HEALTH

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Misfit Wearables is teeing up a revolutionary activity tracking device — the Misfit Shine — that's constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum, is waterproof and is able to wirelessly sync activity data to a smartphone without the need for a Bluetooth connection. 

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Nordic Naturals on Tuesday added Vitamin D3 Vegan to its professional product line. The liquid formulation is naturally sourced from lichen and was developed to provide healthcare practitioners with an alternative for their clients who are vegans, strict vegetarians or who prefer a non-lanolin form of vitamin D3. 

WASHINGTON — The Natural Products Association last week announced its presence across two new social media platforms — Pinterest and Google+. 

Consumers, industry members and policymakers can now stay up to date on NPA news, events, certification programs and advocacy actions in two new ways, the association stated. “Followers” also will get the latest details about federal and state legislation affecting the natural products industry, as well as news about current research and health trends. 

PHILADELPHIA — Patients once considered "aspirin resistant" may not be resistant to aspirin after all, according to a study published online by Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association. Rather, the protective coating around the aspirin to prevent stomach issues may be delaying the absorption of aspirin, leading clinicians to believe that patients are aspirin resistant. 

AKRON, Ohio — Among children who took part in a recent study on the use of hand sanitizer in an environment with limited access to clean water, diarrhea cases were reduced by 30% and respiratory illnesses by more than 11%, GOJO Industries noted in a release issued Tuesday. 

The University of Columbia study was reported in the June 2012 issue of Pan American Journal of Public Health. As part of the study, researchers monitored children's use of alcohol hand sanitizer in conjunction with education to help to reduce life-threatening infections.

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday joined representatives from Walgreens to celebrate the grand opening of a new Walgreens flagship store in the Bucktown-Wicker Park neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, taking the opportunity to remind Chicagoans about the importance of getting a flu shot this season.

CHICAGO — Bausch + Lomb recently introduced a new consumer-preferred cap design across its Renu multi-purpose contact lens solution brand. 

The design and overseal snap provides for an added ease of use, the company stated.  

The Renu brand in July celebrated 25 years on the shelf. First introduced in 1987, the brand helped revolutionize the contact lens solution category as a daily, single-bottle contact lens care regimen.

ATLANTA — The influenza season is officially underway as flu incidence is already above the national threshold, Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters during a teleconference Monday. "This is the earliest regular flu season we've had in nearly a decade, since the 2003-2004 flu season," he said. "That was an early and severe flu year, and while flu is always unpredictable, the early nature of the cases as well as the specific strains we're seeing suggest that this could be a bad flu year."