How to stay healthy in dry season

No doubt at this dry season there is scorching hot weather, warm or even hot night, dry, dusty air and absence of rainfall are some of the signs of the dry weather this time of the year.

In some part of the country, the weather could be as intense as biting one’s skin, hypothetically, to cause immeasurable discomfort when one is exposed to it.

However, it is worthy for people to note that there are some side effects of excessive exposure to hot weather, including increasing the risk of developing skin cancer, freckles, which are small light brown patches on the skin, mottled pigmentation, sallowness, which is the yellow discolouration of the skin, telangiectasia, which is a condition in which widened tiny blood vessels cause threadlike red lines or patterns on the skin and wrinkles.

Medical experts have advised that people should avoid exposure to hot weather rather take enough water and ensure the water is well treated protected to avoid contaminated water, as this would cause cholera, diarrhea among others.

Taking enough water should help to avoid dehydration in the body and signs of dehydration include yellow urine, headache, muscle cramps, fatigue, less urination, light-headedness and constipation.

Consultant Virologist at College of Medicine Idi-Araba, Lagos, Prof. Sunday Aremu Omilabu, said during this dry season the commonest sickness include cough, sneezing as people are advised to avoid exposing themselves to dusts.

Omilabu noted when people are exposed to the hot weather, it is certain they would sweat and be dehydrated. Drinking a lot of water helps to ensure the skin has enough fluid to replace the quantity lost as sweat and the needed to get rid of the toxins in the body.

He also recommended that people should take at least four litres of water daily in normal circumstances. But this hot season, people are advised to take more because it keeps the skin soft, helps the kidneys to function and lubricates joints and muscles, thereby reducing the likelihood of fatigue.

Omilabu said: “For instance, nobody should drink less than four litres of water a day. Anybody who takes less than that is not taking enough water and that is not good for the body in a hot season like this.”

“Even though people are advised to, as much as possible, to limit their exposure to the hot weather this season, there is always compelling need for people to enter the hot whether due to job demands or emergency situations. And findings showed that the hot weather is usually intense between 10 am and 4 pm.

Omilabu explained that it would be better for people to wear protective clothing, like long-sleeved shirts, sweaters, and hats that are broad wide, so as to protect the face, scalp and ears from the hot weather. This would help to keep their skin fresh and avoid irritation and wrinkles, especially for the children because they have low immunity to reckon with.

He also explained that people should avoid going out early in the morning whether they drive or walk but make sure it is dawn before going to places of work.

“It is important for people to remain in a shade as much as possible, especially during the peak hours of the hot weather, to minimise exposure and the tendency to the sweat”.

Omilabu explained people should avoid bush burning as this attract rodents to enter homes for protection and live with humans and deposit excreta on floors, tables, beds and foods which causes Lassa fever, but maintain clean environments

“The foods that are been contaminated by the rodents include, garri, yam, rice, beans among others and people should cover their foods properly, avoid taking soaked garri not well covered. The rodents while feeding on the foods defecate and urinate on the foods, which is not good for human consumption. So, people should not eat foods with out worming them properly.”

“People should clean their houses very well to avoid dust in our homes to avoid infection from the dusts.”