Take Steps to Protect Your Health In Winter
By
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WILMINGTON, Ohio--You take steps to protect your car and home during the winter. You should do the same for your health.
Although winter officially arrived a few days before Christmas, winter elements have been here since shortly after Thanksgiving and we have a long way to go until March and the arrival of spring.
To help stay healthy and safe in the winter wonderland:
Get vaccinated against the flu.
The flu knows no climate boundaries. You need the flu vaccine every year even if you don't live in a land of ice and snow. The best time to receive the flu vaccine is in September or as soon as the vaccine becomes available. But getting it in December or January is not too late.
Flu vaccination is recommended for most healthy people starting at age six months. Each year, the flu vaccine is developed to protect against the viruses that are most likely to cause illness that year.
Wash your hands.
Frequent hand washing helps remove germs that cause colds and flu. Use warm water and soap to scrub your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds each time you wash up.
Dress warmly.
To avoid a dangerous drop in body temperature when it's very cold, wear several thin layers of clothing. Air trapped between layers helps keep you warm—inside or outside your home.
When outside, wear mittens (which are warmer than gloves) or mittens over a pair of lightweight gloves. Choose a hat that fits snugly. If breathing cold air bothers you, wear a scarf that covers your nose and mouth.
Protect your skin.
To help prevent dry, itchy skin, apply a moisturizer to your skin on a regular basis. Before going outside, apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 to all areas of exposed skin. (Yes, you need to wear sunscreen even in the winter.) It will help protect your skin against the sun as it reflects off snow. Sunscreen that contains a moisturizer can also help protect against the drying effects of cold and wind.
Prevent falls.
No one wants a broken bone, but falls are especially dangerous if you have the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. To reduce your risk of falling, don't wear shoes with slippery soles. Hang on to stair handrails, and try to avoid walking on snow or ice. If you take medication that affects your balance and stability, talk to your doctor about alternative medicines.
Avoid those who are already sick.
With the arrival of winter respiratory illnesses, many area hospitals, including CMH, are limiting visitation to their patients. The goal of limited visitation is to keep to a minimum the spread of respiratory diseases to hospital patients, but it also prevents visitors from picking up something from patients, too.
There should be no visitations by anyone who is ill with any respiratory symptoms, including coughing, sneezing, runny nose and fever and no visitation by anyone under the age of 14.
Use common sense if you are already sick.
If you are sick, please use good common sense to prevent the spread of germs that may make others sick. If you have a cold, the flu or other respiratory illness, don’t visit patients in hospitals or nursing homes. In fact, the best precaution is to just stay home and avoid any one who could catch what you have.
Healthy Outlook is a periodic column researched and prepared by physicians, nurses or other health care professionals associated with CMH Regional Health System/Clinton Memorial Hospital. Healthy Outlook includes information from several resources, including the writer's professional experience. Additional sources for this particular column included the American Academy of Dermatology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Greater Cincinnati Health Council.
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Although winter officially arrived a few days before Christmas, winter elements have been here since shortly after Thanksgiving and we have a long way to go until March and the arrival of spring.
To help stay healthy and safe in the winter wonderland:
Get vaccinated against the flu.
The flu knows no climate boundaries. You need the flu vaccine every year even if you don't live in a land of ice and snow. The best time to receive the flu vaccine is in September or as soon as the vaccine becomes available. But getting it in December or January is not too late.
Flu vaccination is recommended for most healthy people starting at age six months. Each year, the flu vaccine is developed to protect against the viruses that are most likely to cause illness that year.
Wash your hands.
Frequent hand washing helps remove germs that cause colds and flu. Use warm water and soap to scrub your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds each time you wash up.
Dress warmly.
To avoid a dangerous drop in body temperature when it's very cold, wear several thin layers of clothing. Air trapped between layers helps keep you warm—inside or outside your home.
When outside, wear mittens (which are warmer than gloves) or mittens over a pair of lightweight gloves. Choose a hat that fits snugly. If breathing cold air bothers you, wear a scarf that covers your nose and mouth.
Protect your skin.
To help prevent dry, itchy skin, apply a moisturizer to your skin on a regular basis. Before going outside, apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 to all areas of exposed skin. (Yes, you need to wear sunscreen even in the winter.) It will help protect your skin against the sun as it reflects off snow. Sunscreen that contains a moisturizer can also help protect against the drying effects of cold and wind.
Prevent falls.
No one wants a broken bone, but falls are especially dangerous if you have the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. To reduce your risk of falling, don't wear shoes with slippery soles. Hang on to stair handrails, and try to avoid walking on snow or ice. If you take medication that affects your balance and stability, talk to your doctor about alternative medicines.
Avoid those who are already sick.
With the arrival of winter respiratory illnesses, many area hospitals, including CMH, are limiting visitation to their patients. The goal of limited visitation is to keep to a minimum the spread of respiratory diseases to hospital patients, but it also prevents visitors from picking up something from patients, too.
There should be no visitations by anyone who is ill with any respiratory symptoms, including coughing, sneezing, runny nose and fever and no visitation by anyone under the age of 14.
Use common sense if you are already sick.
If you are sick, please use good common sense to prevent the spread of germs that may make others sick. If you have a cold, the flu or other respiratory illness, don’t visit patients in hospitals or nursing homes. In fact, the best precaution is to just stay home and avoid any one who could catch what you have.
Healthy Outlook is a periodic column researched and prepared by physicians, nurses or other health care professionals associated with CMH Regional Health System/Clinton Memorial Hospital. Healthy Outlook includes information from several resources, including the writer's professional experience. Additional sources for this particular column included the American Academy of Dermatology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Greater Cincinnati Health Council.
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