The common cold seems to be something we all need to suffer through during the winter season. Everyone is coughing, noses are runny, and throats are scratchy – but we just power through it and hope for better times. While you’re busy fighting off your current cold, you might as well enlighten yourself on the variety of other illnesses you may face during winter.
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It is, after all, not just the common cold you’re at the risk of facing by leaving your warm and safe home in the morning. Here is a handful of the most common health problems we face during the winter so that you have something else to look forward to – as well as a plan on how to avoid them.
#1 Urinary Tract Infections
Women are much more prone to urinary tract infections due to how we’re built, but men can also experience the dreadful feeling of UTI. It’s quite common to get this during the winter as the weather is so cold, we are wearing layers and not hydrating properly.
You can keep it at bay by, first of all, making sure that you’re wearing breathable fabrics on your legs and lower abdomen. Wear cotton or wool underneath your regular pants if it’s quite cold outside and remember to not sit outside on a freezing bench.
Try to keep this in mind when spring arrives, by the way, as we tend to get a bit too over-eager as soon as the sun pops back out. Continue to dress in warmer layers, stay hydrated, keep clean, and you should be able to avoid UTI this season.
#2 Slips and falls
Freezing weather means that things tend to, well, freeze. The mornings are a particular hazard as the ice that melted during the previous day may have frozen to ice overnight – before a nice layer of snow covers it up for you when you’re on your morning commute.
A good way to avoid this is to invest in decent winter boots, first of all, to avoid falling the best you can. Keep your elderly relatives in mind this season as their bones are a bit weaker than yours, by the way, and make sure that you know where the local urgent care clinic is located in your local area in case someone should fall badly.
Slipping and falling is no joke, but even less so when you’re older and your bones are fragile.
#3 Depression
Finally, seasonal depression is perhaps just as widespread as the common cold. The best way to beat these winter blues is to make sure that you get enough sunlight, first of all, and perhaps treat yourself to either a sunlamp or get outside during the day for a walk.
While exercise and a healthy diet is the key to feeling good, sunlight is actually what your brain is craving the most during winter. Try to head out a bit during lunch while the sun is still up, get some fresh air, and focus on taking care of your mental health as well as your physical health.
If you do get sick remember that it could have been worse; a broken bone, a painful urinary tract infection, as well as a heavy seasonal depression all at once, is more than most people can handle.
