Beaufort, South Carolina An iWitness weather user posted this photo with the caption 'Pollen in January! And it's 78 degrees.' (iWitness weather user: twanderer) Record pollen counts in cities throughout the Southeast in January means only one thing: allergy season has already begun in the U.S. "It's much earlier this season, than it was even last year," says Atlanta allergist Dr. Stanley Fineman. (More: Pollen Forecast Allergy Tips More Allergy Stories) The early allergy season seems to be hitting the...

Long Beach Island, N.J. In this aerial photograph, heavy equipment pushes sand to restore a barrier dune along the Atlantic Ocean on Long Beach Island, N.J., Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, after the region was pounded by Superstorm Sandy the previous week. Health officials normally see a dip in exercise during the winter months, but in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, the drop in physical activity after the storm was twice that of the rest of the country, according to a...

(Creatas) BUSTED:7 Fitness Myths America's fixation on quick ways to get fit just took a major blow. A new study printed in the New England Journal of Medicine this month seeks to destroy practices most dieters have come to believe. The pages ahead will reveal 7 Things You Thought You Were Doing Right, which the researchers now say don't make much difference at all. (Stockbyte) MYTH: Small Tweaks Pay BIG Dividends Reality: The human body easily adapts to changes, so...

Tripp Halstead is seen in this undated photo, prior to the accident. (teamboom4tripp.com) Two-year-old Tripp Halstead was critically injured when a tree branch fell and hit him during Superstorm Sandy, causing brain damage and requiring emergency surgery. Now Tripp, who has been in the hospital since that day, is battling a life-threatening infection, according to the family's Facebook page. The infection, which struck last week, caused Tripp's temperature to spike to 104 degrees Tuesday night. Tripp's mother Stacy posted, "My...

(Digital Vision) Fast food is a way of life for many Americans. But new findings suggest that people may be starting to cut back on the french fries, Big Macs and Whoppers. According to new data compiled by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), from 2007 to 2010 adults consumed on average 11.3 percent of their total daily calories from fast food. That's down from 12.8 percent between 2003 and 2006. What's more, the number of calories people...

(Stock.xchng.) Two men have been stricken with tularemia, a potentially deadly disease commonly known as rabbit fever. Officials believe both men were infected while rabbit hunting in eastern North Carolina. Rabbit fever is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, according to the National Institutes of Health. Though the disease is rare, it can be fatal if left untreated. Symptoms of tularemia include fever, joint and muscle stiffness, skin ulcers, diarrhea, sweating and weight loss. People infected with rabbit fever can...

(Jeffrey Hamilton) Children in England who were given a version of the swine flu vaccine between 2009 and 2010 were at increased risk of developing narcolepsy after they got the shot, a new study suggests. The findings are similar to those of previous studies conducted in Finland and Sweden, which also found a link between the 2009 called Pandemrix (made by GlaxoSmithKline) and narcolepsy in children. However, because a large number of people were vaccinated and narcolepsy is rare, a...

Sarah Larimore, 7, can't stay in 80-degree weather for longer than 20 minutes. (ABC News Radio) Sarah Larimore, 7, didn't always like summer. She suffers from a rare genetic metabolic disorder called cystinosis, which prevents her from sweating. She lives in South Carolina, and can't stay in 80-degree weather for longer than 20 minutes, so during the summer she used to stay cooped up inside, her mother, Katie Larimore, told ABC News. Last summer, her family built a swimming pool...

(Jupiterimages) Urban food gardens offer a great source of affordable, nutritious fruits and veggies for city dwellers, but high levels of toxic metals in soil, especially lead, could pose health risks for people who grow or eat the produce, according to some scientists. "In places where the soil is heavily contaminated, urban food production may raise as many public health concerns as it solves," said Samantha Langley-Turbaugh, a soil scientist at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. Langley-Turnbaugh discussed...

(PhotoObjects.net) Children exposed to the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, may be at an increased risk for asthma, a new study suggests. During the study, kids who had greater exposure to BPA at ages 3, 5 and 7 were more likely to be diagnosed with asthma before age 12 than children who had less exposure. BPA is found in some plastics, canned food containers and other food packaging, and most people have detectable levels of the chemical in their urine....

(Creatas) People who exercise, even lightly, report sleeping better than individuals who don't exercise, according to results from a new poll. Among people who said they engaged in light, moderate or vigorous physical activity during the week, 56 to 67 percent reported that they "had a good night’s sleep," almost every night on week nights, the poll found. By contrast, just 39 percent of people who did not exercise at all reported sleeping this well on week nights. Exercisers were...

(BananaStock) Teenagers rejoice, zit bacteria aren't all bad. New research finds the microbes that cause come in two flavors: the "bad" variety that causes pimples and the "good" type that may keep the skin glowing. The findings, detailed in the Feb. 28 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, may explain why despite the fact that everyone's skin is crawling with zit bugs only one in five people develops acne in their lifetime. "We hope to apply our findings to...