Many people believe that the modern-day skincare trends are a scam made by the big pharma companies who wish to make more money. This is a recent trend of ‘Anti-Aging’ skincare that keeps yourself on toes for the innate need for women to stay ‘young’ if they wish to be desirable. The beauty industry, in a way, feeds on such societal-made insecurities. But the recent rise in the trend has taken a different turn. While before people did it before to look prettier or fairer, now people are looking at this skincare routine as a way of taking care of themselves rather than doing to match someone else's beauty standards. This is why, this trend has resurfaced in the skin care community. This is the blue light routine.

In today's digital age, where we spend countless hours looking at screens, from phones and tablets to laptops. This constant screen time exposes us to blue light, which research suggests can have negative effects on our skin. It also leads to premature aging and dark spots. The screens also leads to stress, which could further cause harm to skin. While ditching our devices isn't realistic, a growing number of skincare products claim to protect against blue light. But do these products actually work?

What is Blue Light Skincare?

You can find many skincare products that say they protect against blue light, like sprays, creams, gels, and sunscreens. Some promise to undo the damage blue light might cause, while others try to prevent it in the first place. Blue light sunscreens are special because they protect against both the sun's UV rays and blue light. This is what regular sunscreens don't do very well. Regular sunscreens, whether they use chemicals or minerals, don't block blue light as effectively.

However, tinted sunscreens are different. Tinted sunscreens with SPF 30 or higher can protect your skin from blue light, as well as UVA and UVB rays from the sun. This is because of the coloring in the tint. Some newer sunscreens also have special ingredients that help protect against visible light, including blue light. While scientists are still learning about how blue light affects skin, many skin doctors have found it to be helpful for skin.

What is Blue Light and Why Might It Be a Problem?

Blue light comes from screens, TVs, and even the sun. While we used to worry mostly about how it affects our eyes and sleep, now we're learning it might also affect our skin. Some studies show that too much blue light can damage skin cells and speed up aging, leading to wrinkles and uneven skin tone. It can also cause dark spots on the skin. This happens because blue light can cause something called "oxidative stress" in the skin, which is linked to aging. It leads to dead skin cells. Blue light goes deeper into the skin than the sun's UV rays and can make skin cells produce more pigment, causing dark spots. It's important to know that not all blue light is bad. There is a difference between the blue light that comes out of the screens and the blue light that is used from a certain blue light wavelength as a therapy. The latter is used by doctors to treat acne and some skin cancers.

For many women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) begins with a familiar story—irregular periods, acne, unwanted hair growth or difficulty conceiving. But PCOS is far more than a reproductive disorder. At its core, it is often a complex interplay between metabolism, hormones and reproductive health.

One of the most important, yet frequently overlooked, pieces of this puzzle is insulin resistance. When the body becomes less responsive to insulin, the pancreas compensates by producing more.

Elevated insulin levels can, in turn, contribute to increased androgen production by the ovaries and disrupt the delicate hormonal signals required for regular ovulation. The result may be irregular cycles, fewer ovulations and, for some women, difficulty becoming pregnant.

PCOS And Insulin Resistance Can Affect Women Of Any Weight

Importantly, PCOS and insulin resistance are not synonymous with obesity. Women with a healthy body weight can also have significant metabolic abnormalities. This is why judging metabolic health by appearance alone can be misleading.

The 2023 International Evidence-based PCOS Guideline recognises insulin resistance as an important underlying feature and recommends attention to metabolic risk across the weight spectrum.

Also read: Decoding The Fertility Markers

The Metabolic Risks Go Beyond Fertility

The metabolic implications extend well beyond fertility. Women with PCOS have a higher risk of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes, making long-term metabolic surveillance an important part of care.

The guideline recommends appropriate glycaemic assessment, particularly when pregnancy is being planned or fertility treatment is being considered.

Also read: Can Regular Consumption of Junk and Processed Food Affect Fertility?

Building A Healthier Foundation For Pregnancy

Yet there is an equally important message of hope: PCOS does not mean infertility, nor does it have to define a woman’s health journey. Lifestyle interventions—including regular physical activity, nutritious eating, adequate sleep and sustainable weight management where appropriate—form the foundation of care and can improve metabolic health.

For a woman planning pregnancy, the goal should not simply be to “get pregnant.” It should be to enter pregnancy metabolically and emotionally healthier, with blood sugar, blood pressure, nutrition, lifestyle and other risk factors appropriately addressed.

Take-home message: PCOS is not merely about irregular periods or cysts on the ovaries. It is a lifelong condition in which metabolic health and reproductive health are deeply connected. Recognising insulin resistance early, looking beyond weight, and providing personalised care can help women protect both their fertility today and their health for years to come.

