Stay Happy and Healthy Throughout The Winter

Winter is wonderful in many ways. It’s a time to get warm and cosy indoors, enjoying comforting food and spending time with loved ones. It’s a time for scented candles, winter fashion and building snowmen in the garden.

But there are plenty of issues that come along with the cold weather too, here are a few things to bear in mind so you can keep yourself safe.

Illnesses

1. When the weather is cold, we all tend to spend more time indoors which means more people in close proximity. This creates the perfect environment for viruses such as those that cause cold and flu to spread. It’s not the cold at all that causes your symptoms, you feel ill because you’ve contracted a virus and that’s why it tends to be more of a winter thing. You have more people sharing the same space and spreading germs.
2. Be sure to wash your hands regularly, carry antibacterial hand gel in your bag for times that you can’t get to a sink. Be really vigilant, be careful touching your face, particularly your nose and mouth when you’ve been out and about as you introduce germs directly into your body. Just touching a door handle, a shopping trolley or gym equipment for example is all you need to get these viruses onto your hands and then into your body.

Slips and falls

Snow is always magical, a bright white blanket covering everything is always going to look pretty. The trouble is, the snow gets stood on and compacted and then it freezes again causing dangerous slippy patches that can have you sliding around like mad.

For many people, it can be a slip onto the floor and nothing more comes of it- there’s no real injury it just hurts your pride a little. However, if you fall or land funny you could easily break a bone or tear a muscle.

1. If you end up with a head injury this could be really serious. Always wear proper footwear if you’re out in snow or ice, such as boots with a good grip.
2. Try to avoid making unnecessary trips out if you can help it. It only takes a second to end up with quite a nasty injury and spend months recovering, and even longer at physiotherapy afterwards.

Road Traffic Accidents

Just like being out as a pedestrian, being out in your car can pose all kinds of issues over the colder months. While main roads are often gritted, minor and side roads are usually left untouched.

Even a small patch of ice can be enough to lose control of the vehicle- possibly causing you to hit an object, a person or another car. Put good tyres on your car, ensuring they have sufficient tread on them. Leave longer to make your journeys so you’re not rushing, and avoid going out at all if you can help it in really adverse conditions.

As well as slipping and sliding it’s possible for cars to essentially ‘beech’ on snowy roads or end up in muddy ditches due to the bad weather. It’s possible to end up stuck in traffic for hours in the snow. If you are going to venture out, make sure you at least have an emergency kit in your boot, and are signed up to a recovery service just in case.