Don Ryan / AP

Bicyclists travel with traffic down Broadway Street in Portland, Ore., which Bike Score, a new site from Walk Score, just named the second most bike-friendly city in the nation. (Pay no mind to the helmet-less daredevil on the right.)

Biking across your city can be a great way to sneak in a workout while getting from Place A to Place B -- not to mention, you'll avoid traffic jams and you never have to fight for parking. If you've been wanting to try a two-wheel commute, now might be the perfect time, as we happen to be approaching National Bike to Work Day (Friday), which comes at the end of National Bike to Work Week (this week), which is all part of National Bike Month (May). What, you didn't know that already? 

And Walk Score, the site that rates neighborhoods for their "walkability," just released a list of the top 10 most bike-friendly cities. Each city in this initial top 10 list is scored based on the number and quality of bike lanes and trails, destinations and road connectivity, number of bike commuters and hills. (Speaking of hills, San Francisco nabbed the third spot on the list. San Fran cyclists, we'd love to hear your strategies for handling those hills!)

A score of 90 to 100 means the city is a "Biker's Paradise"; scoring 70 to 89 means the area is "Very Bikeable," while 50 to 69 means the city is merely "Bikeable." Any lower than that, and the city is deemed only "Somewhat Bikeable." A trio of public health professors at the University of British Columbia helped develop Bike Score. 

Check below to see if your home made the list. If your city is left out, Bike Score invites you to tweet your annoyance at the oversight -- scores for the top 10 most-tweeted-about cities will be added next.

Bike Score's most "bikeable" cities:

1.  Minneapolis (Bike Score: 79) 
2.  Portland (Bike Score: 70) 
3.  San Francisco (Bike Score: 70) 
4.  Boston (Bike Score: 68) 
5.  Madison  (Bike Score: 67) 
6.  Washington, D.C. (Bike Score: 65) 
7.  Seattle (Bike Score: 64) 
8.  Tucson (Bike Score: 64)  
9.  New York (Bike Score: 62) 
10.  Chicago (Bike Score: 62) 

Related:

• What's the best way to lose belly fat?
• In a fitness funk? How to make a comeback
• Think your way thin with these 3 tips

Wake up, folks: There is no health risk in rousing a sleepwalker from their somnambulistic stroll. Well, no risk to them, anyway. You, on the other hand, might suffer a swift, roundhouse kick to the dome.

Long-repeated medical myths have held that if you forcibly snap a sleepwalker back to a wakeful state it will A) induce a state of shock or possibly even insanity, B) give them “lockjaw,” and, C), our personal favorite, cause their soul to become trapped outside their body. The truth matters now more than ever: On Monday, the Stanford University School of Medicine released new research estimating that 8.5 million U.S. adults (3.6 percent of the grownup population) went sleepwalking during the past year -- a far higher rate of nocturnal wanderers than previously thought by doctors. 

“It’s not dangerous for the sleepwalker to wake him up,” said Dr. Mark R. Pressman, a psychologist and sleep specialist at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa. “You’re not going to do them any harm.”

But there are two potential pitfalls in attempting to yank them back to the conscious world. First, sleepwalkers take their short journeys with eyes open yet without turning on a key part of their brain -- the frontal lobe, a portion that controls social interaction. They are momentarily trapped in an altered, gray state that falls between alertness and full sleep, making them quite difficult to bring back to the real world, Pressman said.

“You just can’t talk to them and say ‘Hey!” and have them wake up,” Pressman said. “I’m not even sure where that myth began that you shouldn’t wake them. But the more you dig back (to try research that legend), the more you’ll find that sleepwalking once was thought to be mixed in with spirits and demonic possessions.”

Most sleepwalking episodes last only seconds or a few minutes, ending with the person either sitting or lying on the floor and returning sleep or eventually trudging back to bed.

“It’s very likely to go away on its own while the family is watching,” Pressman said.

You can try to verbally redirect a sleepwalker -- especially a child -- by standing a short distance away and speaking to them in short, easy commands: “Stop, turn around, go back to bed.” But don’t expect them to answer or even to recognize you, Pressman said. Those particular neurons are still snoozing. “Hopefully they turn around and go the other way.

“There’s really no reason to dive in and stop it unless the sleepwalker is about to climb out a window or fall down some stairs. If that’s the case, the family member doesn’t really have much choice,” he added.

