Spring is blossoming in the US. While it looks pretty, it is also called the allergy season for a reason and could be miserable for millions of Americans. It is during this time when trees, grass, and other plants release their pollen the air. Many people, therefore experience symptoms such as runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, and coughing. While allergies are common, the severity of the symptoms could vary based on where you live, what exactly are you allergic to, and your lifestyle.

Experts have also increasingly pointed out to climate change as a key factor in worsening the allergy season.

Allergy Season And Where It Hits The Hardest?

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) regularly ranks US cities based on pollen counts, medicine use, and the availability of allergy specialists. This year, the cities with worst allergy conditions are:

• Wichita, Kansas
• New Orleans
• Oklahoma City
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Memphis

If you live in these cities, you may be more prone to catching allergies, as pollen levels could be more in your area,

What Types Of Pollen Causes Allergies?

Tree Pollen: Early spring is dominated by tree pollen. Common culprits are birch, cedar, maple, oak, and walnut.

Grass Pollen: As spring transitions to summer, grasses like Bermuda, rye, and Kentucky bluegrass release their pollen.

Weed Pollen: Late summer and early fall bring weed pollen, which continues to cause problems until the first frost.

How Can You Track Pollen Levels?

To manage your allergies effectively, it's important to stay updated on pollen levels. Pollen trackers, such as those offered by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, provide real-time data on pollen counts. These trackers can help you decide when it's safe to go outside and when to stay indoors to minimize exposure.

Is There A Way To Limit Pollen Exposure?

Close Your Windows: Keeping windows closed in both your home and car can prevent pollen from entering.

Wear Protective Clothing: Long sleeves can help prevent pollen from sticking to your skin. If you're outside, consider wearing a hat or scarf to protect your hair.

Shower After Outdoor Activities: Changing your clothes and washing off any pollen that may have collected on your skin and hair is essential. Avoid lying in bed with outdoor clothes, as pollen can linger.

Saline Rinse: Rinsing your eyes and nose with saline solutions can help remove pollen from these sensitive areas.

Additionally, face masks that were used during the pandemic can offer some protection from airborne pollen, though they do not alleviate eye-related symptoms.

How Does Climate Change Impact The Allergy Season?

Experts have agreed that climate change has worsened the allergy season. But, how exactly? There are now warmer winters and longer growing seasons, which are leading to more extended periods of pollen production. As a result, pollen counts have in fact, reached new levels in many areas. For instance, in late March, the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Center reported a pollen count of over 14,000 grains per cubic meter. This is considered extremely high.

Health experts are raising alarms as H5N1 bird flu spreads rapidly across US dairy farms. Since March 2024, over 1,000 dairy herds have been affected across the country, leading to over 70 infections and at least one confirmed death. H5N1 is a strain of the influenza virus that primarily infects birds, but can also infect humans.

Global Virus Network (GVN) warns that a continued presence of this virus in mammals increases the risk of mutations that could be human-to-human transmission. They emphasise the urgency of the enhanced surveillance, standardising testing and vaccination strategies for both animals and farmworkers. "Understanding the current landscape of H5N1 infections is critical for effective prevention and response," said Sten H Vermund, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of the GVN and dean of the USF Health College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, USA. "The virus's ability to infect both animals and humans, combined with recent genetic changes, underscores the importance of proactive surveillance and rapid response measures," he added.

ALSO READ: Fight Oral Infections And Inflammation With This Ayurvedic Herb

CDC Asks Residents To Follow Precautions

Despite the outbreak, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the risk to the general public remains low.

However, they stress the importance of precautions, especially for those in close contact with infected animals. As per the CDC, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu is widespread in birds and is causing outbreaks in poultry and US dairy cows. While the current public health risk is low, the CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures. CDC is using its flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5 bird flu activity in people.

What To Do To Protect Yourself

• As a general precaution, whenever possible, people should avoid direct contact with sick or dead wild birds, poultry, dairy cows and other animals and observe them only from a distance.
• If you must have direct/close contact with sick or dead wild birds, poultry, or other animals, wear recommended personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Do not touch surfaces or materials (e.g., animal litter or bedding material) contaminated with saliva, mucus, or animal feces from wild or domestic birds, dairy cows, or other animals with confirmed or suspected avian influenza A virus infection.
• Do not touch or consume raw milk or raw milk products, especially from animals with confirmed or suspected avian influenza A virus infection or in areas known to have infected herds.

ALSO READ: New Pandemic 2025: Bird Flu Spreads Across Dairy Farms In All 50 States

What Do You Do When You Find A Dead Animal Or Bird?

• If you find a sick or dead wild bird or other animal
• First, check with your local and State governments about their policies for collecting dead and testing sick or dead animals.
• You can contact health departments or state wildlife agencies for information about reporting animals that look sick or dead in your area.
• People should avoid unprotected (not using respiratory and eye protection) exposures to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals.
• Wildlife agencies regularly investigate reports of sick or dead animals. This type of reporting could help with the early detection of illnesses like West Nile virus or H5N1 bird flu.
• If local authorities tell you to throw away the bird's carcass (body), don't touch it with your bare hands. Use gloves or a plastic bag turned inside out to place the body in a garbage bag, which can then be thrown away in your regular trash.

