COLD WINTER WEATHER CAN AGE US EVERY YEAR...
HERE’S WHAT WE CAN—AND SHOULD—DO ABOUT IT

Ol’ man winter is about 60 days away.  Is it too early to be thinking about it and preparing?  The answer, of course, is No!, it’s not too early.  Ask the good people of Colorado.  Twenty inches of snow have already fallen there this fall.

Before we know it, even well before the precise moment of the winter solstice—1:35 PM, Wednesday, December 21,—cold, dry air will be covering the northern areas of the country, and will be creeping south.

Winter in the north can be a wonderland, but it can also be dangerous.  It’s a time when mortality rates rise. In most northern countries, death rates peak this time of year.  Heart attacks and other serious cardiac problems are more common in winter.  There’s flu to contend with, too.  So, to stay healthy, you should stay warm and vaccinated.

But don’t for a moment think that southern winters don’t age you, too…you’ll be mistaken!

Here’s a rundown of some winter-related dangers:

Winter can play havoc with your skin. A lessening of humidity causes the skin to lose moisture and become abnormally dry. Wearing additional layers of clothes will also have this effect by preventing the skin’s ability to breathe properly. This scenario causes the skin to become drier as the winter season progresses. Keeping the skin moisturized all year round is very important, but becomes even more so during the winter months. Therefore, using a good moisturizer on a daily basis is a must…not only on the face and neck but all over.

Showering and bathing have a tendency to dry the skin. This causes the natural oils secreted by the skin to be depleted. These oils need to be protected and restored. Here’s an excellent method.  Keep a bottle of moisturizing body lotion with nutrients (one with an Aloe Vera base) near your bathtub or shower, and just follow this procedure for best results:

1. After showering or bathing, do not completely towel dry. Sponge or pat dry to remove the excess water, leaving the skin slightly damp. 

2. Next, apply the moisturizing lotion to the entire body by placing a little in your hand and spreading over one area at a time.

3. When the entire body is covered with the body lotion, use your towel to pat dry, but do not rub, as that will remove the lotion you have applied. A slight film of lotion can be left on.

4. After applying the lotion, you may still feel a little damp. However, that feeling will pass within a few minutes as the air dries you.

Using the above simple procedure plus the daily use of a good moisturizer on the face and neck will keep the skin soft, supple and naturally moisturized. Itching and dryness will be greatly lessened or completely gone.

Another important part of winter skin-care is keeping the whole body hydrated. Drink approximately 64 ounces or more of water daily. Not only does this help hydrate your skin to prevent dryness and itching, but there are other health benefits too numerous to mention here. (You’ve probably heard those dozens of times anyway…). Limit the amount of caffeine and alcohol you intake; these act as diuretics releasing fluid from the body.

Using a moisturizer is important, but so is having the proper sun protection. If you’re out in the snow, especially at high altitudes UV rays are reflected and, in fact, magnified, so you’ll need as much protection as if you were at the beach at high noon in the summer.

It’s also a good idea to exfoliate once a week to get rid of flaky skin. Use a type of scrub that’s good for your skin  (OLEDA CELL-abration Formula IV, good for all skin types) – and always remember to be gentle.

With the heat on and the windows closed, the air inside can become very dry in the winter.  Use a humidifier to place moisture in the air. If you don’t want to invest in an expensive humidifying system, smaller, relatively inexpensive humidifiers can be obtained at a local drug store. Placing two or three of these around your home will help to humidify the dry air. This can keep skin from drying and becoming cracked and itchy.

Snow blindness (photokeratitis) is sunburn damage to the cornea of the eye caused by UV radiation. This painful condition can be associated with temporary vision loss for up to 48 hours. It is thought that UV exposure may contribute to other eye conditions including cataracts, pterygium and age-related macular degeneration. Suggestions on protecting your eyes include:

• Wear wraparound sunglasses or goggles. Aim for a snug fit, so that sunlight can't shine over the top or sides of your eyewear.

• Yellow or brown tinted lenses are more effective at counteracting the 'blue' glare on snow.

• Sunglasses and goggles can be fitted with prescription lenses, if necessary. See your optometrist for more information.

• Brimmed hats can block at least half of UV radiation from reaching the eyes.

Watch out! Winter is bad for the heart. In some countries, the incidence of heart disease and strokes can be 70% higher in winter than summer.

Cold weather is the most likely reason.  Blood pressure increases when you get cold because your blood vessels constrict to retain body heat.  Higher blood pressure puts more strain on the heart.  The danger of the cold is more acute in people who already have high blood pressure, probably because, in them, it is more easily pushed to dangerous levels.  Chilly temperatures also affect the blood itself, increasing fibrinogen levels and the concentration of other clotting factors.

But, cold weather might not be the only reason for winter heart problems.  Heart attacks peak in winter in places that are not so cold as well.  For example, the phenomenon is true in Los Angeles, where what passes for winter resembles spring in other places. Why?

A cluster of brain cells regulates the secretion of hormones such as cortisol, melatonin, and vasopressin—all of which can affect the heart.  Those cells also process signals from the optic nerve.  So, according to one theory, the short days and long nights of winter threaten the heart because a light-deprived part of the brain throws hormone levels out of whack.

