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Is your child's teething toy filled with mold?
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embed - photo by Kristina Tieken
This beloved and popular Sophie The Giraffe teething toy has parents outraged.

Several parents discovered a musty smell emitted from the small hole on the giraffes belly. Upon cutting open the small giraffe, black mold spotted the entire inside.

If youve ever purchased a Sophie Giraffe for your baby, you know she is advertised as a perfectly safe and pain soothing teething toy made with 100% natural rubber that is supposed to help develop a babys five senses.

What you didnt know is that toxic molds could be living in this cute, innocent looking giraffe.

What you might have missed

Instructions included in the packaging from Vulli, the French manufacturing company that makes Sophie, recommended cleaning the surface of the giraffe with a damp cloth and not immersing it in water to prevent damage.

However, allowing moisture into that nasty little hole may be unavoidable for those with drooly babies.

Amazon reviewer, Stephanie Oprea, tried to warn parents of the ugly, smelly mold. Beware!! If you have a drooly baby, moisture will get in the hole and youll end up with mold! Weve had our for two years and the entire inside is coated with black mold!

Dana Chianese, a pediatric dentist, used to recommend Sophie The Giraffe to her patients. After she "discovered a science experiment living inside her child's Sophie giraffe, she said that it hurt her heart to know that she had been giving her child moldy toys and stopped recommending them to patients.

Would you risk your child to mold?

A statement was given by Laurie Schraenen, a spokeswoman for Vulli, that the quality department had assessed and concluded that saliva could not cause the mold type that was shown in photos they had received.

How can you prevent mold in toys:

Carolyn Forte from the Cleaning Lab at the The Good Housekeeping Institute, says, The only way to prevent mold inside plastic toys is to make sure they are cleaned and thoroughly dried.

If your child uses these toys on a daily basis, Forte recommends cleaning your childrens toys at once a week and disinfecting them with a cup Clorox bleach per gallon of water. She says to soak them for five minutes, rinse thoroughly and allow them to air dry.

Your child's safety is such an important priority. Hopefully, this helps you become aware of how to better prevent hazardous mold in your child's toys.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.