Aid groups struggle as more Rohingya flood into Bangladesh

Aid agencies were struggling to cope with a nonstop flood of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, where some 146,000 have arrived hungry and terrified after fleeing renewed violence in Myanmar — a crisis the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, dismissed as a misinformation campaign.

Members of Pakistani civil society groups protest against the persecution of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority, in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017.  (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

With the influx pushing existing Rohingya refugee camps to the brink, Bangladesh pledged to build at least one more. The International Organization for Migration has pleaded for $18 million in foreign aid to help feed and shelter tens of thousands now packed into makeshift settlements or stranded in a no-man's land between the two countries' borders.

An exhausted Rohingya helps an elderly family member and a child as they arrive at Kutupalong refugee camp after crossing from Myanmmar to the Bangladesh side of the border, in Ukhia, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

U.N. agencies said they were distributing food to new arrivals, about 80 percent of whom were women and children, joining about 100,000 who had already been sheltering in Bangladesh after fleeing earlier convulsions of violence in majority-Buddhist Myanmar.

Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, waits for India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrive for their meeting at the President House in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, Sept 6, 2017. (AP Photo)

"We've not had something on this scale here in many years," said Pavlo Kolovos, the Bangladesh mission leader for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, in a statement. "Our teams are seeing streams of people arriving destitute and extremely traumatized," including many in need of urgent medical care for violence-related injuries, severe infections or childbirth complications.

Myanmar's national security advisor Thaung Tun, talks to journalists during a press conference at the Ministry of State Counsellor in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.  (AP Photo)

With so many Rohingya fleeing, it's unclear how many remain in Myanmar amid reports of soldiers burning villages and killing civilians. Before the recent violence, aid experts had estimated about 1 million Rohingya were living in northern Rakhine state, but aid agencies have been unable to access the area since.

Myanmar's National Security Advisor Thaung Tun, talks to journalists during a press conference at the Ministry of State Counsellor in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, Sept 6, 2017. Sept. 6, 2017. (AP Photo)

"We are unable to reach the 28,000 children to whom we were previously providing psychosocial care or the more than 4,000 children who were treated for malnutrition in Buthidaung and Maungdaw" in Rakhine, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said. "Our clean water and sanitation work has been suspended, as have school repairs that were under way."

Myanmar's Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye talks to journalists during a press conference in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sept. 6, 2017.(AP Photo)

Journalists record a press conference at the Ministry of State Counsellor in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.  (AP Photo)

Turkey said that Myanmar agreed to allow its aid officials to enter Rakhine state with a ton of food and goods for Rohingya, and that its foreign minister would visit a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar on Thursday.

Muslim protesters are seen through razor wire barricades during a rally against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims outside the Myanmar's Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

The violence has driven some Rohingya to flee into forests near their villages or to beaches on the Bay of Bengal in hopes of rescue.

Myanmar Border Guard Police walk ahead of a Rohingya trishaw driver and passanger, along the main road of Buthidaung, northern Rakhine state of Myanmar, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.  (AP Photo)

Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a protest note to Myanmar's envoy Wednesday expressing concern about reports that Myanmar's security forces had planted land mines along the border, and demanding immediate measures to de-escalate the violence.

A Hindu man sits outside of the public where he is taking shelter after fleeing from the violence that broke out on Aug. 25 in Maungdaw town, northern Rakhine state of Myanmar, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.  (AP Photo)

Seeking to counter the storm of international criticism, Suu Kyi's top security adviser on Wednesday asserted that security forces were acting with restraint in pursuing "terrorists."

National Security Advisor Thaung Tun told a news conference Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, that he was "deeply disappointed and saddened by the disinformation campaign being waged around the world with regard to the situation in Rakhine."

A Myanmar police officer stands watch as journalists arrive in Shwe Zar village in the suburb of Maungdaw town, northern Rakhine state of Myanmar, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (AP Photo)

Meanwhile, Suu Kyi complained to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call Tuesday that Turkey's deputy prime minister was a victim of fake news when he posted photos purportedly showing dead Rohingya that were not related to the crisis. The photos on Mehmet Simsek's Twitter account have been taken down.

A Myanmar police officer stands watch as journalists arrive in Shwe Zar village in the suburb of Maungdaw town, northern Rakhine state of Myanmar, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (AP Photo)

According to her office, Suu Kyi said such misinformation helps promote the interests of "terrorists," a reference to the Rohingya insurgents whose attacks on Myanmar security posts on Aug. 25 triggered the latest military crackdown and streams of refugees.

