Prepare for winter

1996/01/01 Agirre, Jabier - Medikua eta OEEko kidea Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

Prevention of influenza

The flu season has already begun, but if we don't want to be between us until March, it is very important to take steps from today to prevent the disease.

All experts agree that vaccination is essential for both seniors and people with chronic heart, immune or respiratory diseases. In recent times, there is no shortage of people who say that the vaccine is recommended for younger people. Perhaps within this larger group, children have a special place, although the vaccine is never recommended for children under 6. In addition, the vaccine should not be given if the person has a cataract, it is preferable to cure the cataract first and deposit it later.

Learn to know allergic ports

People often mix sneezes caused by allergy with cooling or hoarseness. It is also true that both diseases have common symptoms such as nasal congestion, fatigue or headache. How to know when a picture is and when another? Usually red and "wet with water" eyes indicate an allergic reaction. On the contrary, the aromas caused by the hoarseness disappear in three or five days. Normally, if the problem persists, go to the doctor.

Asthma cases are becoming more and more numerous in recent years. Although it is currently suspected, doctors have associated it with increasingly abundant domestic allergies (dust mites, for example, are microscopic insects that reproduce much at home during the winter). In addition, our houses are increasingly self-sufficient from the energy point of view, so today the air of the house is recycled while replaced by fresh air from the outside. Therefore, allergenic allergens find in our homes an unbeatable environment to enjoy the whole winter season.

How to avoid these allergies? If possible, remove dissected animals and do not store too many old papers at home (newspapers or magazines, for example). When it's time to get back the clothes you've kept at home for a few months, don't forget to wash them before dressing. In fact, these microscopic insects produce allergies, both alive and dead.

Take care of your weight in winter

Experts consider it normal that in winter we increase body weight by two or five kilos, as we perform more relaxed activities and less physical exercise than in summer, and provide more calories. Taking less sunlight increases the tendency to carbohydrates, which we consume in fats and sugars. As we have just spent Christmas, there is no doubt that many times we have possibilities to abuse food.

On the other hand, it is known that in winter the motivation to lose weight is lower than in other times of the year. Studies have confirmed that the person who starts a diet in winter will lose less kilos than the one that will perform in spring or summer.

It is known that it is convenient to do without inadequate habits. Eating snacks during the day is a known method of losing weight, but if at the same time we can't reduce meals, it's over! Therefore, it is recommended to concentrate on the main meals during the winter: meat, salads, fruits, vegetables, especially pumpkin and Brussels sprouts, which give a feeling of satiety. However, it is more important than all this: do not stay in the corner of the house and always look busy and how to act.

Beware of sunrays

There are many people who only care about the sun on the beach and in the pool, but you also have to be attentive in winter: in areas with ice or snow, the sun rays are reflected between 80 and 90%. Although in winter there are fewer harmful ultraviolet rays, the damage produced by the sun accumulates, so the sun will continue to age and punish the skin in winter.

Therefore, in areas with lots of snow (and in our basin these places are mainly found in the Pyrenees), sun protection products should be used as protective factors 10-15.

Strengthening immunity

Eating yogurts often in winter can be very appropriate for our health. Semi-skimmed yogurt has been shown to reduce the risk of catching hoarseness by almost 25%. Live bacteria are thought to strengthen immunity by activating chemicals that face disease. Therefore, in food stores, look at their label for containers that indicate that they contain "active" or "living" crops.

On the other hand, progress is made in the fight against cooling. Recent studies have shown that stress further weakens the immune system, leaving the body in worse condition to the action of cold. Therefore, emotional tensions of a positive nature, or in other words, tension against stress, can contribute to strengthening or strengthening the immune system, as for example, it has been shown that in adults who were watching movies of humor the number of hormones that attack immunity was considerably reduced.

Exercise is also a good tool against winter diseases. A non-demanding exercise program, like two weekly sessions of twenty minutes, is able to destroy viruses and increase the number of cells in the body. In this case it is also convenient to take extreme precautions. Overexercise exhaustion will cause a decrease in the immune system over a period of six hours. And that without taking into account the infectious diseases that can contract in gyms in poor hygienic condition (especially viruses and fungi): always ask for a proper ventilation system and never use soaps or towels of others.

Paying attention to the skin

Winter weather can be an adversary to the skin. However, cold is not the only culprit in the sheet. As dermatologists insist, when the humidity is very low, serious effects can appear, so it is advisable to cool the skin and keep it moist.

Some doctors recommend replacing showers in winter with baths, which improves the degree of skin hydration. It is preferable to avoid deduction of soap or deodorants, as some of these components dry the skin a lot. The best is the pH neutros izares.