Seasonal changes are common, so is changes in the color of your snot, or nasal discharge. The color can tell a lot about your health. If you are confused about what it means, here's a quick guide that can help you see if you should go see a doctor.

How does it work?

The mucus in your nose protects your nose and sinuses from dust, bacteria and other environmental dangers. If you are in a heavily polluted environment, your snot may look green. If you have hay fever, it may be clear. In fact, a common cold may also cause your snot to look yellow or green. If your snot is red, brown or black, it may mean you have a nose injury, or are smoking.

What are the different color of snots?

The color varies between clear, white, shades of green and yellow, red and pink, shades of brown and orange and lastly black.

What is considered normal?

A clear snot is considered "normal" or healthy. Rhinitis or swelling of the mucosal membrane in the nose is a common cause of increased snot production , which could be clear.

There are various types of rhinitis, for instance allergic rhinitis or hay fever could also cause a clear snot. But how to know if it is a sign of hay fever if the color does not differ? You will notice that you have a runny nasal discharge and may feel a bit ill. However, there is nothing to worry as allergies are not caused by a virus. They are rather symptoms in your body's response to irritants like pollen, or animal fur, or dust mites.

Some can experience rhinitis without allergen exposure, which is what is known as the nonallergic rhinitis.

What does white snot mean?

If your nose feels stuffy, congested, then you may notice white snot. This can cause snot to lose its watery content, making it look white from a clear snot. This can sometimes be thick and cloudy too and may sign towards having a cold or an infection.

The common cold is also a frequent cause of white-colored snot. Your symptoms will usually develop a few days, usually two to three days after the exposure to virus.

What does yellow snot mean?

It indicates that your body is fighting an infection. The color yellow comes from the white blood cells which rush to kill the germs. Once the cells have done their, these cells are discarded in snot, which gives it a yellow shade.

What does green snot mean?

It means that your immune system has kicked in high gear to fight infection. The same white blood cells that fight the infection also includes other waste products, which gives it a green color.

Should you see a doctor? Sometimes it may not be a risky thing, and could just be a common virus and other foreign bodies present in the nasal passage.

What to do if you have red or pink snot?

It means that there is a sign of blood in your snot. This could happen because you have blown your nose too hard, or picked it too hard, scratching the surface, or had a hit to the nose.

What can be done?

• Apply Vaseline or another ointment to the nasal passages
• Using saline nose spray or gel to add moisture to your nasal tissues
• Trimming fingernails to prevent scratching your nose
• Adding moisture to the air with a humidifier
• Blowing nose gently

Brown or black snot and what it means?

Brown may indicate that the blood is exiting the body or is the old blood. It could also mean that you have accidentally inhaled something hot like paprika, or dust. However, if it persists, it is best to go see a doctor.

However, if you have black snot, you should definitely go see a doctor. This means that you are either a smoker, or using drugs. It could also be a fungal infection.

There are four types of fungal infection that can cause black snot:

Mycetoma fungal sinusitis: this happens from clumps of spores invading the sinus cavities

Allergic fungal sinusitis: this happens to people with a history of allergic rhinitis

Chronic indolent sinusitis: mostly found outside the US

Fulminant sinusitis: this could cause damage to the sinuses and the bony area that contains eyeballs and brain

When to see a doctor?

• If you have yellow snot with a fever that lasts for than 3 days
• a discolored snot with headache and burning eyes
• a discolored snot and swelling around the eyes
• black snot

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women, claiming more lives each year than all cancers combined. Yet, it continues to be misunderstood, underdiagnosed, and often dismissed as a “male” health problem. In Ohio and across the US, women are now using a striking visual message to confront this reality head-on, by quite literally dressing for the cause.

February, observed as American Heart Month, marks a renewed push to educate communities about heart disease, especially among women. Health advocates stress that while the spotlight is brightest this month, the risks and responsibilities extend far beyond the calendar.

“It’s our Super Bowl,” said Lauren Thomas, development director for the American Heart Association of North Central West Virginia and Ohio Valley. “It’s about awareness. Heart health is not a one-month conversation. It has to be a year-round priority where people actively put their hearts first.”

Why Red Has Become a Warning Sign

Across Ohio, women are wearing red, a color long associated with love but also with danger. The message is deliberate. Red symbolizes the urgency of cardiovascular disease, a condition responsible for one in every three deaths among women.

“When we wear red, we start conversations that many people avoid,” said Melissa Pratt, a heart disease survivor, reported WBBJ News. “One in three women die from cardiovascular disease. Wearing red encourages women to get checked, understand their risks, and take their health seriously.”

From landmarks lit in red to workplaces, neighborhoods, and social media feeds filled with crimson outfits, the visual campaign is meant to disrupt complacency. It asks a confronting question. If heart disease is killing women at this scale, why is it still not treated like a crisis?

Ohio Valley And Downtown Jackson Women Taking the Lead

Coinciding with American Heart Month, the Ohio Valley Women of Impact campaign launches this Friday. Six local women, Crissy Clutter, Jan Pattishall-Krupinski, Lacy Ferguson, Shelbie Smith, Jennifer Hall-Fawson, and Laurie Conway, are leading fundraising and awareness efforts aimed at improving women’s heart health.

Their work focuses on education, early detection, and supporting research that better understands how heart disease presents differently in women. Symptoms in women can be subtle, ranging from fatigue and nausea to jaw or back pain, which often delays diagnosis and treatment.

Turning Awareness Into Action

To mark the start of the month, the American Heart Association hosted a National Wear Red Day breakfast on Friday morning at the LIFT Wellness Center in Jackson Walk Plaza. The event brought together survivors, advocates, and health professionals to reinforce a simple but powerful message. Awareness must lead to action.

Health experts continue to urge women to prioritize regular checkups, manage blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress, and recognize early warning signs. Lifestyle changes, timely screenings, and informed conversations can significantly reduce risk.

Dressed In Death, Fighting For Life

The women of Ohio are not wearing red for fashion. They are wearing it as a warning, a remembrance, and a call to action. In dressing themselves in the color of urgency, they are confronting a disease that has taken too many lives quietly. This February, their message is clear. Heart disease is not inevitable, but ignoring it can be deadly.

If your roots trace back to the Indian subcontinent, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes is significantly higher than that of Europeans. Research shows that Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis are up to six times more likely to develop the condition, often at a younger age and at lower body weights. For years, carbohydrate-heavy diets were blamed. But growing scientific evidence points to a far deeper and darker cause: repeated famines during British colonial rule that may have altered metabolic resilience across generations.

Can Hunger Change Human Biology?

The idea that starvation can leave a genetic imprint may sound extreme, but science supports it. Prolonged nutrient deprivation can permanently affect how the body stores fat, processes glucose, and responds to food abundance later in life. Even a single famine can raise the risk of metabolic disorders such as diabetes in future generations.

This understanding forms the basis of the “thrifty genotype hypothesis,” a concept widely discussed in evolutionary biology.

The Thrifty Genotype Hypothesis Explained

The thrifty genotype hypothesis suggests that populations exposed to repeated famines develop genetic traits that help conserve energy. These traits are lifesaving during scarcity but become harmful in times of plenty, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes.

Economic historian Mike Davis documents that India experienced 31 major famines during 190 years of British rule between 1757 and 1947, roughly one every six years. By contrast, only 17 famines occurred in the previous 2,000 years. Davis estimates that 29 million people died in the Victorian era alone. Economic anthropologist Jason Hickel places the death toll from colonial policies between 1880 and 1920 at around 100 million.

Scientific Evidence Linking Famines to Diabetes

A study published in Frontiers in Public Health titled The Elevated Susceptibility to Diabetes in India: An Evolutionary Perspective argues that these famines reshaped metabolic traits. The researchers note that Indians tend to have a higher fat-to-lean mass ratio, lower average birth weight, and reduced ability to clear glucose. This combination increases metabolic stress and lowers resilience, explaining earlier onset of diabetes compared to Europeans.

A Nation That Shrunk Over Time

Colonial-era famines also affected physical growth. Studies show that average Indian height declined by about 1.8 cm per century during British rule. Historian accounts describe ancient Indians as tall and robust, with even Greek chroniclers noting their stature during Alexander’s invasion. By the 1960s, however, Indians were about 15 cm shorter than their Mesolithic ancestors.

