Family Health
Keeping Warm - Inside and Outside the Home
By
Feb 6, 2007 - 11:31:38 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com).. With the frigid winter weather finally here, Visiting Nurse Regional Health Care System (VNR) urges individuals of all ages to take proper precautions to stay safe and warm. Simple mistakes can lead to potentially dangerous, life-threatening conditions. (Maxine Hochhauser, President & CEO of Visiting Nurse Regional Health Care System )


“The extreme cold can pose major health hazards for all of us, even the young and healthy,” said Maxine Hochhauser, President & CEO of VNR. “Whether it’s dressing appropriately, understanding how to heat your home, or who to call in an emergency, simply being prepared is the ultimate key to staying healthy in Arctic-like temperatures.”

As a leading provider of home health care services in the New York metropolitan are, VNR offers the following important advice to ensure that all stay warm and safe this winter:

Keeping Warm In The Home -- Safely

Never use your oven to heat your house. Oven heat dries out your skin, your nose and mouth. Gases from the stove can cause headaches and can even be fatal.

Seal up drafty windows by hanging drapes or covering them with plastic. These two measures can help reduce drafts and increase the temperature of your home.

Protect against house fires. Keep curtains away from heaters. Be sure that extension cords are in good condition and are also kept safely away from heaters. Keep a fire extinguisher in the house at all times.

Your body temperature drops at night. Consider wearing long underwear and socks to bed. Use flannel sheets or extra blankets.

Be sure your space heater is in a spot where it can’t tip over. Make sure it is out of the pathway from bed to bathroom.

Keeping Warm Outside

In cold weather, wear layers (wool is best) and keep your head covered.

If you have a respiratory disease like asthma or emphysema, keep your mouth and nose covered.

Ask your doctor or nurse about possible side-effects of your prescription medications. Certain medicines affect your body temperature.

Avoid alcohol. Drinking alcohol will actually lead to a decrease in body temperature.

Keep your baby warm. Babies get cold very easily. Dress a baby as you would yourself plus one item. Always cover the baby’s head. visit www.vnrhcs.org.

www.HealthNewsDigest.com


© Copyright by HealthNewsDigest.com