If you do approach a sleepwalker -- especially if you physically block or grab one -- they may flash some "defensive aggressiveness,” Pressman said. “This is a very primitive response to what they see as a potential attacker. They may become violent.

“The first thing, obviously, is you have to protect them anyway you can. That’s the bottom line: safety. So you may have to be prepared to take a punch or kick.”

Just don’t expect your zombified loved one or housemate to offer an apology. 

Related:

• Sleepwalking more rampant than thought, study shows
• Suicide while sleepwalking is a real nightmare
• Why do our eyelids get heavy when we're sleepy?

By April Hussar
SELF.com

Happy National Women's Health Week, ladies! This week is all about YOU -- and we have all the advice you need to make the most of it and end the work week healthier than when you started.

National Women's Health Week, now in its 13th year, is a week-long health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health. Dedicated to empowering women to make health a top priority, this year's theme is, "It's Your Time."  

"Healthy, strong women are essential to having healthy strong children and communities, but too often women place the needs of others before their own needs," says U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Here are 5 ways to put YOURSELF first this week by improving your physical and mental health and lowering your risks of certain diseases:

1. Visit a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings. Monday, May 14 was National Women's Checkup Day. Now, you already know you should be getting a yearly checkup from your general practitioner, and keeping your annual gyn appointment (right?), but don't forget about your teeth, your skin and your eyes! Most health care insurance plans cover a dermatologist checkup, something to take advantage of, considering that between 1970 and 2009, melanoma increased eightfold among young women and fourfold among young men ages 18 to 39, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic. And if you need to get your teeth cleaned but are worried about the costs, here are SELF's three ways to lower your dental bills.

2. Get active. You might say "no duh" to this one, but remember that getting active doesn't have to mean working out at the gym or going for a run (though those are super healthy ideas, of course!). The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has a great idea for a fun way to burn 100 calories in 20 minutes -- wash your car by hand! You'll get some fresh air and save some money, and it's a fun excuse to put on some cut-offs and splash your cute neighbor with some suds! For 58 (yes, 58) more fun ways to burn 100 calories, check out SELF's slideshow of fun suggestions.

3. Eat healthy. Another no-brainer, but sometimes it just seems "easier" to grab a slice of pizza on the go or swing through a drive-through on your way to work. We've got you covered! Here are 8 "no-excuses" grab-and-go breakfast ideas, and for tasty, easy and healthy dinner recipes, check out SELF's 14 Quick Weeknight Meals.

4. Pay attention to your mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress. Fitness doesn't stop at the banishment of your muffin top. One surefire way of improving your beauty sleep is to banish technology from your bedroom. Desktop computers, iPhones, BlackBerries ... Joseph M. Ojile, MD, board member of the National Sleep Foundation and founder and CEO of Clayton Sleep Institute in St Louis, MO, says they're all "extremely disruptive" -- from the bright light of the screen to the cognitive distraction of wanting to reply to emails or texts. Getting a truly good night's sleep goes a long way to helping you feel good -- in body and mind. 

And if you need more ways to combat stress, SELF has 19 of them here (from dining by candlelight to brightening up your desk).

5. Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet. What if for one week, you treated yourself with the care you'd give to your own kid? Buckle up, don't give in to a "social smoke," wear your sunscreen and make all those smart decisions you'd want your own daughter or best friend to make.

For more about National Women's Health week, visit womenshealth.gov/whw

Related Links:

The Healthy Way to Lose 2 Pounds in 7 Days

How to Undo Your Past Health Mistakes (Smoking and Tanning Included!)

Sign Up for SELF's Free 60 Days to Healthier Ways Plan!

Getty Images stock

"I have a very serious question for you," Kathie Lee asked Hoda. "Are you happy with your sex life?"

She wasn't being nosy — it was purely for science purposes. A new survey from Yahoo! Shine and Fitness magazine asked women if they were as satisfied as they could be, in the bedroom area.

Hoda said she was "very happy" and KLG said she was "thrilled to pieces." The majority of the 1,000 survey respondents said they were getting down with their significant other between 1 and 3 times a week. And what gets the average lady in the mood? Dinner, a sexy movie, and wine.

"Just the wine for me," twinkled Hoda.

KLG tried to bring up the effects of Mexican food on intimacy again, but Hoda swiftly cut her off and shouted, "Stop talking about that!" That's probably for another kind of sex survey entirely.

