Page 32 - Latest Updates on Health with BS

Is your balcony a lung risk? Pigeon exposure can cause irreversible damage

Across balconies, rooftops, and public spaces, pigeons shed droppings and feathers that become airborne dust. Doctors say urban exposure is increasingly linked to serious, irreversible lung damage

Is your doctor too far away? Why distance may be risking your health

Patients living more than 30 kilometres from their doctor are less likely to get regular check-ups and more likely to visit emergency rooms, a new study in CMAJ warns

Delhi air pollution: Can your body get used to it? Doctors debunk myth

Feeling 'used to' Delhi's smog doesn't mean you're safe. Experts warn your lungs never adapt to pollution; they just get desensitised as long-term damage quietly builds up

Chai-sutta habit: What happens to your body when tea meets cigarette

Doctors explain how the caffeine-nicotine mix overstimulates your brain, heart, and gut, making the chai-sutta combo more addictive and harmful than it may appear

Russian teens turn to Molecule, a banned pill with deadly weight-loss risks

Marketed as a herbal weight-loss supplement, Molecule has gone viral on Russian TikTok but contains a banned drug linked to heart attacks, anxiety, and hospitalisations among teenagers

Delhi air pollution: Are marathon, cycling events in toxic air a good idea?

Doctors warn that running or cycling in Delhi's polluted air could trigger inflammation, heart irregularities, and breathing distress - and advise cancelling events when AQI exceeds 300

How will humans look by 2050 if we don't stop scrolling? AI predicts

A new AI projection by step-tracking app WeWard imagines how a sedentary, screen-obsessed lifestyle could reshape the human body - with swollen feet, curved spines and bloodshot eyes becoming the norm

Why unlicensed alternate medicines may be harming kidneys in Telangana now

A Telangana study links unlicensed herbal powders, bhasmas and tonics-often taken without supervision-to rising kidney damage, urging stricter oversight and public awareness across high-risk districts

Heat could kill 46 people per hour in South Asia by 2045, study finds

A study in the journal Tropical Medicine and Health projects that climate change could double South Asia's annual heat-related deaths to nearly 400,000 by 2045, with India and Pakistan most at risk

How the air you breathe could be silently harming your brain health

Studies increasingly find links between higher concentrations of certain pollutants and the prevalence of dementia

1 in 9 persons tested found positive for infectious disease in ICMR study

Pathogens were found in 11.1 per cent of the 4.5 lakh patients tested by the network of labs under the Indian Council of Medical Research as part of efforts to identify viral infections of public health significance. The top five pathogens detected were Influenza A in acute respiratory infection (ARI)/ severe acute respiratory infections (SARI cases), dengue virus among acute fever and haemorrhagic fever cases, Hepatitis A in jaundice cases, Norovirus in among acute diarrheal disease (ADD) outbreaks and Herpes simplex virus (HSV) in Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) cases. The spread of infectious diseases rose from 10.7 per cent in the first quarter to 11.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, according to the report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) According to the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) network of ICMR, between January and March, out of 2,28,856 samples, 24,502 (10.7 per cent) were found to contain pathogens from April to June 2025, .

'Lifestyle disorders pushing India towards kidney disease epidemic'

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is emerging as one of the country's most pressing public health concerns, a renowned nephrologist said. CKD is fuelled by lifestyle disorders like diabetes and hypertension and compounded by environmental and occupational factors, kidney ailments are no longer confined to the elderly or the urban elite, he said. If left unchecked, kidney disease could soon take on the proportions of an epidemic, the nephrologist said. Talking to PTI, Dr H Sudarshan Ballal shared his experience of witnessing how India's renal healthcare evolved from scarcity to scale but also watched new challenges emerge with unsettling speed. "When I returned to India in 1991 from the US, there were just 800 nephrologists in the entire country. In fact, there were more Indian nephrologists practising in the US than in India. We used to call ourselves one in a million," Ballal recalled. Three decades later, the situation has undoubtedly improved, with thousands of specialists and advan

WHO warns of rising Mpox cases as new 'clade Ib' strain spreads globally

WHO reports 2,862 cases and 17 deaths across 17 African nations in six weeks; new clade Ib strain detected in Europe and US, prompting renewed vigilance amid signs of local transmission

Covid in pregnancy linked to higher autism, speech and motor delays: Study

Children born to mothers infected with Covid-19 during pregnancy faced a 29% higher chance of developing autism, speech and motor delays by age three, a major US study finds

HPV vaccine isn't just for teens: Why adults should get the shot too

As cervical cancer awareness grows, more adults are asking about the HPV vaccine. Experts break down who should get it and how much protection it really offers to adults

Breast cancer: Why do so many women still avoid mammograms in India?

Why do myths, modesty and misinformation still overshadow one of medicine's best defences against breast cancer? Experts say it is time to make mammograms as routine as blood pressure checks

Thyroid myths debunked: What weight, gluten, and pregnancy won't fix

Thyroid disorders affect millions in India. An endocrinologist debunks common myths, highlighting what truly affects thyroid health and treatment outcomes

Rare brain disorder found in four sisters: Doctors call it extraordinary

A West Virginia family's story has stunned doctors after four sisters were diagnosed with Chiari malformation, a rare structural brain defect seldom seen in more than one sibling

Men get breast cancer too, but most find out far too late, say doctors

Breast cancer affects men too, yet most don't know the symptoms. Experts explain warning signs, risks, and why awareness matters

Chest infections rise in north India due to lesser-known bacterium: Study

A team at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has reported a significant rise in infections caused by a lesser-known bacterium that mimics whooping cough in north India, officials said on Thursday. Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory illness that has historically been a major cause of childhood mortality, with fatality rates reaching 10 per cent in the early 20th century, a PGIMER statement noted. The study, titled 'Emergence of Bordetella holmesiiAssociated Pertussis-Like Illness, Northern India, 20192023', was published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal (of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA) and analysed 935 suspected pertussis cases. Researchers discovered that nearly 37 per cent of infections were caused by Bordetella holmesii (bacterium), surpassing the number of infections from Bordetella pertussis, which used to be relatively more common. The most significan