After 17 life-threatening anaphylactic shocks — always near the soccer field, where she plays for the University of Toledo — Caitlin McComish, 20, was diagnosed with cholinergic urticarial, an allergy triggered by sweat. Cholinergic urticarial is not extremely common, but it’s not rare either. It affects about 20 percent of the population at some point in a lifetime, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. But McComish’s condition is exceptionally severe. (MORE: TheWorst Cities forSpring Allergies) “Most...

Germs are everywhere — even though the winter cold and flu season is over. One nasty example, bolstered by new research: The microbes living on your paper money. Researchers at New York University identified 3,000 types of bacteria on 80 $1 bills, collected from a New York City bank. And they were only able to identify 20 percent of the microbes living on the bills — yuck! The most common bacteria was the one that causes acne, researchers said, according...

Finishing a 1.2-mile ocean swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a half marathon (13.1 miles) — at one time — for any person would be a feat. The accomplishment becomes even more impressive when you consider that Steve Walker, 31, is legally blind. He finished this race, IRONMAN 70.3, in 6 hours, 23 minutes and 6 seconds the last weekend in March in Oceanside, Calif. Walker, who lives in Redondo Beach, Calif., has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative, genetic eye disease...