Julieanne Smolinski is a TODAY.com contributor. She thinks there's nothing sexier than a good survey.

More: When's your best sex time? Survey says Saturday night
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12 percent of younger moms use cellphone during sex: study
Oversharing on Facebook as satisfying as sex?
Are you happy with your sex life? Take our poll

Jenna Wolfe is a TODAY anchor and reporter, of course -- but she's also a personal trainer and a total fitness fanatic.

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

Q: What is the best way to lose belly fat? I eat a high protein diet with fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as my only carbs, and I've lost a lot of weight doing that, but I also need to add exercise to my daily regimen too. I walk, but that doesn't seem to be doing much. Thanks, Jenna! – Laura Crozier 

A: Hi Laura: Good news, you've done the hard part already and that's the diet. Once you've locked in a healthy, protein-packed, low-carb diet, all you have to worry about is maintaining that with a calorie-blasting workout.

I'd recommend starting a strength training program to go along with your walking. Weight lifting should always be included in a weight loss plan. It will help spike your metabolic rate for hours after you're done. In fact, some studies suggest you actually can burn more calories lifting weights for 30 minutes than hopping on a cardio machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike) for the same amount of time. Try it!

More by Jenna Wolfe:

• What's on my workout playlist
• In a fitness funk? How to make a comeback
• Girls should be encourage to pursue athletics

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up series:

• Common diet busters -- and how to avoid them
• Don't get burned! Know these 3 sunscreen myths
• To speed weight loss, try this yummy protein breakfast

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

Who isn’t always looking for ways to boost the results of a summer weight-loss plan? Your best efforts can be undermined by “diet mistakes” that often sound like good advice, but can sabotage the efforts of even the most well-intentioned dieters, new evidence shows.

Eating too often.  While skipping meals will sabotage a diet effort, eating three times a day is sufficient for healthy people. No need to “fuel” constantly, as eating more often frequently leads to eating more calories.  And grazing often prevents the biological development of strong hunger and fullness signals, which help keep your food intake under control.

Skimping on protein. A diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables is a major plus for weight-loss success. But don’t swap out protein. Protein enhances your sense of fullness and is also essential to fuel muscles - a plus when bumping up your exercise effort. Stick with animal proteins like lean cuts of beef, skinless poultry, fish, whole eggs or egg whites, and low or non-fat dairy. Vegetable proteins like soy (as tofu or burger/chicken substitutes) and beans are other sources.

Confusing healthy and low-calorie. It’s hard enough to swap out artery-clogging fats for heart-healthy ones, but the calories are the same for butter and olive oil. Avocados and nuts are tasty and satisfying because they contain a lot of heart-healthy fat -- but the calories add up quickly. For best control, choose single serving packs of nuts (100-150 calories), or the new 100-calorie guacamole packets. Measure out the portions and avoid “eyeballing” serving sizes of your high-fat favorites.

Overestimating calorie output from exercise.  Exercise is a major boost for mind and body, but when it comes to weight loss, don’t be fooled. Just like we don’t accurately estimate food intake, we’re all just as unreliable in our estimates of calorie use. It’s not just duration, but intensity of your exercise matters. Covering one mile burns about 100 calories, roughly 15-20 minutes if you walk, and 10 minutes running.  Sweating is also not an indication of calorie burn. Get an electronic monitor or go online for more precise estimates. Be wary of exercise equipment calculators; they are just a ballpark number as well.  To boost weight loss, view your activity calories as  “saved” --  not a reason to overindulge with food later.

More from Madelyn Fernstrom:

• Watch for hidden calories with every sip

Check out more of TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up:

• Jenna Wolfe: What's on my summer playlist
• This yummy protein breakfast speeds summer weight-loss
• 4 summer skin tips you should know

Updated Tuesday, May 15:
A blood drive is planned Tuesday at the University of West Georgia for Aimee Copeland, the young woman fighting a life-threatening, flesh-eating infection. The blood drive is expected to be held from 2 pm ET to 7 pm ET in the school gym.

Late Monday, Andy Copeland, the 24-year-old patient's father, wrote that the family has been overwhelmed with well-wishers visiting the hospital where Aimee continues to recover from the infection. Her left leg has been amputated and her parents say she is likely to lose her fingers as well.  Although Aimee is improving, she remains in critical condition, with a breathing tube. 