Another explanation for winter’s increase in heart-related troubles is our holiday eating, drinking, and partying.  Studies show the winter spike in heart attacks strikes near the holidays.

So what should you do? Even if there are other factors at work, it’s clear that cold weather is one.  So bundle up, and keep your house and car toasty.  As for those short days, bright lights help with happiness during the winter.  Maybe they keep hearts healthier, too.

Winter is the peak season for flu.  In colder climes, the respiratory viruses spread more easily because people are inside and in closer contact.  But flu experts think that there may be something about winter—cooler air, less daylight—that  spurs the viruses to replicate after lying dormant in animals during the off-season.

Flu infections are blamed for about 36,000 deaths in the United States every year.  Now there’s some evidence that flu is also partly responsible for the winter surge in heart attacks and stroke.  A flu infection can increase blood pressure, stir up white blood cell activity, and change C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels in the blood.  All are bad news for your heart.  Several studies have shown that flu shots seem to cut heart attack and stroke risk in half.

Winter puts many people in a gloomy state of mind.  But for a small percentage of Americans, the winter blues are worse than that.  They tumble into full-fledged, clinical depression, which 20 years ago was recognized and named seasonal affective disorder (SAD) by psychiatrists.  One theory says people are afflicted with it because their light-sensitive biological clocks don’t adjust to winter darkness.  But there may also be a cultural ingredient:  SAD is relatively uncommon in Iceland and northern Russia, which certainly have many long winter nights.

Chances are great that you don’t suffer from SAD in winter, but you might very well feel a little “down” now and then.  Exposure to bright light helps lift the mood, but don’t underestimate the power of just getting outside.  One study found that walking for an hour in sunlight was as effective as 2 ½ hours of artificial light.

Every year northern emergency rooms fill up with people who are having heart attacks or who broke a bone while shoveling snow.  Arm exercise, especially when you are upright and lifting, puts a terrific strain on your heart.  In controlled experiments, just two minutes of heaving snow speeds up the heart so it’s beating above the upper limit recommended for safe aerobic exercise (85% of its maximum speed). There is always a sudden increase in cardiovascular mortality after blizzards.  Unless you’re young and in shape, safe snow shoveling may mean no snow shoveling.

Vitamin D is generated by sunlight hitting the skin, so levels of this vitamin dip in the winter among people living in the northern latitudes.  The vitamin’s main role is to keep bones healthy by signaling your intestines to absorb more calcium into the bloodstream.  Some epidemiological studies have found that people with high vitamin D levels have low rates of heart attack and heart failure, but, whether that’s true or not, you should keep up your vitamin D intake anyway for the sake of your bones.  Recommended Adequate Intake (AI) is 200 IU up to age 50, over that, 400 IU.  You could make up a winter shortfall of Vitamin D with a multivitamin (OLEDA Age Enhancer Vitamin contains 233 IU per dose) and food sources, the best of which are fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, fortified dairy products and breakfast cereals.

About 600 Americans die each year from hypothermia—a core body temperature below 95º F.  When the body gets that cold, the heart beats irregularly and the kidneys start to fail.  Brain function also starts to deteriorate, so you can’t think clearly and may not realize the danger you’re in.  Older people are especially susceptible because with age, the body doesn’t adjust as well to cold weather.  Cases may occur even in relatively mild weather.  Wet clothing is a common cause because it wicks away body heat instead of holding it in.  Alcohol is frequently involved, too.  Besides impairing judgment, alcohol opens up (dilates) blood vessels beneath the skin, which creates a misleading sensation of warmth even as body heat escapes.  Anyone with hypothermia needs immediate medical attention.  Remove any wet clothing and warm the center of the body—the chest, head, neck, and groin.  if the person is conscious and alert, then tea, coffee, and most other warm liquid will help, but alcohol won’t—despite all those images of brandy-bearing St. Bernards.

When your body gets chilled, it reacts by constricting blood vessels near the skin to prevent heat loss.  Your hands, feet, ears, and nose may pay dearly for this energy conservation because it makes them more vulnerable to frostbite.

Frostnip is when the skin becomes red and swollen, but never completely numb.  It hurts, but if you gradually warm up, there’s no lasting damage.  With frostbite, ice crystals may form in and between cells.  Some cells die from it.  Low blood flow may kill others.

Mild cases of frostbite can be treated with rewarming, which may hurt.  Start with cool or lukewarm water.  If the affected area is large or the freezing seems to have penetrated muscles and tendons, then professional medical attention is needed.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless but highly toxic gas produced by the combustion of kerosene, natural gas, oil, wood, and pretty much anything else.  We’re in greater danger from CO in winter because that’s when we’re burning for heat in enclosed spaces.  About 500 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning each year.  Many more may feel sick during the winter because of low-level exposure they may not be aware of.

The most important preventive measure is keeping your furnace well maintained so that the fumes are properly vented outdoors.  You can purchase a carbon monoxide detector for under $40.

If you can’t flee southward with the “snowbirds” this winter, nothing suggested here can change the wintry truth.  However, by taking a few basic—and fairly simple—steps, you can go a long way to ensuring that you avoid the worst of winter’s woes.