This is an essential teen's guide to living with allergies.Allergies are fairly common, affecting more than 60 million Americans, or about 1 in 5 people. When people experience an allergic reaction to something, the immune system thinks the substance - for instance, food, dust, pollen, or medicines - is harmful to the body. In response, it sends off a false alarm in the form of an allergic reaction, which may occur in the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin, or intestinal tract. Milder reactions come in the form of slightly itchy eyes, a runny nose, itchy throat, or other uncomfortable symptoms. Severe allergic reactions, on the other hand, can be life threatening. Although there is no medication that can cure allergies, there are many effective treatments available to control many of them.This accessible new guide provides all the information teens need to understand allergies and their consequences on daily life. Loaded with helpful sidebars, appendixes, and real-life cases, this straightforward resource is sure to be very useful for teens coping with allergies....

As the human population skyrockets and the toxic impact of human society spreads, the natural habitats of birds degrade and diminish and the bird populations decline. Two hundred years ago, when the United States and Canada were home to less than 5 million people, they were also home to some 650 species of birds. Today, more than 280 million people live there, and 33 bird species have already been driven to extinction and well over 150 are in danger of extinction in all or parts of their range. This book, organized and written by the authors of The Birder's Handbook, and enriched by 191 strikingly beautiful color paintings illustrating all of the birds treated, is the first concise, authoritative review of the status of the birds currently imperiled in the United States and Canada - those that are federally listed as Endangered or Threatened and those that are listed by the National Audubon Society as suffering local or regional or widespread decline. It also treats the birds that have been driven to extinction in the past two centuries, since the stories of their somber fates can help us learn how to save the other birds that are in jeopardy. Because birdwatchers and others are showing increased interest in the tropical birds that survive in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, the book includes separate sections on imperiled and extinct birds of those areas. Hawaii is of special importance: because it has seen so many extinctions just in the years since Cook's arrival, it provides a laboratory for studying the impact of civilization on birds in the wild.<...

This is the most complete and authoritative reference book about the birds of North America -- up to date and in field-guide format.

The Birder's Handbook is the first of its kind: a portable library of fascinating information not included in your identification guide. For each of the 646 species of birds that breed in North America, The Birder's Handbook will tell you at a glance:

* Where the bird nests, and which sex(es) build(s) the nest;
* How many eggs the bird lays, what they look like, which patent incubates and for how long, and how the young are cared for;
* Food preferences and foraging habits.

You will also find information about displays and mating, wintering, conservation status, and much more. In addition, The Birder's Handbook contains some 250 short essays covering all aspects of avian natural history....