Cot deaths due to suffocation

A new study of cot deaths has suggested that most can probably be explained as accidental suffocation. American researchers say most Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) deaths are actually due simply to the baby’s mouth and nose being obstructed by bedding or something else. Babies should be placed on their backs in a cot and not in an adult bed or on a sofa.

“This study suggests that asphyxia plays a greater role in many sudden infant deaths than has been historically recognised,’’ said Melissa Pasquale-Styles. She and Patricia Tackitt investigated 209 infant death cases handled by the medical examiner’s office between 2001 and 2004. In each case Tackitt, a nurse, visited the place where the death happened within 48 hours. Tackitt gave parents a doll and asked them to replicate exactly how they put the baby to sleep and how they found it. This often revealed important clues about how the baby died, and in 12 per cent of cases the description of events was significantly different from what had been reported to the medical examiner. Babies who died in an adult bed were 53 per cent, while 29 per cent died in a cot and 12 per cent died on sofas. Sleeping in an adult bed is dangerous because the baby can easily fall off or, if it is sharing the bed, be asphyxiated by a parent rolling on to it while asleep. One death occurred when a baby sleeping alone in an adult bed fell off the side and wedged its head between the bed and the wall.

Overall, 23 per cent were recorded officially as asphyxiation, but the study found that in 85 per cent of cases the way the baby was found suggested that asphyxiation was the cause. Typically, the baby was either on its front or with its face buried in excess bedding or a pillow. In the other 15 per cent of cases, more than two-thirds of the babies had colds or were taking medication. Just over half of the cases involved parents sharing a bed or a sofa with the baby. —Guardian

US health officials are examining rare reports of blindness among some men using the

impotence drug Viagra. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating up to 50

reports of Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy blindness, or NAION. FDA spokeswoman, Susan Cruzan, said they have no evidence yet that the drug is to blame but added, “We take this seriously.”

NAION can occur in men who are diabetic or have heart disease, the same conditions that can cause impotence and thus lead to Viagra use. More than 23 million men have taken Viagra worldwide. Pfizer Inc manufactures

Viagra and their spokesman, Daniel Watts, confirmed that the company was in discussion with the FDA about adding a disclosure to Viagra’s label to say that in rare cases, men taking Viagra had developed blindness.

However, he said there is no proof that Viagra caused the blindness. He said that men

who take Viagra often have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are also associated with the conditions that can cause blindness. On its website, Pfizer states, “The most common side effects of Viagra are headache, facial flushing, and upset stomach. Less common are bluish or blurred vision, or being sensitive to light. These may occur for a short time.”

Patients taking drugs that contain nitrates have been warned not to take Viagra because of sudden, unsafe drops in blood pressure. Tests on animals indicate it may also aid in the treatment of enlarged hearts that can result from high blood pressure. — AP