Why Do We Get Sick More Often in Winter? Doctor Explains & Immunity Tips
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Why do we get sick more often in winter? How to boost immunity? What medications to use if you are already sick? These questions are answered by family doctor Gints Martinsons of the Skrides Sirds clinic in the TV24 program “Doctor Answers.”
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We don’t get sick from the cold itself, but cold is a factor that affects our immunity. Dry, cold air, especially now during the heating season, dries out the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and respiratory tract, making it harder for immune cells living in the mucous membrane to do their job. And accordingly, the viruses that enter our mucous membrane get into other cells, multiply, and spread. This represents how a cold develops.
Cold impairs immune function and constricts blood vessels, increasing the risk of illness,” explains the family doctor, adding that winter is known to be a time when everyone also gathers more indoors, which “helps” the virus find an “address.” What to do? How to protect yourself and what to use if you are already sick? “The best supplement is a healthy diet, hand washing, 7-8 hours of sleep, adequate physical activity, and vitamin D,” Martinsons lists. “It has been proven that vitamin D deficiency is particularly noticeable during the winter months in our latitudes, so it is necessary to take it. It is important to do this during meals, as this vitamin is fat-soluble.”
What does the doctor say about warming up in cold weather with a brandy? “Entering indoors, at home from outside, it can help, but you should definitely not do that (drink brandy) outdoors, in severe frost, as alcohol dilates blood vessels, so we lose more heat. If a person chooses this method of treatment or prevention, it is recommended to do it only indoors,” the doctor states with a smile.
Regarding another viewer’s question, how the family doctor views Tamiflu, which is used to treat the flu, he replies that the medication is quite good, but it is important to start taking it immediately. “Within at least 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. Then this medication is most effective and can reduce the duration of the flu. Tamiflu can also be used as a prophylaxis to avoid getting sick if you have been in contact with a sick person.”
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