Yellow alert for severe cold: Five recommendations to take care of your health in the face of the Arctic wave

This Tuesday turned out to be the coldest day so far this year, with temperatures near zero degrees in the city of Buenos Aires.

While a ranking of 7 a.m. temperatures published by the National Weather Service identified 34 locations with heat marks below zero, Esquel, in Chubut Province, headed it with -9.1 degrees.

Although it is estimated that polar wave It only lasts for three days – until Friday, when the entry of the north wind raises the minimum temperature to 13 degrees – the specialists recommend a series of basic care to be observed Avoid getting sick.

for a start, infobae Consult a pulmonologist Oscar Rizzo (50,535 MN), chief of emergency department at Maria Ferrer Hospital and member of the Argentine Society of Respiratory Medicine, on whether low temperatures put respiratory health at risk.

“cold It produces reactions in the organism, which helps viruses to enter more easily – he began to explain. the respiratory cells They have cilia, which are a kind of villi that move in coordination to pull viruses and bacteria from the nose to the outside or from the mouth to the stomach, and the cold produces certain brakes on the movement of these local defense mechanisms at the level of the nose and throat, which makes the work of these hairs less coordinated and makes it easier for pathogens to overcome the first barrier.

In addition, “lower temperatures result in less ventilation in environments, so that in the presence of many people in the same room, they will share the same air contaminated with particles that are eliminated when breathing in the form of small droplets,” the specialist said regarding the two main differences regarding the warmer seasons of the year, which lead to people contracting more in the fall and winter. respiratory system diseases.

And while he acknowledged that “some viruses are seasonal and spread more during the colder months,” he insisted that it was not the low temperatures that caused the disease. “Viruses need a hostThey do not reproduce if they do not find conditions that allow it, and the fact is that in the winter of 2021, when many care measures for COVID-19 continued to be maintained, we saw fewer cases of infection with other respiratory viruses, “he emphasized.

“What we see in Watchmen is Respiratory infections Of the upper airways, Rizzo notes, viral images are self-limiting and mostly not dangerous, but in people with pre-existing diseases they can generate severe infection.

In this context, who Ministry of health of the nation They recommended avoiding prolonged exposure to the cold outside, wrapping in several layers of light clothing, generating more body heat through movement (walking, getting up and sitting down, moving limbs, etc.), keeping the house safely warm, and avoiding sudden changes in temperature, as they can cause respiratory diseases.

In turn, Rizzo advised:

1- Keep vaccinations up to date Included in the national calendar of vaccinations, especially at this time those that protect against influenza and pneumonia, in age and risk groups that have a medical indication.

2- Ventilate the environments. The pulmonologist suggested that “considering that other non-vaccinated viruses are circulating at this time, maintaining this approved habit in an epidemic is a good disease prevention practice.”

3- Use a chin strap “When you necessarily have to be with a lot of people in poorly ventilated environments, like on public transportation, especially people who are high-risk groups.”

4- Vaccination of the family group as well coexistence of people at risk.

5- Wash your hands, with soap and water if you have the possibility or disinfect yourself with alcohol gel or 70% alcohol. According to Rizzo, “It is another respiratory disease prevention measure adopted in an epidemic that should not be abandoned.”

Likewise, the specialist called for “vigilance in the event of respiratory symptoms in children under the age of six, who usually bring many viral infections home and infect the elderly.”

Head of the Department of Pulmonology at Hospital de Clinicas, Anna Petroli (MN 55,966) emphasized the point that “at this time of year there Significant increase in respiratory diseases. Fever, chills, sore throat, and cough may occur, as a result of the immune system’s reaction to the invading organisms.

According to Pulmonology, “A cough is an indication that something isn’t right. It can be a dry cough or a cough with phlegm or expectoration. When it is yellow in color, it indicates some kind of infection. Another alert symptom is wheezing, chest pressure, tiredness, or difficulty breathing.” Sneezing, fever and headache are also part of the main indicators of respiratory diseases. Consultation with a specialist as soon as symptoms appear is very important.

Although Rizzo insisted that most viral symptoms are self-healing, that is, they resolve without medical intervention, he noted that ” Reason for consultation If the initial conditions of the picture change, that is, the fever does not decrease, in addition to the cough, sputum appears, and the patient becomes tired and does not give way, and in the case of the elderly, the warning symptoms are if they become disoriented or lose control of the sphincter muscle.

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