A new generation of oral weight loss medications could transform the fight against obesity and diabetes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), health experts say. In almost all high-income countries like the UK, injectable drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, containing semaglutide and tirzepatide, respectively, have proven highly effective. These medications not only aid in losing more than 10% of body weight but also help manage type 2 diabetes. However, their high cost, need for refrigeration, and injectable format have limited their accessibility in resource-limited settings.

Now, researchers believe that oral medications under development could be a game-changer. These pills are expected to be cheaper, easier to transport, and not require refrigeration, making them far more practical in LMICs where obesity and diabetes are rising rapidly.

"Medicines that reduce diabetes and heart disease risk—while also helping with weight loss—could offer significant benefits in countries where waistlines are expanding fast,” said Professor Naveed Sattar, a cardiometabolic medicine expert at the University of Glasgow.

Dr Louis Aronne, an obesity medicine specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College, echoed the optimism. “We’re moving towards a future where doctors will treat obesity before it leads to complications,” he said. His recent research showed that tirzepatide reduced the risk of developing diabetes by more than 90% in people with pre-diabetes and obesity over a three-year period.

One oral drug gaining attention is orforglipron, a once-daily pill developed by Eli Lilly. Like semaglutide, orforglipron mimics GLP-1, a hormone that boosts insulin production and helps people feel full longer. A recent 40-week clinical trial found that orforglipron lowered blood sugar levels and promoted weight loss on par with injectable semaglutide.

While semaglutide is already available in pill form, it requires a higher dose to match the injectable version's results. It must also be taken on an empty stomach, with no food for at least 30 minutes afterward. Orforglipron, being a small molecule, resists digestion and can be taken with food—potentially at a lower dose and cost.

Experts caution that more studies are needed. Orforglipron’s safety profile must be thoroughly evaluated, especially after Pfizer halted development of a similar drug due to potential liver toxicity. It’s also not yet clear if orforglipron reduces cardiovascular risks like heart attacks and strokes, benefits that have been observed with semaglutide.

Nevertheless, scientists are hopeful. “Once obesity is established, diet alone isn’t enough for most people,” said Aronne. “Medication becomes essential, especially since obesity alters brain function related to appetite and metabolism.”

Addressing obesity is especially urgent in ethnically diverse populations. “South Asians, Black individuals, and other groups develop type 2 diabetes at lower weight thresholds," Sattar noted. “Even small increases in obesity in these populations can lead to significant surges in diabetes rates.”

Sattar concluded, "The more safe, effective, and affordable weight loss medications we have—especially in oral form—the better the chances of improving global health."

The unpalatable, gooey and much-hated substance we often rush to clean out of our ears is gaining unexpected scientific attention. Earwax—also known as cerumen—has long been considered an annoying by-product of the body. While its primary purpose remains debated, researchers now agree that earwax plays a vital role in protecting our ears and, intriguingly, may hold the key to unlocking critical insights into our health.

Functionally, earwax acts as a natural barrier. It traps bacteria, fungi, dirt, and other particles before they can enter and infect the inner ear. It also provides lubrication, preventing the skin inside the ear canal from becoming dry or itchy. Yet, due to its unappealing look and lack of immediate clinical relevance, earwax has been largely ignored in scientific research—until recently.

Women With Wet Earwax Have Higher Chances Of Breast Cancer

A growing body of evidence suggests that earwax may be far more informative than previously believed. In 2014, a study published in Springer highlighted a fascinating genetic dimension to earwax. The study revealed that most people of European or African descent have "wet" earwax—sticky and yellow or orange in colour. Meanwhile, 95% of East Asians have "dry" earwax—gray and crumbly. The difference is determined by a gene called ABCC11, which also influences underarm odour. In fact, about 2% of the global population, mostly individuals with dry earwax, carry a variant of this gene that causes their armpits to be odorless.

Beyond genetics, earwax has started to emerge as a diagnostic tool. Researchers are using modern analytical techniques to examine the chemical and biological compounds in earwax, searching for indicators of disease. For example, a pioneering study in 1971 by Dr. Nicholas L. Petrakis at the University of California, San Francisco, observed that Caucasian, African-American, and German women in the U.S. with wet earwax had nearly four times the risk of breast cancer compared to Japanese or Taiwanese women with dry earwax.

Building on this, a 2010 study by the Tokyo Institute of Technology examined blood samples from 270 Japanese women with invasive breast cancer and compared them to 273 healthy controls. They found a strong correlation between the presence of the wet earwax gene and the incidence of breast cancer. Women with the gene were up to 77% more likely to develop the disease, suggesting a genetic link that could help in early risk assessment.

Earwax May Also Contain Traces Of COVID-19

Recent studies are also exploring whether earwax can contain traces of COVID-19 and help differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Some early research even hints that biomarkers in earwax could aid in identifying certain heart diseases, although these findings are still in preliminary stages, and blood tests remain the gold standard for diagnosis.

Another promising area involves Meniere’s disease, a chronic condition that causes episodes of vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus. Researchers are investigating whether compounds in earwax can help track this inner ear disorder more reliably and less invasively than current methods.