"We saw Aimee laugh and smile. She told us some things she wanted, we played games with her and she was very stimulated," Copeland wrote in the blog where her family has been recording her progress since contracting the rare infection, called necrotizing fasciitis.

Original report:
The parents of Aimee Copeland, the 24-year-old Georgia woman whose leg was amputated after contracting flesh-eating bacteria, told TODAY Monday they are optimistic about their daughter’s recovery. They have been communicating with her and she has begun to rely less on her respirator.

“We were able communicate with her through lip reading, which we’re becoming quite proficient at at this point.,” her father Andy Copeland told Ann Curry Monday.

Their daughter has a breathing tube down her throat, but is looking forward to being able to eat again, especially her favorite food: ice cream, her father told TODAY.

The flesh-eating infection that led to the amputation of one of the young Georgia woman’s legs was caused by a bacteria found in freshwater lakes and rivers. Even a wound as minor as a tiny scratch or cut can serve as the starting point of the bacterial infection called necrotizing fasciitis, according to the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation. On its website, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health says an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 cases occur in the United States each year, resulting in 2,000 to 3,000 deaths.

Aimee will lose her fingers on both hands but doctors hope to save the palms of her hands, which would make it easier for her to use prosthetics, according to TODAY. She may also lose her right foot. She remains in critical condition in the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, hospital spokeswoman Stacey Snyder said.

Dad Andy Copeland, who lives with his wife, Donna, in Spartanburg, S.C., has been sharing her roller-coaster progress on blog posts and Facebook.

Almost two weeks ago, the University of West Georgia psychology grad student was kayaking with friends in the Little Tallapoosa River when she stopped to try a homemade zip line. She fell from the line and suffered a deep gash to her left leg, which required 22 staples to close.

Story: Woman fights for life after losing leg to flesh-eating bacteria

Over the following days, her pain increased and she was given antibiotics and an MRI. On May 4, a friend carried her to the ER and she was finally was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a bacterial infection that breaks down muscle and fat and can lead to organ failure. The bacteria that infected Copeland is a bug called Aeromonas hydrophila.

Copeland reportedly was recently diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease, which might help explain why she became critically ill with an infection most would shrug off, says Dr. Chaim Putterman, chief of rheumatology at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “It’s not only the bug,” Putterman told TODAY.com, but the interaction between the bug and the host, or patient.

In 2008, he coauthored a report about eight lupus patients hospitalized with necrotizing fasciitis at his hospital. Two of them died. Putterman says both lupus itself and the treatment for it could increase patients’ risk of necrotizing fasciitis.

“Many of the medications that we use to treat lupus patients are what we call immunosuppressants,” says Putterman, who is not involved in Copeland’s case. “Increased infection is one of the known prices we pay for those medications.”

In addition, in autoimmune diseases such as lupus, “the immune system is out of whack,” Putterman says. So even without taking drugs to suppress their immune systems, people with autoimmune diseases are more susceptible to infections.

“Necrotizing fasciitis didn’t start when she fell in the water. It didn’t start with the stapling. It started later,” he says. “But in these cases, minutes and hours do make a difference. It’s a rapidly progressing infection, so minutes count.”

The fact that Copeland has survived this long and that, according to her father, her lung function is improving, are both positive signs, Putterman says.

“What definitely is very, very much in her favor is that she’s 24 years-old,” he says. “Young adults are definitely much more resilient than individuals at the extremes of ages.”

While Aimee’s condition is improving, doctors say she has a long recovery ahead of her. 

"It will be very difficult, in fact, her recovery will continue for the rest of her life," Dr. Walter Ingram, Grady Memorial Hospital Burn Center, Atlanta, told TODAY.

Meanwhile, the Copelands told TODAY they are staying focused on her recovery, rather than how hurting her leg could have caused the life-threatening infection.

“Our focus is on trying to stay positive, look at the present and the future,” Andy told TODAY. We believe that future is going to be bright for Aimee.”

Related:

Encouraging news for victim of flesh-eating bacteria

Stronger: Patient's cancer fight video goes viral

'Miracle mom' survives massive blood loss to deliver healthy baby

How the world's oldest yoga teacher keeps me young

Flesh-eating bacteria case spurs study, treatment

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Courtesy of Joyce Pines

Tao Porchon-Lynch in an elevated lotus position at the Taj Mahal.

