Our network

Health

Kan. doctors use ‘superglue’ to save baby

Video provided by the University of Kansas Hospital

(CNN) — Chalk it up to a win for ingenuity: Doctors are crediting surgical superglue for saving the life of a 20-day-old girl in Kansas.

Ashlyn Julian was born healthy and happy on May 16. Shortly after returning home from the hospital, however, her parents noticed something was wrong with their newest addition.

“She was probably around 10 days old, and she was sleeping a lot, and I understand that babies sleep a lot, but to the point that you couldn’t wake her up to feed her,” said Ashlyn’s mother, Gina Julian.

Then abruptly, her behavior changed. “We (went) from a baby that was very quiet to a baby that was screaming all the time and throwing up, and at that point we knew something was very wrong,” Julian said.

Mother who lost daughter to eating disorders and suicide working to save others

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Eating disorders are deadlier than any other mental illness. The disorders can result in heart attacks and organ failure, but there’s also a high risk of suicide.

In junior high, friends noticed that Emily Heim was going to the restroom during lunch. They were concerned she was purging. The diagnosis of bulimia came a year later. The Lee’s Summit girl received treatment, but her mom says it was never enough. Insurance limited the days Emily could spend in a treatment center.

“They get you stable and it’s like a band-aid fix, but they really don’t get at the root of the problem,” says Suzi Heim.

Behind Emily’s smile, an agonizing struggle with bulimia and also anorexia went on for seven years.

“I think she came to a point she was just really, really worn out and exhausted,” says Suzi.

Eleven-year-old saves baby brother

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The American Heart Association says anyone can help save a life by knowing CPR. An Overland Park family has proof of that. They’re sharing their story for the first time during CPR Week.

Back in October, 11-year-old Dylan Stanley walked into the house to find his granddad holding his 10-month-old brother, Evan, who was choking.

“I saw him just going ehhh. He wasn’t — he was barely making noise,” recalls Dylan.

Evan was choking on dog food he’d found in the laundry room. Dylan called their dad, Dave, into the house. Dave started doing back blows and pushing on Evan’s belly.

“He (Dylan) says in a clear, calm, confident voice — You’re doing it wrong. You need to do the chest compression not his stomach,” says Dave.

Court rules minors can buy ‘morning-after’ pill without prescription

(CNN) — Emergency contraception known as the “morning-after pill” can be sold over-the-counter to minors, a federal appeals court in New York decided on Wednesday.

A generic two-pill version could soon be available without a prescription or any age restrictions, according to an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

But the three-judge panel separately blocked unrestricted sales of a newer, different Plan B one-pill version, until it can further consider the matter.

The Obama administration has been criticized by some women’s rights groups for trying to stop contraception sales to underage females.

Some of those groups applauded the court’s order.

Wheat Belly author compares wheat to opiate

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A piece of bread. A slice of pizza. How powerful can they be in our brains? Dr. William Davis compares foods containing wheat to opiates.

“But unlike heroin, morphine, Oxycontin, other opiates, they don’t provide euphoria or pain relief. They only stimulate appetite,” says Dr. Davis, a heart specialist who’s the author of Wheat Belly, a New York Times best-selling book. He is a speaker at a St. Luke’s Hospital event Tuesday evening.

Dr. Davis says you can blame the gliaden protein in modern wheat for our big guts.

“It causes people on average to consume 400 more calories every day,” says Dr. Davis.

So he encourages people to ban the bun. He acknowledges it can be hard to go cold turkey or, in this case, cold pasta.

Hepatitis A outbreak raises question: Who should routinely be vaccinated?

OLATHE, Kan. — A Hepatitis A outbreak remains at 30 people, all of them in western states. The outbreak is linked to a frozen mix of berries and pomegranate seeds sold at Costco. Most people infected reported eating “Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend.”

A Missouri official tells us they’re waiting on a distribution list to see if it was sold in the state, while a Kansas official says at this time, they don’t know of any being sold in Kansas.

But Hepatitis A is always around. The Johnson County Health Department says it had one case confirmed today, and it is likely not linked to the outbreak. Hepatitis A is spread when people eat food that’s contaminated with fecal matter. It can be two weeks or longer before a person has symptoms.

Running better than walking for weight control

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the Hospital Hill Run coming up on Saturday, it’s a good time to think about running and walking, our two most popular forms of exercise. Which is better for you? Some new research shows it depends on what you want from it.

Tom Cotter lost 30 pounds after he started running at age 20. Now 28, those pounds are still gone.

“It just burns off the extra calories, I guess, is the biggest thing,” says Tom.

The National Runners and Walkers Health Study included thousands of people, and found when it comes to weight control, the race isn’t even close. Runners are thinner than walkers, and they maintain their thinness even as they age and run less.

Dr. James O’Keefe of Saint Luke’s Hospital is an unbiased walker and runner. He says the extra calorie burn is probably not the only way runners keep pounds off.