The view generally is that the occurrence of knee issues is usually associated with age, injury or overexertion. However, there is another reason people ignore: lack of movement. If a person leads an inactive lifestyle, spending long hours sitting at a desk, working from the couch, watching TV or doing nothing physical, the eventual consequences for the knees might arise.

Knees are created for motion, and motion is essential for keeping the flexibility of a joint. Their effective functioning depends on the health of the muscles surrounding your knee. The less active various leg muscles are, including quadriceps and other counterparts, the weaker they will be. The muscles help stabilize the knee and can relieve it from some of the burdens during daily activities performed by the knees.

Remaining seated for an extended time can also lead to stiffness. When you sit for a while, you may feel uncomfortable or stiff in your knees when you finally stand up. While the occasional instance of stiffness may go away with movement, constant stiffness can impact mobility and cause people to wish to move even less.

Another issue is gaining weight. Living a sedentary lifestyle causes individuals to become heavier, and excess weight puts more stress on the knees. In time, this added pressure will lead to increased wear of the joints and the development of knee pain and other problems in the musculoskeletal system.

The positive aspect with respect to your knees is that you don’t have to put in hours at the gym to keep them safe. Small, steady efforts can easily do the trick. You can choose to walk for five minutes after being seated for a long time, stretch regularly, take stairs if you are physically able and do some simple workouts for the legs and thighs to increase strength. Low-impact sports such as swimming, cycling and walking can help you maintain muscle power and flexible joints while avoiding the stress on your knees resulting from extensive workouts.

Persistent pain in the knee, however, cannot be treated as a usual symptom of ageing. Knee swelling or prolonged stiffness, difficulties climbing stairs, instability, or pain that has an impact on routine activities should be addressed by health professionals.

Movement is necessary for knees to be strong and flexible. Therefore, if you want your knees to be strong, you need to use them consistently and perform all activities without remaining still for long.

(By Dr Sujoy Bhattacharjee, Chairman & Chief, Max Institute of Robotic Joint Replacement, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket)

Blocked ears are one of the most common and irritating problems associated with air travel.

While the sensation usually resolves on its own shortly after landing, for 22-year-old Aida Burkins from California, it persisted and eventually led to a frightening diagnosis of rare head and neck cancer.

Blocked Ears Persisted After Flight

Burkins was travelling to Chicago in May 2025 when her ears became blocked. When she returned home, her ears still hadn’t popped.

She later developed unusual symptoms, including hearing loss and bleeding from her throat.

“I started bleeding into my throat, which would only come out of my nose if I was bent at the hip at about 90 degrees,” the 22-year-old told Newsweek. “My hearing got worse and worse. Then I started getting more tired and losing weight.”

Symptoms Were Initially Dismissed

When Burkins sought medical help, her condition was initially dismissed as “just altitude sickness.” After several months, her hearing had deteriorated significantly.

“Everything sounded so muffled, and I had a ringing that wouldn’t go away,” she said.

Burkins eventually saw an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, who discovered a mass and noted that her adenoids — soft tissue in the throat, just behind the nose — were inflamed.

“The doctor told me he had never seen anything quite like what I had going on. He couldn’t be sure it was cancer, but he said it was very suspicious,” she told the outlet.

Diagnosed With Rare Head And Neck Cancer

In February 2026, after undergoing CT scans and two biopsies, Burkins learned that she had a widespread tumour affecting the cervical lymph nodes near the base of her skull.

She was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare type of head and neck cancer that starts in the upper part of the throat behind the nose and near the base of the skull, according to the American Cancer Society.

“Hearing I have cancer, all I thought about was not being able to see my babies grow up or do the things they want to do in life. It was horrifying,” Burkins, who is a mother to a 1-year-old and 3-year-old.

Burkins has since undergone months of chemotherapy and radiation. She is now finishing her treatment and hopes to be cancer-free soon as her body is responding well to the treatments.

What Is Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma?

According to the Mayo Clinic, nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat located behind the nose.

The cancer is rare in the United States and occurs much more often in other parts of the world, particularly Southeast Asia.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma can be difficult to detect early because the nasopharynx is not easy to examine and there may be no symptoms initially.

Symptoms To Watch For

When symptoms do occur, they present non-classic signs which include:

• A lump in the neck caused by a swollen lymph node
• Nosebleeds
• Bloody saliva
• Double vision
• Ear infections
• Facial numbness
• Headaches
• Hearing loss
• Nasal stuffiness
• Ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus
• Sore throat

How Is It Treated?

Treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma usually involves radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of the two, depending on the cancer and the individual patient.