How to manage your health in the changing seasons of autumn
Temperature difference of 10 degrees or more… body temperature is out of balance
Keep indoors at 20-22 degrees and humidity at 40-60%.
Taking antihistamines for mild rhinitis and asthma
Gout in the morning… You should cut down on drinking
Cold wind blows and dry, so a moisturizer is essential
The sweltering summer has passed and autumn has come, a good time to be active, but if you neglect your health during this time, you can get sick. As the temperature difference between day and night increases, people get tired easily and the immunity is weakened, so respiratory diseases such as colds and flu are rapidly increasing, and the number of patients with cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction or stroke is increasing. We heard from experts on how to take care of our health in order to safely pass the changing seasons of autumn.
[감기] The most common ailment during the changing seasons is a cold. Most people think that it is easy to catch a cold when it is cold, but in fact, the cold itself is not the direct cause of a cold. If there is a temperature difference of more than 10 degrees or excessive heating, such as in the changing seasons, or if there is a large difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures, the body temperature balance will be disturbed and you will easily catch a cold. When the respiratory mucosa is dry, the ability to defend against viruses, bacteria, and dust decreases. It is recommended to keep the room temperature at 20-22 degrees and humidity at 40-60%.
The quality of sleep also affects the cold. Research has shown that reducing the average amount of sleep per day by 2-8% can increase the risk of catching a cold five times compared to those who get a good night’s sleep. People who are constantly under stress are two to three times more likely to catch a cold. Nutrition, sleep, humidity, temperature, and mental health have a complex effect on colds.
Cho Soo-hyeon, professor of family medicine at Chung-Ang University Hospital, said on the 12th, “To prevent seasonal diseases, personal hygiene such as washing hands and brushing teeth after going out is important. ” he advised. A cold will heal on its own with time, but if it persists for more than 3 weeks, you should visit a hospital to see if there are complications. If you cough for more than 8 weeks, it may not be a simple cold, so you should seek help from a professional medical staff with asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, or tuberculosis in mind.
Se-won Lee, Professor of Pulmonology at Seoul Asan Hospital, said, “If you have symptoms such as a runny nose frequently running down the back of your neck and a cough that gets worse when you lie down, post nasal drip may be the cause of your chronic cough. “We should think about reflux esophagitis, in which stomach acid refluxes into the airways and cough occurs when a person coughs paroxysmal while sleeping,” he said. He also added, “Asthma may be the cause, which may be accompanied by wheezing or shortness of breath.” In this case, taking cough medicine alone will not have any effect.
[비염] If the daily temperature difference increases, allergic rhinitis or asthma may worsen. If symptoms are not severe, take antihistamines for prevention during the changing seasons and adjust.
Professor Kim Kim-young of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Gangnam Severance Hospital said, “When the summer rainy season passes and the autumn enters, various asthma exacerbating factors such as virus infection, indoor allergens such as house dust mites, outdoor allergens such as weeds and grass pollen, and rapid daily temperature change are expected to increase. It is necessary to prepare for this,” he emphasized.
In this winter, there is a high possibility that COVID-19 and influenza (flu) will spread at the same time, so it is better to get vaccinated from October. The COVID-19 vaccine and the influenza vaccine may be administered at the same time without an interval between vaccinations.
[통풍] During the changing seasons, there is also a lot of gout due to the severe daily temperature difference. Gout is a type of metabolic disease and auto-inflammatory disease in which a substance called uric acid is not metabolized properly and accumulates in the body and causes an auto-inflammatory reaction. Song Jeong-soo, professor of rheumatology at Chung-Ang University Hospital, said, “If it is extremely hot during the day and the body temperature drops sharply at dawn, a lot of solid uric acid suddenly occurs, and after eating a lot of alcohol and meat in the evening, a seizure in which unbearable pain occurs at dawn the next day.” “We need to correct bad habits that cause or worsen gout, such as excessive drinking, overeating, and lack of exercise,” he said. Beer is the representative alcohol that gout patients should avoid, but the risk of developing gout increases the more you drink, so it is better not to drink too much of any kind of alcohol.
[심혈관] Acute myocardial infarction or stroke is a disease that increases especially during the changing seasons. In particular, cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death worldwide and the second leading cause of death in Koreans, is one of the most dangerous diseases that come during the changing seasons.
Professor Park Duk-woo of the Department of Cardiology at Asan Medical Center in Seoul said, “Exposure to cold weather increases the burden on the cardiovascular system, such as constricting blood vessels, a sudden rise in blood pressure, and an increase in heart rate. losing,” he explained. Blood pressure drops in summer and rises around this time when cold winds start to blow. People with a family history of arteriosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease should be more careful during the changing seasons.
Professor Park said, “Avoid early morning exercise or mountain climbing that may be exposed to cold winds, wear enough clothes to warm yourself up when going out, and maintain an appropriate indoor temperature.” Avoid going out when your blood pressure is higher than normal.
[피부염] Dry skin can occur in autumn when the cold wind blows and dries out. Continuous exposure to a dry environment worsens the moisture content of the skin, leading to dryness, which leads to itching, dead skin cells, and red, itchy, stinging dermatitis.
Ko Ju-yeon, a professor of dermatology at Hanyang University Hospital, said, “Scratching the skin with itchy skin can cause dermatitis or secondary infection. After washing your face or taking a shower, apply a moisturizer before it dries, and it is better to avoid direct exposure to the cold wind.
[관절염] Arthritis also gets worse during the changing seasons. Although it is not clear why arthritis worsens when the weather gets colder, in general, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients complain of joint pain during the changing seasons.
Choi Chan-beom, a professor of rheumatology at Hanyang University Rheumatology Hospital, said, “When it gets cold, the tissues of our body contract to keep heat from being lost. Professor Choi said, “It may be helpful to keep the body temperature constant by wearing several layers of light clothing, and to raise the body temperature with light stretching when starting an activity in the morning and then moving.”
Reporter Lee Hyun-jung