Healthy Environment
Health in Cold Weather
Immunity and warmth through the cold months.
North Indian winters are cold enough to matter, and the health risks are mostly indirect - which is exactly why they catch people out.
What actually happens in winter
Heart attacks and strokes rise in cold weather; cold constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. Asthma and COPD worsen, partly from cold air and partly because winter is when air pollution peaks in much of the north. Respiratory infections spread more, largely because people gather indoors with the windows shut. And joints stiffen and hurt more.
Practical measures
Layers rather than one thick garment, covering the head and extremities where most heat is lost. Keep moving - activity generates heat and keeps joints comfortable. Keep taking blood pressure medication as prescribed; this is exactly the season not to skip it.
People often drink far less water in winter because they do not feel thirsty. Dehydration is common and easily missed.
The winter danger in India is rarely the cold itself. It is the coal brazier lit in a sealed room to escape it.
A serious warning
Carbon monoxide poisoning from angithis, braziers and unvented gas heaters used in closed rooms kills people in India every winter. It is odourless and it kills while people sleep. Never burn anything for heat in an unventilated room. Symptoms - headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion in several people at once - mean get everyone into fresh air immediately and call for help.
Worth having
Picked to go with what you have just read. We only list ordinary, widely available things.