A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
'12-week blow-dry' product recall prompts confusion
THE HSE says it is working with the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) to establish which products used in the so-called “12-week blow-dry” are safe for use.
This follows confusion arising from the product recall by the IMB and the HSE on Friday. It said the distribution of Acai Professional Smoothing Solution, a product within the Brazilian Blowout range, had ceased: “Hairdressing salons have been notified not to use the product and distributed stocks of the product are being recalled.”
The Acai solution was found by the board to have levels of formaldehyde above the permitted level of 0.2 per cent. The statement said formaldehyde was a known irritant and sensitiser and had the potential to induce “undesirable effects” during application to the hair. “Exposure to formaldehyde above the allowed limits places stylists, the person to whose hair the product is applied and those within the immediate vicinity at increased risk.”
The styling treatment known as the “12-week blow-dry” entails the application of a smoothing and relaxant product to hair, which is left for a number of days before being rinsed out. It promises to leave the hair smooth and with a “just styled” appearance for up to 12 weeks and costs €100-€350.
A number of similar products have also been recalled, details of which are on the IMB website. Dublin salon owner, Dylan Bradshaw, is adamant he will continue offering the "12-week blow-dry" saying one of the products he uses, which is on the recall list, is safe. "It was withdrawn but I am fully expecting it to be back on the market. I have all the paperwork and it is safe."
KITTY HOLLLAND
Trust to award 50 projects €3.7m
A PEER mentoring service for students with mental health problems is one of 50 recipients of awards from the Genio Trust.
A joint venture between Atlantic Philanthropies and the Government, the Genio Trust aims to help people with physical and intellectual disabilities to live in the community.
A total of almost €3.7 million will be distributed by the trust at a presentation on Thursday to 50 different groups around the country.
Taking food supplements could help prevent AMD
TAKING AN appropriate food supplement could be part of an effective preventative strategy for dealing with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in the western world, an expert in the field has said.
Ian Grierson, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Liverpool, said a combination of longer life spans and changes in the western diet was resulting in an increase in the incidence of AMD, a condition that gradually destroys central vision as the macula – the central part of the retina – degenerates.
It was a distressing and often depressing condition for elderly people, he said, because they found it more difficult to adapt to vision impairment than younger people.
AMD is the leading source of blindness in Ireland today, affecting about 80,000 people, with 7,000 new cases registered every year. About one in 10 people aged over 50 are affected, according to the Irish charity Fighting Blindness.
Prof Grierson, who was speaking at a Bausch Lomb-sponsored event in Galway last week, said the condition, like glaucoma, was under-reported because elderly people often related deteriorating eye sight to old age. “There is a stigma associated with registering for being visually impaired,” he said.
The incidence of AMD is known to be related to such factors as smoking, weight, blood pressure, family history and age.
It is also more prevalent among women and among Caucasians and is related to diet.
EIBHIR MULQUEEN