The crisis response director for Amnesty International called Suu Kyi's response "unconscionable."

A Myanmar security officer walks past burned Rohingya houses in Ka Nyin Tan village of suburb Maungdaw, northern Rakhine state of western Myanmar, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (AP Photo)

"This is a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe," said Tirana Hassan in a statement, noting the Rohingya streaming across the border and thousands of others displaced in Rakhine.

"In her first comments on the crisis, instead of promising concrete action to protect the people in Rakhine state, Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be downplaying the horrific reports coming out of the area," Hassan said.

The group that claimed responsibility for the Aug. 25 attacks on Myanmar police posts, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, says it acted to defend persecuted Rohingya communities, but has been vague about its ideology and ultimate goals.

The military said it responded with "clearance operations" aimed at rooting out insurgents, and that nearly 400 people, most of them insurgents, have died in clashes. It blamed the insurgents for setting Rohingya villages on fire.

Many displaced Rohingya, however, said it was Myanmar soldiers who set their homes aflame and fired indiscriminately around their villages in Rakhine state.

Rohingya Muslims have long faced discrimination in the Southeast Asian country.

Allergy season can bring misery to tens of millions of Americans each year.

Tree, grass, and other pollens can cause runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing.

Where you live and what you're allergic to can make a big difference in how bad your allergies are, but there are many things you can do to feel better.

Here are some tips from experts to keep allergies at bay — maybe even enough to allow you to enjoy the outdoors.

There are three main types of pollen. Earlier in the spring, tree pollen is the main culprit. After that grasses pollinate, followed by weeds in the late summer and early fall.

Some of the most common tree pollens that cause allergies include birch, cedar, cottonwood, maple, elm, oak and walnut, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Grasses that cause symptoms include Bermuda, Johnson, rye and Kentucky bluegrass.

The best and first step to controlling allergies is avoiding exposure. That’s easier said than done when it's nice out.

Start with keeping your windows closed at home and in the car, avoiding going out when pollen counts are highest and changing clothes when you get home. The same masks that got us through the pandemic can protect you from allergies — though they won't help with eye symptoms.

Pollen trackers can help with planning. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology tracks levels through a network of counting stations across the U.S. Counts are available at its website and via email.

You can't fight an enemy you don't know.

Since many Americans are allergic to several things at once, the first thing to figure out is what specifically you’re allergic to, said Dr. Nana Mireku, an allergist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Over-the-counter nasal sprays can help relieve symptoms, but they take a while to kick in, so it’s best to start them in early in the season, said Dr. Rachna Shah, an allergist and director of the Loyola Medicine Allergy Count.

Antihistamines are another option. Shah said she’s seen some patients benefit from switching to a similar brand if one stops working, but said that there isn’t much broader data to back the recommendation.

For young children and people who have to take many different allergy medications, immunotherapies in the form of shots and oral drops can help desensitize the immune system to allergens, treating symptoms at their root.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America issues an annual ranking of the most challenging cities to live in if you have allergies, based on over-the-counter medicine use, pollen counts and the number of available allergy specialists. This year, the top five were Wichita, Kansas; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Greenville, South Carolina; Dallas; and Oklahoma City.

If you've been thinking it started earlier and seems longer this year, you're on to something.

Shah usually starts looking at pollen counts in the Chicago area in April. But this year, she peeked at her data in mid-February, and tree pollen was already at a “moderate” level.

“This season has been so nuts,” she said. “Granted, it was a pretty mild winter, but I didn’t expect it to be so early.”

Shah said she believes this season will be longer than other years, assuming the weather remains warm.

Experts say climate change has led to longer and more intense allergy seasons.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Tree pollen pods lay in a pile at a park in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2024. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America issues an annual ranking of the most challenging cities to live in if you have allergies, based on over-the-counter medicine use, pollen counts and the number of available allergy specialists. In 2024, the top five were Wichita, Kansas; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Greenville, South Carolina; Dallas; and Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

FILE - An oak tree with new leaf growth also shows pollen and a drop of water hanging among the branches at a park in Richardson, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2024. There are three main types of pollen. Earlier in the spring, tree pollen is the main culprit. After that grasses pollinate, followed by weeds in the late summer and early fall. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)