It’s official: I have the world’s oldest yoga teacher. Guinness World Records has awarded that certification to 93-year-old Tao Porchon-Lynch, whose class I attend.

The funny thing is, Tao’s age is just about the least remarkable thing about her. Over the dozen or so years I’ve known her, enough incidents to fill several colorful lives have trickled out:

• She marched with Gandhi — twice — in her native India.
• She fought in the French Resistance and underwent an emergency appendectomy during the Blitz after escaping France to London.
• She was a model for fashion house Lanvin and a contract player for MGM, appearing in such films as “Show Boat” (1951).
• When her friend Leslie Caron injured her foot, threatening to delay production of “An American in Paris,” Tao fixed it with a Coke bottle.
• To get a part in a western, she pretended to know how to ride a horse (after she took off the saddle and rode bareback, Tao told me, “the horse and I got along fine”).

Albert Parker / Park West Photography

Tao Porchon-Lynch dancing with Vard Margaryan.

After adventures like that, many people might be content in their 90s to sit in a rocker and reflect on a life well-lived. But not Tao: She travels the world and racks up ribbons in ballroom dancing with a 24-year-old partner (whenever she’s about to compete, she asks her students to say a prayer for her; I pray for the other dancers). She joined the Dalai Lama at the Newark Peace Education Summit last year. And lest you think all yogis are austere ascetics, know that Tao is a wine expert.

But foremost Tao is a yoga master. Her physical strength and stamina are amazing, her grace and form are unequaled, but more important, she is a living embodiment of yoga’s ideals: serenity, gentleness, compassion, the joy of being alive.

Courtesy of Joyce Pines

Yoga puts a spring in my step, banishes my aches and pains, sharpens my mental focus. All that keeps me coming back. But what keeps me coming back to Tao is the privilege of basking in her psychic radiance.

It’s been a long time since I wandered into my first yoga class on a whim back in college, and a cobra pose doesn’t come as easily as it once did. Similarly, serenity sometimes eludes me, and resentments and regrets return like the nagging pain of old injuries.

But not when I’m in Tao’s class. When I’m with Tao, I feel as young as she does.

TODAY.com editor Rick Schindler can still get into a full lotus on a good day, though he may need help getting back out of it.

Related links:

Video: Trudie Styler, Sting's wife, shows off age-defying yoga moves

'Broga' caters to guys wary of yoga

What's on Jenna Wolfe's workout playlist

'Stronger' viral video inspires thousands

Jason Redmond / AP file

Sarah Hyland at Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards on March 31.

“Modern Family” beauty Sarah Hyland is usually known for bringing the laughs. But now, the 21-year-old actress is making a very serious revelation -- she underwent a kidney transplant in April.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Modern Family’ Beauty Sarah Hyland

In a new interview with Seventeen magazine, Hyland revealed she has been battling kidney dysplasia for many years, and it was her father who donated the kidney to save her life.

“You know that family is going to be there for you no matter what. My dad gave me a freakin’ kidney!” the actress told Seventeen. “But it’s also the families that you create outside of your family. And you really find out what kind of people you’re friends with.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Modern Family’s’ Beautiful Brunette Sofia Vergara

Following the operation, the star -- who plays the bubbly Hayley Dunphy on the hit ABC sitcom -- is well on the road to recovery, and she admitted the whole ordeal has given her a sense of who her loved ones really are.

“It was just amazing, and it really opened my eyes to see who’s there for me and who’s not,” she continued. “There are people who came out of the woodwork, not because it was, ‘Oh hey, congratulations on your show winning an Emmy.’ No, it was, ‘Hey, I’m here for you.’”

One person especially close to Hyland who helped her through it all was her boyfriend -- actor Matt Prokop.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Cast Of ‘Modern Family’

“He helps me with my medication and takes me to doctor appointments and all the stuff that I need to do to take care of myself. Any other 21-year-old guy would not be there, I guarantee it. I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have him be there for me,” she gushed over Prokop.

While Hyland is approaching life with positivity and a refreshed outlook, she understands that things could have gone very differently had the operation not been a success.

