of colors and include a nylon net and plastic or metal hoop attached to a plastic pole that adjusts from 3 feet to 6 feet high. The recalled sets are Franklin Sports' Slam DunkYouth Basketball Set, Huffy Sports' Youth One-On-One and Lifetime Products' Shoot Case. Toy, sporting goods, mass merchandise and discount department stores nationwide sold the basketball sets 1- :.-I.."ll", .!-,-,."-,-.-.,;"-,, ::. ....... .;.-:, - ". --,.-.- I'll from 1993 to 1999 for $13 to $40. Manufacturers will send consumers new nets that securely attach to the rim and do not have sliding knots. Consumers should not return the product to stores. To contact Franklin Sports for a replacement net, call (877) 730-1962. To contact Huffy Sports, call (800) 558- 5234 or access www.huflysports.com. To contact Lifetime Products, call (800) 242-3865 or visit www.lifetime.com. Glow-in-the-dark humidifiers Sunbeam Corp. of Boca Raton, Fla., in cooperation with the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Conunission, is _8 recallingabout560,000 _ ~ 0 glow- in -the -dark_a humidifiers because_ they can develop an electrical short, pre- senting a fire hazard. Sunbeam has received 87 complaints about the humidifiers, including 42 reports of fire. Three con- sumers reported smoke inhalation and one suffered minor burns to her hands. The humidifiers are_ white withgreen-, blue-_ or rust-colored covers and have Sunbeam, Hanscraft or SunMark written on their plastic covers. The recalled humidifiers have a date code between I001 and * 7 J226 stamped on the _ plug. W Discount department and drugstores nationwide sold the humidifiers from March 1995 through December 1997 for $8 to $15. Consumers should stop using the humidifiers and contact Sunbeam for instructions on how to return the product for a free replacement: (800) 440-4668 or www.sunbeam.com. 10Th-e Univrersity of California at Sa-n Francisco Visiting Professor: Calvin Sia, MD Hosts: i John Takayama, MD, MPH Elisa Song, MD The University of Hawaii, Honolulu Visiting Professor: Jack P. Shonkoff, MD Host: Cris Derauf, MD Wright State University, Dayton,,OH Visiting Professor: Judith Palfrey, MD Host: Arthur S. Pickoff, MD Two of this year's recipients were awarded the first- ever joint American Academy of Pediatrics- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Visiting Professorship in Community Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry. Those awarded are: The Naval Medical Center, San Diego Visiting Professor: James J. Crall, DDS Host: Katrina Hood, MD The University of Saint Louis Visiting Professor: Burton L. Edelstein, DDS, MPH Host: Sarah M. Legett, MD Each school will receive up to $4,500 to invite an expert in community pediatrics to participate in a 3-day educational program interacting with stu- dents, faculty, community leaders, and CATCH and Academy leadership. The selection committee feels it has chosen a variety of programs where a visiting O~fsor will mak a sigznificant impact on com- munitv Dediatrcs and pedilatn'c dent-istly efforts. 28 AAP News January 2000 Take precautions to avoi sleddng injuries When the first snowfall hits, children grab their_ sleds and race for higher ground. Unfortunately, more than 55,000 of these trips come to a screeching halt in the emergency room each year, revealed a four-year study by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and t the U.S. Forest Service. Most people don't realize that sleds can reach__ speeds of up to 20 mph, and they aren 't ~_ equipped with seat belts or air bags. Children r e _ enjoy sledding for the same reasons parents fear | =Qtf it: It's fast, it's fun and it's unpredictable. But by 0--- _ taking a few precautions, you can help your chil-_ dren make sure this winter activity is both thrilling _5w and safe. - _ --:: ,t',';.,-, Make sure your child wears a helmet. About 15 | vX Ai percent of sledding injuries treated in emergency rooms are head injuries, and 43 percent of those are brain injuries. Helmets are 85 percent effective in preventing brain injuries in children riding bicycles; experts rpredict similar success rates on sleds. Make sure there is constant adult supervision. According to the AAOS study, 71 percent of unsupervised sled- ding outings ended in injuries; when adults were present, the injury rate dropped to 29 percent. Find a safe spot. Look for holes, roots, tree stumps and fences that may be covered in snow. Avoid areas with trees. Avoid slopes that end in a street, parking lot or pond. Both sleds and cars have a hard time stopping on slip- pery surfaces. Frozen ponds might appear solid, but might not be strong enough to hold a child's weight. Make sure your children wear sensible clothing. Bright colors are easier to spot. Dress them in layers for extra warmth, and do not allow them to stay outside if clothing becomes wet. Make sure your child sits face-forward. It is easier to steer the sled. Be especially careful with inflatable snow tubes. They move quickly, cannot be steered and, if they hit a bump, can propel children into the air. Allow only one child down the hill at a time. When children are finished, tell them to move out of the way quickly. Do not allow the next sledder to begin until the previous one is safely off the hill. Don't use sled substitutes. Cafeteria trays, cardboard boxes and detached automobile hoods may seem like great makeshift sleds, particularly in areas that rarely see snow. But these substitutes are difficult to steer and stop, increasing the risk of injury. -Valerie Wright 0 2000 American Academy of Pediatrics. This information may be freely copied and distributed with proper attribution.