Miniature laundry detergent packets arrived on store shelves in recent months as an alternative to bulky bottles and messy spills. But doctors across the country say children are confusing the tiny, brightly colored packets with candy and swallowing them.

People with obstructive sleep apnea have an increased risk for high blood pressure and heart disease, and now two new studies suggest that treating the disorder may lower this risk. In one study, patients with obstructive sleep apnea who slept with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment appeared to have a reduced risk for developing high blood pressure.

What's by far the dirtiest place in the typical office? It's the sink faucet handles in the break room, according to a down-and-dirty study by Kimberly-Clark Professional. They offer a program to "help companies provide their employees with a healthier and more productive office environment.

Thousands of injuries could be prevented and billions of dollars in medical costs could be saved each year if states implemented more research-based prevention policies, concludes a new report released today. Injuries are the No. 1 cause of death for Americans aged 1 to 44, and the third leading cause of death nationwide.

By Denise Mann Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD A "smoking gun" gene may play a role in how many cigarettes certain smokers puff each day. Researchers from 50 medical institutions across the country analyzed genetic material of more than 32,000 African-American smokers and non-smokers to see if certain genes predicted when they began smoking, how many cigarettes they smoked, and how easily they were able to quit.

Sprains, strains, and worse injuries are unavoidable in sports, and playing through the pain comes with the territory for most athletes. So how do they continue to excel with pain that would leave others sidelined? New research confirms that athletes have a higher tolerance for pain than couch potatoes or even weekend warriors, and the finding could help investigators discover better ways to manage pain.

For the first time, the government is proposing that all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C. Anyone born from 1945 to 1965 should get a one-time blood test to see if they have the liver-destroying virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in draft recommendations issued Friday.

In her 20s, Kim Nielsen worked as a personal trainer. She was naturally in great shape, which led to a pro wrestling career. Her stage name? Desire. But in 2003, an inexperienced wrestler landed on Nielsen at a bad angle during a match and broke the Roswell resident's back.

The CDC today released its annual state of the union's health, and there's good news and bad. We're living longer. But we're also gaining more weight. Teen pregnancies are at a record low. But fewer people can afford necessary prescription drugs and medical care.

When Richard Blais arrived to join other top-named chefs presenting cooking classes at the 2012 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, he showed up with a bunch of leftovers. “I had a chicken carcass in a pan, some celery tops, cilantro stems and the tails trimmed off of radishes,” said Blais, a winner of Bravo’s “Top Chef All-Stars.

Researchers at the University of Georgia have concluded freshman female students that drink alcohol are more likely to be victims of sexual assault. The study, published in the journal Violence and Victims, found that first-year female college students who drank four or more alcoholic drinks in one day at the start of the study were 33 percent more likely to be victims of a sexual assault in the following months.

The Marcus Foundation has awarded a $20 million grant to Piedmont Heart Institute to establish the nation's first heart valve reference center. The Marcus Heart Valve Center at Piedmont Hospital will provide a single resource for patients with congenital or acquired heart valve problems.

The first drug shown to prevent HIV infection won the endorsement of a panel of federal advisers Thursday, clearing the way for a landmark approval in the 30-year fight against the virus that causes AIDS. In a series of votes, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval of the daily pill Truvada for healthy people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner.

Roughly half of young adults under 30 say they've had a sunburn in the past year. Not a big deal? It raises the risk for skin cancer, including melanoma, a rare but often lethal cancer. Experts say that even one blistering burn can double the risk of developing melanoma.

By 2030, 42% of Americans will be obese and 11% of Americans will be severely obese, Duke University and CDC researchers predict. These shocking numbers actually are conservative, note study researchers Eric A. Finkelstein, PhD, and colleagues. Finkelstein's team based its calculations on self-reported weight and height from people participating in the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Having trouble finding a doctor? You’re not alone. Tens of millions of adults under 65 - both those with insurance and those without - saw their access to health care dramatically worsen over the past decade, according to a study released Monday. The findings suggest more privately insured Americans are delaying treatment due to rising out-of-pocket costs, while safety net programs for the poor and uninsured are failing to keep up with demand for care, say Urban Institute researchers who wrote the report.

A long commute may pave the way to poor health, a new study shows. The study found that people who commuted more than 15 miles to work each day were more likely to be obese and to carry a lot of fat around the belly -- where it's especially bad for the heart -- and less likely to get enough exercise compared to those who drove less than 5 miles to work each day.

Energy and sports drinks can damage tooth enamel, boosting the risk of cavities, according to a new study. "The big misconception is that energy drinks and sports drinks are healthier than soda for oral health," says researcher Poonam Jain, BDS, MPH, associate professor and director of community dentistry at the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.

Whether we like or loathe the smell of a frying pork chop may depend on our genes, a new study shows. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is one of the first to show how genes may shape our food choices. "People who are instinctively vegetarian or vegan or instinctively heavy meat-eaters, it could definitely have some sort of underlying biological component to it," says Kara Hoover, PhD, a biological anthropologist and assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Rosie approached Tyler Dutton soon after he plopped into a bean bag chair. She leaned on the first-year Emory University law student. As Dutton stroked her soft, silky fur, his shoulders relaxed and for a few moments he wasn't overcome by the stress of final exams.

As a business strategy, breakfast is becoming the most important meal of the day for more restaurants. Fast-food eateries and corner coffee shops are in hot pursuit of early birds with an appetite for spending money on breakfast away from home. Even the new AMC television series "The Pitch" features an episode with rival advertising agencies fighting to win the Subway breakfast campaign account.

For postmenopausal women who are overweight or obese, new research offers more incentive to start shedding pounds. According to a study published in the journal Cancer Research, losing even a small proportion of your overall body weight significantly reduces inflammation in your body and potentially lowers your risk of developing several different types of cancer, including breast cancer.

Want to build up your muscles in time for beach season? High reps with low weights may be the way to go, a new study suggests. "There is nothing magical about heavy weights beyond the fact that they make you work hard," says researcher Nicholas Burd, PhD, of Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

Texting or even the thought of texting on a cell phone while driving may be distracting enough to cause a car crash for teens. Two new studies suggest that teen drivers who text with their cell phone in any position or even think about texting are more likely to be involved in an accident.

U.S. workers are not getting nearly enough sleep. Fully 30% of U.S. adults -- or 40.6 million workers -- sleep six or fewer hours a day, a new CDC report shows. The National Sleep Foundation recommends we get seven to nine hours of sleep each day. Most at risk, according to the report, are people who work the night shift, especially those in the transportation, warehouse, and health care industries.