The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

At last: Federal officials are reconsidering the recommendation for the general public not to wear face masks during the coronavirus pandemic

Since late February, I’ve wondered why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t been recommending the general public wear face masks. I wrote about it in my article “What You Need to Do to Get Ready for a Possible Covid-19 Outbreak in Your Community.” I said:

So, while it’s unknown where covid-19 will strike in the U.S., or if it will, I think getting some N95 masks is a good idea, if you can find them. I wonder if buying them isn’t recommended at this time so there won’t be a run on them, making them unavailable for health care workers.

Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, on Feb. 29, there was an email tweet from the surgeon general about not buying masks. A New York Times article quoted the tweet as follows: “Seriously people – STOP BUYING MASKS!” the surgeon general, Jerome M. Adams, said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”

Attorneys general tell Facebook, Amazon, and other online retailers to do a better job on curbing price gouging

Thirty-one attorneys general are urging Amazon, Facebook, eBay, Walmart, and Craigslist to more rigorously monitor inflated consumer price practices by online sellers using their services.

“As our community faces an unprecedented public health crisis, I’m asking online retailers to do more at a time that requires national unity,” said Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford. “Together, we need to crack down on inflated pricing so our consumers can get the goods and supplies they need at fair prices.”

A letter sent Monday to the companies lists several examples of inflated prices on their marketplace platforms, which took place in March: on Craigslist a two-liter bottle of hand sanitizer was being sold for $250; on Facebook Marketplace an eight-ounce bottle was being sold for $40; and on Ebay packs of face masks were being sold for $40 and $50.

Baby boomers are being impacted by COVID-19

Like most people for now, the coronavirus is turning my life upside down.

I wanted to get my new glasses Monday, but a delay caused an error in one of my glasses prescriptions, I’m getting regular glasses and computer classes, screwed everything up. By the time the ophthalmologist’s office said they had faxed the correct prescriptions to Costco, Costco had closed its optical department.

So, instead of shopping at Costco, I went to my local co-op and Safeway to stock up again. I wore my face mask and disposable gloves.

In addition to the canned goods shelves being nearly bare, the sugar and flour shelves at Safeway were empty, too.

People age 60 and older are to stay home, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said. So that’s what I’m doing now.

The baby boomers in our blogging group are being impacted by the coronavirus. They’re writing about:

What you need to do to get ready for a possible COVID-19 outbreak in your community

It was helpful Tuesday when a federal official advised Americans to prepare for a possible coronavirus outbreak where they live.

“It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen,” Nancy Messonnier, M.D., director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a New York Times article.

Messonnier said that cities and towns should plan for “social distancing measures,” such as dividing school classes into smaller groups of students or closing schools. Meetings and conferences may have to be canceled, she said. Businesses should arrange for employees to work from home.

What do you need to do to be prepared? One federal official said to get ready in your home like it was a snow storm or hurricane. Recommendations include:

Majority of people traveling internationally for health care received dental treatment, survey shows

Twenty-one percent of people enrolled in health insurance are willing to travel internationally for care, while 60 percent of those who have already done it received dental treatment, according a survey released Wednesday by eHealth Inc., an internet health insurance exchange.

“Dental insurance is often overlooked by consumers shopping for health coverage, but according to some estimates the cost of dental care has increased 90% since the year 2000,” said Seth Teich, senior vice president and general manager for individual and family plans at eHealth. “Our survey results shed light on Americans’ willingness to travel for affordable dental care, but they also illustrate the importance of getting the right dental insurance for your needs, and understanding how that coverage works.”

Five tips for when mobility starts to decline

By Susan Hackett, Vice President, Williams Lift Co.

Guest Blogger

As you get older, you may notice that the stairs are getting more difficult to climb or it’s harder to get in and out of your vehicle. Some people may start dreading going places because of their mobility issues.

As your mobility declines, your risk of falling increases. One in four Americans over the age of 65 fall each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of these falls are preventable.

Most sunscreens contain possible harmful ingredients or don’t protect well from the sun, consumer group analysis shows

Researchers from the Environmental Working Group found that two-thirds of sunscreen products it analyzed offer inferior sun protection or contain worrisome ingredients, such as oxybenzone.

On Wednesday, the EWG released its 13th Annual Guide to Sunscreens, which rates the safety and effectiveness of more than 1,300 SPF products, including sunscreens, daily moisturizers, and lip balms with SPF values. SPF means sun protection factor.

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a proposal for updated sunscreen regulations. It’s a big step toward cleaning up a poorly regulated industry, with much-needed reforms that would better protect public health, said Nneka Leiba, director of the EWG’s Healthy Living Science program. Only 40 percent of the products on the EWG’s list contain active ingredients that the FDA has proposed are safe and effective, based on the agency’s new draft rules, according to the EWG’s assessment.

How government regulations help consumers

Conservatives rail against government regulations, and the Trump administration is doing its best every day to cut government regulations that corporations hate.

However, government regulations help consumers. A report by the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards lists 10 worker, health, safety, and transportation standards that could help consumers this summer.

“Summer is supposed to be when we take time off from work to spend with family and friends, enjoy picnics, barbeques and cookouts, lay out by the pool, head to the beach, take road trips across the country or fly to far-flung places,” the report says. “But what happens if you’ve been deprived of the wages needed to take time off or travel, if road trips, flights and tour boats are potentially dangerous, if it’s way too hot to work or play outside, and there’s a good chance the food and water may be hazardous to your health? Suddenly, summertime looks less like a dreamy vacation and more like a scorching hot nightmare.”

The regulations discussed in the report are:

FDA decides not to ban breast implants

Like other Trump agencies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it listened “carefully” to problems, then decided to side with industry anyway.

Regulatory agencies around the world have been considering banning breast implants because of an increased risk of developing breast implant associated-anaplastic large cell lymphoma or BIA-ALCL especially with textured implants.

Textured breast implants, covered by a grained outer shell, are designed to stay in the same position over time and prevent scar tissue forming around the implant.

The rare BIA-ALCL isn’t a breast cancer, but is a lymphoma that develops in scar tissue.

As of Sept. 30, 2018, the FDA had received 457 medical device reports of BIA-ALCL, including the death of nine patients. Of those, 310 were caused by textured breast implants.

Rather than banning textured breast implants like France, the FDA said it will consider stronger warnings about the breast implants and require improved reporting on problems with implants.

Claire pulls kids’ makeup containing asbestos from shelves after FDA tests

Claire, a mall chain store, is removing from shelves three talc-based products — eye shadows, compact powder, and contour powder — that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this week contain asbestos. Claire’s said it’s doing this "out of an abundance of caution."

FDA test results confirmed the findings of a U.S. PIRG Education Fund study last year that discovered asbestos in Claire’s compact and contour powders. Talc is a substance that sometimes contains naturally-occurring asbestos, and Claire’s said it was "also removing any remaining talc based cosmetic products."

"While we are relieved that children will no longer be able to buy three asbestos-containing cosmetics at Claire's, we urge Claire's to take stronger action with these products,” said Kara Cook-Schultz, toxics program director for U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “Many consumers still have these dangerous products on their shelves at home. Parents and kids should be informed about the problems with the makeup they purchased."

The FDA is advising consumers not to use these products.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist