Latest news with #UniversityOfNorthernBritishColumbia
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
What is swimmer's itch? And how can you treat it?
For many, it's not summer until you've taken a dip in one of B.C.'s glistening lakes, a welcome reprieve from those hot July days. But sometimes, you end up with something not so welcome: itchy red bumps on your skin. Some call it swimmer's itch, some call it duck itch, and for others, it's simply the itch. But what is it, exactly? University of Northern British Columbia zoologist Dezene Huber said that itch — whatever you call it — is caused by a parasitic flatworm. "It's really quite tiny," he told CBC's Daybreak North guest host Bill Fee. "You're not able to really see it very well with your naked eye." That worm begins as an egg in the water, Huber said, and when it hatches, the little larvae swim using little hairs on the sides of their bodies in search of a snail. Once they get into the snail, they reproduce asexually in "vast numbers." From there, the new larvae leave the snail, in search of something larger — any sort of water bird, but usually a duck, Huber said. Once they find a duck, they burrow into the bird's feet and get into its circulatory system en route to its gut. That's where they lay the eggs that are then returned to the water when the duck poops. You may notice humans aren't involved in that life cycle at all. But humans, like ducks, are warm in the water, so sometimes, those little parasites mistake people for ducks. "They're really well adapted to survive in a duck, but they're not well adapted to survive in a human, so as soon as they burrow into the skin of a human, they die just underneath the skin of the human and that causes an allergic reaction," Huber said. "It's basically parasites making mistakes in a fairly complex life cycle." Those itchy red bumps you get are an immune response as your body rejects a parasite trying to get inside you, Huber said. Treatment While these parasites aren't causing long-term harm to humans, that itch can be pretty uncomfortable. According to the province, scratching those bumps can lead to pain and even infection. Fort St. James, B.C., pharmacist Ankur Pipaliya said the best tip for avoiding the itch is to avoid swimming in areas known to be a problem for swimmer's itch.. But, if you do, he said, towel dry or shower immediately after you get out of the water. Showers should be with cold water, Pipaliya said. And then, he said, apply moisturizer. "Dry skin, it promotes that allergic reaction. So if your skin is moist, it kind of helps you from having any irritations." If it's too late and you've already got red, itchy bumps from swimming in the lake, Pipaliya said he usually suggests mild corticosteroid creams to reduce discomfort, along with cold showers and cold compresses on the bumps. He said Epsom salts and baking soda also help, as well as over-the-counter allergy medications like Benadryl. The province also suggests calamine lotion and colloidal oatmeal baths for relief from swimmer's itch. It said symptoms can develop within 12 hours after infection, and can last anywhere from two days to two weeks.
CBC
26-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
Western Canadian glaciers melting twice as fast as they did a decade ago, research shows
Researchers say some glaciers in Western Canada and the United States lost 12 per cent of their mass from 2021 to 2024, doubling melt rates compared to the previous decade. The research led by University of Northern British Columbia professor Brian Menounos says low snow accumulation over winter, early-season heat waves, and prolonged warm and dry spells were contributing factors. It says impurities such as ash from severe wildfire seasons have also "darkened" glaciers, causing them to absorb more heat and triggering a feedback loop that will lead to continued loss unless the ice is covered by fresh snow. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters this week, examined glaciers in Western Canada and the United States, excluding Alaska and Yukon, as well as Switzerland, where glaciers lost 13 per cent of their mass over the same period. The research letter says glaciers in both regions lost mass twice as fast as they did between 2010 and 2020. "Unfortunately, in the last four years, we've seen yet another doubling of how much water we're losing from our glaciers annually," he told CBC Radio West host Sarah Penton. To make the point, he said the annual loss is roughly equivalent to the entirety of B.C.'s Okanagan Lake — or the beds of a billion pick-up trucks. Menounos says climate change and its effects, including heat waves and changing snow patterns, are draining the "bank account" of fresh water that glaciers contain. "Doubling the amount of water that's lost from those glaciers, we're sort of stealing from the future," said Menounos, who is also the Canada Research Chair in glacier change. "We are just pulling and pulling away and making that bank account closer to zero and perhaps even negative. We're not replenishing these glaciers," he said. The research combined aerial surveys with ground-based observations of three glaciers in Western Canada, four glaciers in the United States and 20 in Switzerland. The analysis shows that between 2021 and 2024, those glaciers experienced their highest rates of loss since monitoring began 60 years ago, Menounos says. The research letter says that in Western Canada and the United States, black carbon doubled after about 2010, reaching the highest level of deposition in 2023 — coinciding with a severe wildfire season across B.C. and Canada. The study did not include specific data relating to wildfire ash on each glacier, but Menounos says any darker material will absorb more heat and enhance melting. The researchers did zero in on the Haig Glacier in the Canadian Rockies, finding the low reflectivity of the ice contributed to 17 per cent of an unprecedented loss of mass in 2022 and 2023. Summer heat had the greatest effect, responsible for 46 per cent of the loss, the letter