Heart attack, sinusitis +2 more conditions you must be wary of during winters

Take care of your overall health this winter and lower the risk of flare-ups!

December is here and winter has arrived, along with it comes seasonal flu, colds and other ailments. It is not just cough and cold but other health problems you must be aware of during this season. Winter can put you at risk of skin problems and the respiratory condition is a known fact. But did you know the risk of suffering a heart attack is also high during this season? Dr Narendra Prasad, Consultant Physician, Columbia Asia hospital, Hebbal shares four common conditions in winter you must be well aware of. Here are tips to keep common winter diseases at bay.

Joint pain: Orthopedicians say that in cold weather s, the human body will conserve more heat, and more blood would be circulated to heart and lungs. So when this happens the arms, shoulders, knee joints blood vessels will contract leading to pain. And this is the reason, why joint pain is quite common during winters and the severity also increases with the decrease in temperature.

Psoriasis: The skin problem that worsens with winter is psoriasis. It is during this time fo the season that people suffering from psoriasis experience dry skin, peeling of skin, which further ups the itching and inflammation. The dry weather and cold weather only make the things worse.

Sinusitis: The changing temperature and low immunity put you at risk for various infections. Sinusitis is one of the common conditions that winter puts you at risk as cold weather only hastens the condition. During winter the dry air coupled with increased risk of infections can lead to acute inflammation of the sinuses present in the nasal region. It can also result from infection of other sites of the respiratory tract as the paranasal sinuses are contiguous to, and communicate with, the upper respiratory tract.

Heart attack: Elderly people are more at risk due to drop in body temperature (hypothermia) in the colder months. The heart is affected by increased heart rate and blood pressure, where the heart needs to function harder to keep the body warm. These changes increase the risk of blood clots or thickening of the blood vessels which leads to heart attack and stroke. Here's more on how winter is hurting your heart.

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