Introduction
Winter is here! With the change in weather comes the risk of various diseases like asthma, cold, cough, lung infections, chest congestion and other communicable diseases. One of the main reasons that may be attributed to this is the fact that common hygiene practices tend to get ignored during this season. It is therefore important to take necessary precautions to protect your family from falling ill.
In this post, we are helping you with some tips for winter hygiene you should keep in mind. Follow these easy and effective hygiene tips to stay healthy will the time the weather becomes pleasant again.
Best Tips to Have A Supercharged Healthy Winter
Ventilate the rooms
As the biting cold kicks off, you may feel the need to keep the doors and windows closed and shut yourself in a closed cosy room. However, did you know that if a room is constantly closed, there is a higher chance that microbes will live and breed inside. Germs and bacteria tend to actively multiply in warm and damp areas and a closed room means there is no fresh air and sunlight circulating, leading to it getting filled up with stale and unhealthy air. Make sure that you leave your windows and doors open for a few minutes daily. This helps circulate clean air into the room, and helps to get rid of harmful organisms, bad odours, dust and mould. Also, it lets in sunlight that is believed to be a natural way to fight infections and reduces your chances of suffering from asthma, allergies, cold and cough.
Wash your hands regularly
Winters can be extremely brutal on your hands. The main reason for winter’s wrath on hands: Lack of moisture. It can make them increasingly prone to redness, cracking, dryness, and extremely sensitive. The cold, dry air can also make your hands more prone to illnesses like laryngitis, dermatitis, colds and flu. Regular and proper hand washing is your best defence against viruses and bacteria that can make you sick during the winter season. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water regularly to prevent the spread of germs. Make sure to wash your hands before and after a meal, after using the washroom or touching animals or pets. It is also important that you do not touch your face with unwashed hands, as germs transferred from your hands to your face can cause infections.
Clean your heater
Whatever type of heater you use, whether electric or otherwise, it must be cleaned on a regular basis as it attracts dust and dirt. So, try to clean it regularly by wiping it with a soft cloth to avoid the spread of allergens that can cause chest infections and asthma. If the heater has been stored away during summer, your heater is most probably filled with lots of dust. Use a soft microfibre cloth to clear the heater from accumulated dust heater.
Place your mattress in the sun
If it’s a warm, sunny day, place your mattress outside in the sun. Doing so will get rid of germs and allergens and reduce the risk of mould or fungi growing. Just remember, apart from the dust that settles on your mattress from the air, other unpleasant stuff such as sweat, dead skin cells that you shed, and other bodily fluids, also lurk beneath your sheets. So, airing out the mattress and changing your bedding often is vital.
Get some sun
During winters, it may be tempting to stay curled up in your blanket all day, but getting enough sunlight is essential. Sunlight provides the body with essential vitamin D, which is one of the most important components for over 1000 chemical processes that take place in the body. Additionally, it helps certain wounds heal faster, boosts immunity, and keeps common winter diseases at bay. Make sure to get at least twenty minutes of early morning sun.
Take a bath regularly
The chilly mornings can probably make you want to skip showering. However, regular bathing with lukewarm water during winters not only removes the grime, sweat and dead skin cells that accumulate on your body, but also prevents you from contracting a bacterial or fungal infection. Make sure that you wash your hair regularly. Winter’s dry, cold temperature can negatively affect your hair. Dryness in the air can draw out all the moisture from your scalp and cause dandruff. So regularly wash your hair to get rid of flaking as well as an itchy scalp.
Final Thoughts
All the above tips can make sure you sail happily through the winters! Along with with the above tips, consume immunity-boosting foods and incorporate an active lifestyle to help your body ward off colds, coughs and other communicable diseases.
