By Rameck Hunt, MD
Winter is here, and as the thermometer drops and snow falls, the risk for illness and injury rises.
However, there are certain steps you can take to stay healthy and avoid the hazards of cold and ice.
Keep Your Resolutions to Eat Better and Exercise More
When it comes to eating a healthy diet in winter — and all year long — think Mediterranean.
A Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats and high in lean proteins, like fish and seafood. Sugar and other carbohydrates are kept to a minimum. Following a Mediterranean diet can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk for diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Regular exercise is also key to maintaining your overall health, but it can be hard to motivate yourself when it’s cold and gray. When it’s too cold to go outside, consider home workout routines, which can be found online and on various apps.
If you enjoy outdoor exercise even in winter, take some precautions. Warm up indoors, wear reflective gear and be mindful of icy conditions.
Protect Yourself from Seasonal Illnesses
Cases of influenza, RSV and other respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, tend to increase in the winter.
You can protect yourself by getting vaccinated. If you have not been vaccinated yet this season, it’s not too late. Flu season is long and getting the vaccine now still has benefits. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are up to date on your flu shot and other vaccines.
In addition to getting vaccinated, be sure to:
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water.
- Avoid touching your face, eyes and nose.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home if you are sick.
Shovel Safely
Shoveling your sidewalk or driveway may seem like a simple chore, but the activity carries health risks, especially for those not used to intense physical activity or with underlying heart conditions, like high blood pressure and heart disease.
Cold temperatures put extra strain on the heart and, when combined with the strenuous physical activity of shoveling snow, it can increase the chance of a heart attack.
That same strenuous physical activity can also strain back muscles that aren’t used to it, which increases the chance of throwing out your back while shoveling.
To avoid these shoveling maladies, it’s important to stretch and perform some light warm-up activities before starting.
Once you start, make sure to take your time and go slowly. Pushing snow rather than lifting it is easier on your body. If you must lift, lift smaller shovelfuls. Remember to lift with your knees, not your back, to avoid injury.
Most importantly, know the signs of a heart attack so you can recognize them quickly, including:
- Chest discomfort that feels like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain, which may last for a few minutes or come and go.
- Pain or discomfort in the upper body, including in the arms (one or both), back, neck, jaw and stomach.
- Shortness of breath, occurring with or without accompanying chest pressure.
- Breaking out in a cold sweat.
- Nausea.
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat.
- Feeling unusually tired.
- Feeling lightheaded.
If you experience symptoms of a heart attack, call 9-1-1 and get emergency medical care.
Stay on Your Feet
Once temperatures dip into the 30s, ice can form on walkways and streets, even in places that don’t seem obvious.
To reduce your risk of falling, treat your walkways with rock salt or another de-icing compound. Spreading sand on walkways can also help with traction underfoot.
If you encounter an unavoidable icy path while walking, take small, careful steps. Keep your arms and hands free to maintain your balance and wear proper footwear.
Wear Warm, Lightweight, Loose-fitting Layers
Whether shoveling, engaging in outdoor activities, or simply enjoying a stroll through a winter wonderland, it’s important to dress appropriately for cold weather.
It’s best to wear warm, lightweight, loose-fitting layers so that you can add or remove layers as needed to stay at the right level of warmth. Cover any exposed skin, including your ears, face, and neck.
Take care not to dress so warmly that you begin to sweat. Sweating cools the body fast and can increase the risk of hypothermia.
Even when dressed properly, hypothermia and frostbite are still possible so it’s important to know the signs.
Hypothermia is a condition caused by an unusually low body temperature. Signs in adults include:
- Shivering
- Exhaustion or feeling very tired
- Confusion
- Fumbling hands
- Memory loss
- Slurred speech
- Drowsiness
In babies, bright red, cold skin and very low energy can signal hypothermia.
Frostbite causes the loss of color and feeling around the fingers, face, and toes. Signs include:
- Redness and pain in any skin area, which may signal the beginning of frostbite.
- White or grayish-yellow skin.
- Unusually firm or waxy skin.
- Numbness.
Frostbite and hypothermia may occur together. If you experience signs of either, seek emergency medical care.
Know the Risk
Certain groups of people are more vulnerable to the unique health dangers of cold weather, including:
- Newborns. Newborns lose body heat more quickly than adults and cannot create adequate body heat by shivering like an adult.
- Older adults. Older adults do not make as much body heat as younger adults due to slower metabolisms and reduced physical activity.
- People with chronic illnesses.
- People who work outdoors.
- The unhoused. People who are unhoused are especially susceptible to cold weather illnesses since they may lack the proper clothing or shelter to escape the cold.
Be sure to check in on people who are vulnerable and take care of yourself as well.
Winter doesn’t have to mean hibernation. By eating healthy, exercising safely, dressing appropriately and taking other precautions, you can protect your health and make the most of the season.
Rameck Hunt, MD, is board certified in internal medicine. He is a member of the medical staff at Penn Medicine Princeton Health and medical director of the Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center Weight Management Program.