“I have a second chance at life -- not a lot of people get that,” she said.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars Who Have Gone Under The Knife

Ten-year-old Marshall Reid was tired of being bulled about his weight. He was tired of not being able to keep up with the other kids at recess and of having to constantly pull his shirts down to keep his stomach covered.

“One of my classmates actually told me, ‘You know, you don’t look very good. You’re fat,’” Reid told TODAY.

But with the Reid family eating out most nights, it was impossible for the frustrated tween to do much about his weight.

Then Marshall saw the documentary, “Supersize Me,” and he got an idea: Maybe he could do the opposite of what he saw in the movie and eat healthy for 30 days. However, he knew that wouldn’t work without his family’s help.

Marshall went to his mom, Alexandra, and told her things had to change. “I’m done,” he told her. “I’m not doing this anymore. I’m not putting up with this. I’m going to change myself.”

The conversation hit Alexandra Reid hard.

“I knew it came from his heart,” Alexandra told TODAY’S Ann Curry. “It was a sad moment for me because I knew he was hurting and any mother doesn’t want their child hurting.

“I felt like somebody had thrown a brick at me because the amount of parental responsibility that all of a sudden came washing down on me was alarming,” she told TODAY.   

Alexandra’s turnaround was stunningly quick.

“It really didn’t take much convincing,” Marshall told TODAY’s Ann Curry. “My mom jumped right aboard. She’s been a really big help. Everybody’s just been so happy to join along and help me. And once I brought it to their attention, I think they noticed, ‘Wow, we do have this problem.’”

It’s not only the Reid’s problem. An estimated one-third of children ages 2 to 19 are obese or overweight, according to U.S. government statistics. A recent report from the influential Institute of Medicine said fighting America’s weight problem, especially among kids, will require big changes at all levels of society.

 For Marshall and Alexandra, the change started with a project they named “Portion Size Me.” They made a commitment to eat healthier and to exercise more for the next 31 days. They used YouTube to share their progress with Marshall’s dad, an Army lieutenant colonel stationed in Iraq, making videos of the family cooking and eating healthy.

The project paid off. In total, the family has dropped over 70 pounds, 36 of those came from Marshall himself.

“I had a kid come up to me in the hall, and the first thing he says to me is ‘Wow, you look a lot better,’” Marshall told TODAY. “And I’m like, ‘Thanks, Dude,’”

The Reids were so happy with their results they decided to share their project with the rest of the world in a book called, “Portion Size Me: A Kid Driven Plan to a Healthier Family.”

Marshall’s dad wasn’t surprised that his son took the lead in getting his family healthier.

“You know, he’s always been a very good communicator,” Dan Reid told Ann Curry. “He’s very thoughtful about everything that he does. He looked at where he wanted to be and what he was doing and decided what he wanted out of it.”

Related:               
Report: Schools key to fighting America's obesity

More from TODAY Health:
Bottles, binkies, sippy cups can hurt kids
ER visits double from kids swallowing button batteries

Susan and Mark Sadauskas thought they had made their home safe for their new baby with covers on all the electrical outlets and child proof latches on all the kitchen cabinets. But they didn’t realize that there was another danger lurking in the house – the tiny lithium battery powering the remote control.

When he was 15 months-old Max somehow managed to pry open the remote, dig out the battery and swallow it. The Sadauskas rushed him to the emergency room when he started vomiting. And doctors soon had him in an X-ray machine where the battery could be seen clearly; it was lodged in little Max’s throat.

“The image is burned into my brain forever,” Max's father Mark told TODAY. “We just looked at each other and started crying… like.. this isn’t happening.”

Mark and Susan were scared. When Max went in to surgery to have the battery removed doctors couldn’t tell them whether the little boy would ever be able to talk -- or even if he would survive.

“He came out of the surgery screaming for us,” Susan remembers. “So that was a very good sign.”

Max is now a healthy 2 year-old. But his parents will never forget the lesson they got on the dangers of button batteries.

Unfortunately Max isn’t an isolated case.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman's safety tips for parents with young children

Every three hours a child shows up in a U.S.  emergency room with a battery that’s been swallowed or placed in the mouth, ears or nose,  a new study shows.

That number is almost double what it was 20 years ago, according to the report published in Pediatrics Monday.

The main culprits are “button batteries,” which account for almost 85 percent of the ER visits, researchers found. These coin-shaped batteries seem to be ubiquitous nowadays, turning up in a wide variety of electronic devices, from toys, to remote controls, to watches.

