Coping with Winter

[Katie Bagshawe]

Now we’ve reached October and the temperature is dropping, I was intrigued to hear peoples experiences or thoughts on how they deal with their health going into the Winter months, and perhaps even from a psychological point of view how you mentally cope with the threat of illness increasing.

Last year in the UK we had a huge epidemic of people being admitted to hospital with chest infections and our main charity British Lung Foundation conducted research that proved a colossal amount of these admissions were due to respiratory disease (I’ll post the links below if you want to read). How do you think we can better manage our health during Winter and what do you do to lower the risk of getting sick?

I’m sure for some of us, perhaps many of us living with lung disease there is anxiety at some level at maintaining our everyday routine during Winter so hopefully if we share our advice or wisdom, we can help each other minimise our fears from controlling our lives.

https://www.blf.org.uk/policy/out-in-the-cold

https://www.blf.org.uk/your-stories/its-time-to-start-talking-about-lung-disease-and-the-ae-winter-crisis

https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/reviews-and-reports/hospitals-failing-to-prepare-for-winter-surge-in-lung-disease/7022447.article

[Charlene Marshall]

Hi Katie,

This is a great topic, and certainly one that I am always interested in hearing from others about!
I’ve written about coping with frigid temperatures a few different times, but I know everyone has different strategies so looking forward to hearing others’ responses 🙂

We also posted this question to our Facebook page, and it is generating some good responses there too!

Thanks for bringing it up 🙂
Cheers,
Charlene.

[Katie Bagshawe]

Thats brilliant that it’s encouraging conversation! Many people I speak to get very afraid at the cooler months because of the threat of illness and I would hate for people to hide away in fear through a good portion of the year.

[Charlene Marshall]

Me too, Katie!
Colds and flus are already starting here unfortunately, and as someone with a lung disease, that is really scary. We can only realistically do our best however to say healthy, including wearing our masks, hand hygiene and actively staying away from those who are ill. Fingers crossed this works!

Take care,
Charlene.

[Kathleen Greco]

Winter can be scary for ppl with lung issues but also don’t dwell on it or it will become the season from hell.Go for walks (just cover mouth with scarf or face mask…gloves…hat & enjoy the clean brisk air…winter can get you out of a place that a lot of germs are confined in….long ago these nurses at hospital said they wish they could open all windows & air out place ..get rid of some germs !! If you intend to shop during winter & are in a place where they have hand rails wear gloves & wash on return home…washing hands anywhere there are a lot of people or hand rails always wash hands..carry soap in little bottle with you …Also great idea use poles from cross country ski’s to push you a little or just to help with balance in slippery area & also not make you so breathless or tired..They work great..Enjoy those beautiful chilly nights with light snow on ground…so refreshing….

[Charlene Marshall]

Hi Kathleen,

I really like your suggestions, and appreciate the time you took to reply so thank you! 🙂
I fear winter due to all the germs/viruses that come with the change in season, but I like the reframe you provided about the cooler air being good to rid these germs. I remember hearing someone say once when I was sick in the winter to open all the windows once I started to feel a bit better. I thought they were nuts because it was so cold out, but it made sense because it would rid a lot of the germs that were caught up inside the house. Sounds like the same idea that the nurses would have liked to do! Wearing gloves, especially on surfaces where germs may live is a good idea and much easier to do in the winter months I agree (can you imagine how silly we’d look doing this in the summer) 🙂

You’re right about so many things in this post Kathleen, thank you for helping me reframe a bit of my dread about the upcoming winter. I appreciate it!
Charlene.

[Josie]

I am wondering if anyone has experienced sudden onset hoarseness when going out in the cold. I started getting a raspy voice in the fall, which they attributed to GERD. I’ve been on PPIs which seem to have really improved the acid reflux symptoms, but the voice problem has been getting much worse, and now very noticeably seems to be triggered by the cold. Every time I go outside, even if just for a minute or less, my voice will suddenly become extremely croaky for hours afterwards. I have no idea if this is the acid reflux still, or whether this is lung related. I do get this raw feeling in my lungs when it happens and my cough gets worse too. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Charlene Marshall]

Hi Josie,

Really interesting, thanks for shedding some light on this topic for us. Unfortunately, I can’t really contribute much as I don’t notice a difference in my voice triggered by the cold, just my pesky cough which I guess is to be expected in frigid weather. My lungs really hurt in the winter, as odd as that sounds, its a pain that is hard to describe but definitely coming from my chest. Sorry you’re experiencing this too! I am hopeful that someone else can offer some advice or thoughts on the hoarseness from the cold you’re experiencing…

Charlene.

[Andrew]

I agree. The cold weather just makes me go very husky, and I sometimes loose my voice entirely. It has been a nice day here today and hopefully spring is on the way.

[Charlene Marshall]

Hi Andrew,

Yes, I completely agree – being outside in the cold is terrible for my lungs, the cough and my voice. I find I end up coughing like crazy if I breathe in cold air and all we’ve had here in Canada lately is terribly cold weather. Spring isn’t too far off, hang in there! I thought I heard a bird chirping on the weekend which I was thrilled about, but then we got slammed with an ice storm on Tuesday so if it was a bird, its likely long gone now.

Stay warm,
Charlene.

[Susan Howitt]

I cannot go outside in the cold weather without coughing my heart up so I have a snood that I pop on if I have to get in logs or toilet my tiny dog, she is scared of the dark and needs her paw held (not literally lol) even with the balcony lights on, she was attacked by a fox once.  When out and about I wear a scarf loosely but enough to warm the air  as the snood get too damp and I feel suffocated by breathing to long with it on.  I shop at 1.30pm here as most good French housewives are at home feeding hubby and kids.

 

[Charlene Marshall]

Hi Susan,

Thanks for writing – although that is so sad about your dog! I am such an animal lover, that if my dog needed her paw held to go out in the dark, I would go out with her Lol. It did make me chuckle, but I know exactly what you mean. Walking my dog has been tough on me this winter, because like you, I tend to cough like crazy from the cold. I try to cover my face and sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t unfortunately. I also can resonate with the feeling of suffocating with something (even loosely) over my mouth…

Hopefully spring is on the way!
Charlene.

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