says. Current modelling for glaciers often doesn't include wildfire ash and other processes that could accelerate rates of loss in the future, Menounos added. "We think that wildfire will continue to play an important role, and certainly we need better physical models to project how these glaciers are likely to change." WATCH | How melting glaciers will impact the world's water supply: Melting ice and glaciers could lead to water crisis 4 years ago Duration 2:51 A new study finds that ice is disappearing around the globe at an alarming rate and glaciers represent a significant amount of ice loss. Researchers in Canada say the retreat of glaciers will have major impacts on water security in Canada. Glaciers across the study area are projected to mostly disappear by the end of the century, even under moderate climate change scenarios. Only some of the largest glaciers and icefields are expected to exist beyond 2100, the research letter says. Swiss glaciers represent about 55 per cent of the total volume of central European glaciers, and findings there may be applied across the Alps, the letter notes. From 2000 to 2023, the letter says Earth's glaciers collectively lost mass at a rate of about 273 gigatonnes per year, accounting for about one-fifth of observed sea-level rise. One gigatonne represents one cubic kilometre of water. The research letter published Wednesday follows a 2021 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature that found glaciers outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets lost mass between 2010 and 2019 at double the rate they did in the first decade of this century. Menounos contributed to that study. "The way to perhaps bring some of the smallest glaciers back is, sometime in the future, with reduced greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
Globe and Mail
26-06-2025
- Science
- Globe and Mail
Glaciers in Western Canada melting twice as fast as in previous decade, researchers say
Researchers say some glaciers in Western Canada and the United States lost 12 per cent of their mass from 2021 to 2024, doubling melt rates compared to the previous decade in a continuation of a concerning global trend. The research led by University of Northern British Columbia professor Brian Menounos says low snow accumulation over winter, early-season heat waves, and prolonged warm and dry spells were contributing factors. It says impurities such as ash from severe wildfire seasons have also 'darkened' glaciers, causing them to absorb more heat and triggering a feedback loop that will lead to continued loss unless the ice is covered by fresh snow. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters this week, examined glaciers in Western Canada and the United States, excluding Alaska and Yukon, as well as Switzerland, where glaciers lost 13 per cent of their mass over the same period. Opinion: The world is burning. Should we tell our kids? Canadian banks increased fossil fuel funding in 2024 despite record heat, report says The research letter says glaciers in both regions lost mass twice as fast as they did between 2010 and 2020. Menounos says climate change and its effects, including heat waves and changing snow patterns, are draining the 'bank account' of fresh water that glaciers contain. 'Doubling the amount of water that's lost from those glaciers, we're sort of stealing from the future,' says Menounos, the Canada Research Chair in glacier change. 'We are just pulling and pulling away and making that bank account closer to zero and perhaps even negative. We're not replenishing these glaciers,' he says. The research letter published Wednesday follows a 2021 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature that found glaciers outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets lost mass between 2010 and 2019 at double the rate that they did in the first decade of this century. Menounos contributed to that study. The latest research combined aerial surveys with ground-based observations of three glaciers in Western Canada, four glaciers in the United States and 20 in Switzerland. The analysis shows that between 2021 and 2024, those glaciers experienced their highest rates of loss since monitoring began 60 years ago, Menounos says. The study says that in Western Canada and the United States, black carbon doubled after about 2010, reaching the highest level of deposition in 2023 – coinciding with a severe wildfire season across B.C. and Canada. The study did not include specific data relating to wildfire ash on each glacier, but Menounos says any darker material will absorb more heat and enhance melting. The researchers did zero in on the Haig Glacier in the Canadian Rockies, finding the low reflectivity of the ice contributed to 17 per cent of an unprecedented loss of mass in 2022 and 2023. Summer heat had the greatest effect, responsible for 46 per cent of the loss, the letter says. Current modelling for glaciers often doesn't include wildfire ash and other processes that could accelerate rates of loss in the future, Menounos added. 'We think that wildfire will continue to play an important role and certainly we need better physical models to project how these glaciers are likely to change.' Glaciers across the study area are projected to mostly disappear by the end of the century, even under moderate climate change scenarios. Only some of the largest glaciers and icefields are expected to exist beyond 2100, the research letter says. Swiss glaciers represent about 55 per cent of the total volume of central European glaciers, and findings there may be applied across the Alps, the letter notes. From 2000 to 2023, the letter says Earth's glaciers collectively lost mass at a rate of about 273 gigatonnes per year, accounting for about one-fifth of observed sea-level rise. One gigatonne represents one cubic kilometre of water, Menounos says. 'The way to perhaps bring some of the smallest glaciers back is, sometime in the future, with reduced greenhouse gas emissions,' he says. 'It's a global problem, but it does require input from all countries.'