Although most kids seen by ER doctors are pronounced healthy and sent home, some of the newer batteries can cause serious damage if they lodge in the throat, says the study’s lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

When kids get 3-volt 20 mm lithium batteries lodged in their esophagus, the moisture there can spark a microcurrent, Smith explains.

“That will lead to cell death and eventually burn a hole right through the esophagus,” Smith says. “And that will lead to long term scarring and stricture. Even worse, there are some cases where it eroded right into the aorta and the child bled to death. These are horrific, horrific outcomes that need to be prevented.”

What’s especially scary is that this can all happen quickly.

“Serious damage can occur in less than two hours,” Smith says. “If parents have any suspicion that their child has swallowed a button battery – even if they’re not sure – they need to take the child immediately to the emergency room to get an X-ray to see if the button battery is stuck in the esophagus... This can’t wait till the next morning,” says Smith.

The new study is based on nationally representative data collected over a 20 year period (1990 to 2009) from approximately 100 U.S. hospitals. When the researchers extrapolated the results to include all U.S. hospitals, they determined that there were nearly 66,000 emergency department visits by children under age 18 for issues involving a battery.

While some children were brought to the emergency room for batteries that had been placed in the mouth, ear or nose, the vast majority came in because batteries had been swallowed. In most of those cases were in children who were 5 or younger.

Button batteries accounted for a full 84 percent of all battery-related ingestions in children younger than 18.

“The real high risk age group peaks around the second year of life,” Smith says. “They put things in their mouths as part of exploration and these batteries are easy to swallow.

While almost a third of the ingested batteries came from toys and games, the majority came from devices such as hearing aids, watches, calculators, remote controls and flashlights. That’s why Smith and his colleagues would like to see manufacturers designing battery compartments with child safety in mind. In the meantime, he says, parents should consider taping battery compartments closed so children can’t get to the batteries inside.

“We can do better,” Smith says. “And it’s not that difficult.”

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By SELF Magazine staff

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

1. Is it possible to pop a sun protection pill? 
Sort of. Heliocare's sun protection pill ($50 for 60 pills) is an antioxidant-rich supplement that helps fight sun-induced inflammation. "But it can't take the place of sunscreen," says Ellen Marmur, M.D., chief of dermatology and cosmetic surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. 

2. Can sunscreen cause cancer?
No—it prevents it. Despite findings that suggest some sunscreen ingredients spurred cancer growth in lab animals, sunscreens are safe, "based on critical analyses of the animal study, data in humans and all the evidence we have," says Henry W. Lim, M.D., chairman of the department of dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital.

3. Are "natural" sunscreens truly free of chemicals?
Sunscreens with physical blockers—like zinc oxide—are generally thought of as natural because they come from minerals; those made with avobenzone are officially classified as "chemical." The truth: Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are put through a chemical process before they end up in the bottle, so they aren't totally natural, either.

Three reasons you could be sun-vulnerable

1. You're on oral or topical medications. Even if you wear sunscreen, certain antibiotics for treating acne and urinary tract infections, as well as isotretinoin (aka Accutane), some blood pressure meds and sulfur creams can all leave you fried. That's because "some drugs break into tiny particles when they penetrate skin or enter the bloodstream; these can react with UV rays and cause a burn," Dr. Marmur says. Vacationing in the sun? Ask your doctor if you could temporarily stop taking your Rx about two weeks before you go, to minimize your chances of getting scorched.

2. You're on hormones or you're pregnant (or trying to be). The Pill and some hormone regimens (e.g., those for infertility treatments) can cause melasma, a type of sun-induced pigmentation.

3. You have a health condition. Certain autoimmune diseases (such as lupus) can increase vulnerability to sun rashes. Some folks also have a sun allergy, aka polymorphous light eruption, in which a rash arises after even intermittent UV exposure. Stay in the shade!

More from SELF:

• Your Sunscreen Protection Guide
• SELF Healthy Beauty Awards: Best Sun Protection
• How Three Women Gave Up The Tanning Bed
• How They Lost Over 195 Pounds!
• 20 Slimming Superfoods
• Are You Wearing The Wrong Sneakers?

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up series:

• Jenna Wolfe: What's on my workout playlist
• To speed weight loss, try this yummy protein breakfast
• 4 summer skin tips you should know