5 Common Winter Season Diseases to Watch Out & Simple Safety Tips

Winter is coming around the corner, and welcoming white snow and smoke-warm meals is so exciting. However, cold winter is also a good time for winter season diseases. A sudden drop in temperature could cause some health issues, such as arthritis and heart ailments. Therefore, read the article carefully to overcome harsh winter safely.

Common diseases in winter season

Common Winter Season Diseases & Tips to Prevent Them

In winter, the temperature drops quickly and suddenly, along with biting winds. It makes people tremble with cold and get sick. Below are common seasonal winter diseases and their prevention.

Common Cold

Common cold

As its name suggests, the common cold is a common winter illness whenever the winter is coming. It is considered a part of the changing season. 

Although it is not dangerous to human health, it also brings many troubles to ill people and influences their lungs.

The common cold is a self-limited contagious disease, and many different types of viruses can cause it. That’s also why this disease is medically referred to as a viral upper respiratory tract infection. 

Symptoms

Look at the picture below to see some symptoms of a common cold. 

Note that the symptoms of the illness in adults and children are alike. It is expected to subside in 7-10 days, and luckily, it does not require any serious medical intervention.

Symptoms of a common cold

Up to 80% of colds are caused by rhinovirus. Other viruses include adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and parainfluenza virus.

However, the cold is often misunderstood as the terrible virus Coronavirus. Look at the picture below to distinguish them.

Different symptoms between the common cold and the Coronavirus

Moreover, cold viruses develop constantly. People can not build a resistance system at all. 

Children in preschool and elementary school can have six to 12 colds yearly, while adolescents and adults typically have two to four colds yearly. Therefore, you should try to prevent them.

How to Prevent

• Take a good rest

• Eat well-cooked warm food, not eat or drink cold food

• Wash your hands carefully before eating or preparing foods

• Avoid touching your face because cold viruses can spread disease from your hands to your face

Flu

Flu is one of the winter season diseases

Another common disease in winter season is the Flu. Of course, it is still not a serious health ailment, but you should not ignore it. 

The virus named “influenza” causes this disease and infects the nose, throat, and lungs. A remarkable thing about the flu is that you can spread the flu to each other before you know you are sick. 

Symptoms

In general, symptoms develop from 1 to 5 days or even 7 days before becoming sick. Young children and people with weak immune systems can infect others for a longer time. 

Symptoms of influenza can include:

How to tell if you get a influenza?

Most people recover from the flu after 7-14 days, while weaker people, especially the elderly, can need more time to recover when flu symptoms go away.  

The symptoms of the Flu also have some similarities with those of COVID-19 and the common cold. The picture below can help you recognize the right disease. 

COVID-19 vs. cold vs. flu

How to Prevent

• Avoid close contact: The flu can spread up to 6 feet away, necessitating people to be aware of their surroundings to protect themselves.

• Cover your mouth: When you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth to prevent the spread of the flu.

• Clean your hands: Use soap and water to wash your hands, following the 10 steps. You can also prepare an alcohol-based hand rub. 

• Do exercise every day: Exercising can help strengthen your immunity systems.

Related posts: Winter allergy tips Cold weather tips

Strep Throat

Strep throat

Biting winds in winter can cause problems with the throat, with a sore throat being more common. 

This common winter season illness is not too threatening but it is annoying and intolerable. When sore throat develops and turns into strep throat, it will be worse.

Strep throat is a severe sore throat caused by a bacterial infection. Sick people have a heavier sore throat and fever. This disease can happen to everyone, especially children. 

Symptoms

You or your kid can still spread the illness until the fever goes down and you take antibiotics for at least 12 hours. Therefore, early diagnosis is preferable. Here are a few typical symptoms:

Symptoms of strep throat

How to Prevent

• Call a doctor right away if you feel your illness is getting worse and your symptoms last longer than usual.

• Take a good rest to have a healthy status to overcome the disease 

• Drink warm water or ginger tea to make the throat comfortable

• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and scrub all parts of the hand. 

• Avoid sharing food, drinks, or utensils, as they can spread strep throat bacteria.

Bronchitis

Bronchitis is among the most common winter season diseases

A very low temperature is a good condition for bronchitis development. This illness becomes too common for children or toddlers below the age of 2 years. This Bronchitis is caused by RSV or the respiratory syncytial virus. 

Symptoms

The most typical symptom is a persistent cough lasting three or more weeks. The flu is not contagious, but you must avoid spreading the cold, flu, or other infections that cause bronchitis to different people.

Signs and symptoms of Bronchitis

How to Prevent

• Get enough rest and sleep more

• Drink enough water, especially warm water

• Avoid or limit access to cigarette smoke

• Many cases of acute bronchitis result from influenza, a virus. Therefore, getting a yearly flu vaccine is an excellent way to protect you from the flu. 

• Wash your hands frequently and in 10 steps. You can also create a habit of using alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is one of the most common diseases during winter season caused by bacteria. 

The status of Pneumonia can be mild or severe. You can treat it at home and recover after a few days if it is mild. In contrast, when it becomes more serious, the best way is to find a doctor. 

People with weaker immune systems or health problems such as asthma, heart issues, or even cancer are prone to suffer from pneumonia easily. 

Symptoms

Unfortunately, it is difficult to detect symptoms of pneumonia in the initial stages. However, there are some signs that can be predicted nearly correctly. 

Symptoms of pneumonia

How to Prevent

• Take the flu vaccine annually. People can prevent bacterial pneumonia and reduce the risk of pneumonia through the yearly flu shot.

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for at least 20 seconds.

• Do not smoke.

• Live a healthy lifestyle with good habits, such as exercising daily, eating a nutrient-dense diet full of fruits and vegetables, and getting enough sleep. 

• Avoid access close to sick people.

Cold Weather Safety Tips

Besides the above tips to prevent some seasonal diseases, you should also keep these cold weather safety tips below in your pocket to overcome the harsh winter health and safety challenges. 

Check weather online

Check weather online frequently

Convenient weather apps installed on your phone will help you update weather information hourly. That app can help you answer how to dress for cold weather to avoid getting sick.

You can also access a free online weather website like Goweatherforecast, etc.

Wear layers of clothes

In winter, you should wear proper cold weather outfits. Wearing many layers of clothes is better than wearing a thick one. 

Moreover, warm winter thermal shirts should be made from cotton and linen, which absorb extra humidity. Wool can also retain extra heat. 

As a result, you are better to wear wool clothes with a layer of cotton clothes under them.

How about workout clothes in winter? The advice is similar. You can find more in the previous article “Tips for exercising in cold weather”. 

Drink hot beverage

You should drink hot beverages in winter

In winter, the low-temperature winds blow intensively, and warm or hot beverages will make you feel better. You can drink a cup of hot coffee, tea, or milk. 

Still, drinking alcohol is not a good idea. It may lead to dilated blood vessels in a very cold environment, and you can get a stroke easily. It is so dangerous, even life-threatening.  

Stay dry

Wet or damp clothing not only makes you uncomfortable but can also quickly drop your body temperature. As a result, diseases of winter season can also develop and make you ill. 

Conclusion

This article mentions the top 5 common winter season diseases as well as some tips to prevent them. We hope you read it carefully and overcome the tough winter safely and healthily.