2023-07-18 22:28:10
The National Weather Service expects low temperatures to continue through Friday (Getty)
This Tuesday became the coldest day so far this year, with temperatures that hit 0 degrees in the city of Buenos Aires.
While the temperature ranking of 7 in the morning published by the National Meteorological Service located 34 locations with thermal marks below zero, and was headed by Esquel, in the province of Chubut, with -9.1 degrees.
And although it is estimated that the polar wave will persist for only three days -until Friday, when the entry of the north wind raises the minimum temperature to 13 degrees- specialists recommend a series of basic care that must be taken into account to avoid getting sick .
Low temperatures hit the City since the beginning of the week (Télam)
To begin with, Infobae consulted the pulmonologist Oscar Rizzo (MN 50,535), head of the Emergencies of the María Ferrer Hospital and member of the Argentine Association of Respiratory Medicine regarding whether low temperatures put respiratory health at risk.
“The cold produces reactions in the body, which help viruses to enter more easily,” he began to explain. Respiratory cells have cilia, a kind of villi that move in coordination to drag viruses and bacteria from the nose to the outside or from the mouth to the stomach, and the cold produces certain brakes on the movement of these local defense mechanisms at the of the nose and throat and makes those ‘hairs’ work less coordinated and it is easier for pathogens to overcome that first barrier”.
In addition, “low temperatures lead to less ventilation in the environments, so that in the presence of many people in the same room, they will share the same air contaminated with the particles that are eliminated when breathing in the form of microdroplets,” said the specialist. regarding the two main differences with respect to the warmer seasons of the year, which lead to people contracting more respiratory diseases in autumn and winter.
Poorly ventilated environments become a breeding ground for viruses and bacteria (Getty)
And although he acknowledged that “some viruses are seasonal and circulate more during the cold months,” he insisted that it is not the low temperatures themselves that cause illness. “Viruses need a host, they do not proliferate if they do not find the conditions that allow them to do so, and the truth is that in winter 2021, when many of the care measures for COVID-19 were still in place, we saw many fewer cases of infections. by other respiratory viruses,” he emphasized.
“What we are seeing in the guards are respiratory infections of the upper airways; Viral pictures that are self-limited and are not serious for the most part, but in people with pre-existing diseases they can generate severe infections”, Rizzo remarked.
Opening the windows regularly is a way to improve the air that is breathed in the house (DPA)
In this context, the Ministry of Health of the Nation recommended avoiding prolonged exposure to cold outdoors, sheltering with many layers of light clothing, generating more body heat through movement (walking, getting up and sitting down, moving the extremities, etc. .), keep the house safely heated and avoid sudden changes in temperature, as they can cause diseases of the respiratory system.
In turn, Rizzo advised:
1- Keep the vaccines included in the National Vaccination Calendar up to date, especially at this time those that protect once morest the flu and pneumonia, in the age and risk groups that have a medical indication.
2- Ventilate the environments. “Taking into account that other viruses that do not have vaccines are circulating at this time, maintaining this habit adopted in the pandemic is a good practice to prevent diseases,” suggested the pulmonologist.
3- Use a chinstrap “when you necessarily have to be with a lot of people in poorly ventilated environments, such as public transport, especially people who are part of risk groups.”
People who are part of the risk groups for respiratory diseases must have the vaccines of the National Vaccination Calendar (Efe) up to date.
4- The family group living with people at risk should also be vaccinated.
5- Wash your hands, with soap and water if you have the possibility or sanitize with alcohol gel or 70% alcohol. “It is another of the respiratory disease prevention measures adopted in the pandemic that should not be abandoned,” according to Rizzo.
Likewise, the specialist called to “be vigilant in the presence of respiratory symptoms in children under six years of age, who are the ones who usually bring many viral infections home and infect older adults.”
Although most respiratory infections are self-limiting, in some cases it is advisable to consult a doctor (Getty)
The head of the Pulmonology Division of the Hospital de Clínicas, Ana Putruele (MN 55,966) stated at this point that “at this time of year there is a significant increase in respiratory diseases. Fever, chills, sore throat and cough may occur, which are the result of the immune system reacting to invading organisms.
According to pulmonology, “cough is an indicator that something is not right, it can be a dry cough or cough with phlegm or expectoration that, when it is yellowish in color, indicates some type of infection. Another alarm symptom is presenting wheezing and pressure in the chest, fatigue or difficulty breathing, “said the expert, who expanded:” It is what is called dyspnea. Sneezing, fever and headache are also part of the main indicators of a respiratory illness. Consultation with a specialist as soon as the symptoms begin is very important.
Although Rizzo insisted that most viral symptoms are self-limiting, that is, they resolve without medical intervention, he pointed out that “it is a reason for consultation if the initial conditions of the symptoms change, that is, the fever does not go down, in addition to coughing expectoration, the patient becomes fatigued and does not give way, and in older people an alarm symptom is if they become disoriented or lose sphincter control”.
Keep reading
Respiratory viruses in winter: how to prevent illnesses in children and when to see a doctor Alert for respiratory diseases: can COVID cases rise amid the wave of flu and RSV? Four experts explain how to protect yourself from respiratory viruses that circulate in autumn and winter
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