Read: How Colonialism Continues To Bear An Impact On The South Asian Health Crisis

While the British did not cause early declines, widespread impoverishment under colonial rule sharply accelerated the trend. Only in the past 50 years has average height begun to recover.

Famines Were Policy Failures, Not Nature

Mike Davis argues that colonial famines were driven not by food shortages but by policy. Grain continued to be exported even as millions starved. During the 1876 famine, Viceroy Robert Bulwer-Lytton refused to halt exports, and relief work was deliberately discouraged. Davis describes these deaths as the result of state policy, not natural disaster.

Medical journal The Lancet estimated that 19 million Indians died during famines in the 1890s alone.

Breaking the Diabetes Cycle

India now faces the consequences. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, over 101 million Indians live with diabetes today. Experts argue that prevention must begin early, with reduced sugar intake, low-glycaemic diets, healthier fats, and compulsory physical activity in schools. Education about famine-linked intergenerational health risks could also help younger generations make informed choices.

India has avoided famine since Independence in 1947. The next challenge is ensuring that history’s biological scars do not continue to shape its future.

As India steps into 2026, two familiar yet unsettling names have returned to the public health conversation. Nipah virus cases reported from West Bengal and fresh bird flu detections among crows in Bihar have raised questions about how dangerous these infections really are for humans. While both diseases originate in animals and can cross over to people, their risks, spread patterns and fatality levels are very different.

Two zoonotic threats, very different risks

Nipah virus and avian influenza are both zoonotic, meaning they jump from animals to humans. Beyond that similarity, the comparison largely ends. Nipah is rare but extremely lethal when it infects humans. Bird flu, on the other hand, spreads widely among birds and poultry, but only occasionally infects people.

Health experts note that understanding this distinction is crucial. Nipah alarms public health systems because even a small cluster of cases can lead to severe illness and death. Bird flu triggers large scale surveillance mainly due to its impact on poultry and the economy, with human cases remaining uncommon.

Read: Bird Flu In India: How Safe Is It To Eat Chicken And Eggs?

Nipah virus and why it worries health officials

The Nipah virus was first identified in Malaysia in the late 1990s and has since caused multiple outbreaks in South and Southeast Asia. Fruit bats are its natural carriers, and humans can get infected through contaminated food, contact with infected animals or close contact with an infected person.

Symptoms often begin like a common viral illness, with fever, headache and cough. In many patients, the disease progresses rapidly. Within days, some develop encephalitis, seizures, confusion and coma. Respiratory distress is also common in severe cases.

According to the World Health Organization, Nipah’s fatality rate ranges between 40 and 75 percent, depending on the outbreak and access to timely medical care. There is no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment. Doctors rely on intensive supportive care, which makes early detection and isolation critical.

In January 2026, West Bengal reported multiple Nipah cases, prompting contact tracing and monitoring of nearly 200 people. Most tested negative, and the WHO assessed the risk of wider spread as low. Still, the high death rate keeps Nipah firmly on India’s list of priority pathogens.

Bird flu and its limited human impact

Bird flu, or avian influenza, is caused by influenza A viruses that primarily infect birds. Strains such as H5N1 and H9N2 have been detected repeatedly in India among poultry and wild birds. Bihar’s Darbhanga district recently reported thousands of bird deaths, triggering containment measures.

Humans usually get infected through close contact with sick or dead birds or contaminated environments. When infection does occur, symptoms can resemble seasonal flu at first, but severe cases may progress to pneumonia or acute respiratory distress.

Some bird flu strains have shown high fatality rates among confirmed human cases, sometimes close to 50 percent. However, experts stress that these numbers come from very small case counts. Sustained human to human transmission remains rare, which limits large outbreaks in people.

Read: Nipah Virus Outbreak In India: Myanmar Airport Tightens Health Screenings

Which virus is deadlier for humans?

In terms of individual risk, Nipah virus is considered deadlier for humans. Its consistently high fatality rate, lack of treatment options and potential to cause severe brain inflammation make it especially dangerous, even when case numbers are low.

Bird flu poses a broader threat to animal health and livelihoods, but its direct impact on human life has so far been limited. Public health officials continue to monitor both closely, knowing that vigilance, early reporting and strong surveillance are the best tools to prevent either virus from spiralling into a larger crisis.