Ways To Survive The Harmatta

Harmattan affects our health in many ways: our skin, eyes and respiratory tract most vulnerable to the effects of this weather.

The skin suffers dryness with accompanying cracking of lips, soles of the feet and sometimes the skin itself. The eyes also suffer from the abundance of dust particles carried along by the winds, thus itching, foreign body sensations and redness may be common especially in those with allergic eye diseases.

A lot of diseases are easily triggered due to this change in weather and lots of care must be taken to avoid fatal consequences.

Here are a few tips on how to make it through this dry patch;

1. Drink lots of water to prevent dehydration.

2. Avoid antiseptic soaps during this weather. Use them only when you have a skin infection it is meant to treat.Use it even then for a short period and stop.

3. Keep the skin healthy by applying oily creams and wearing weather friendly clothing.

4. Use lip balms and apply Vaseline to the soles of the feet to prevent them from cracking.

5. Wear warm clothes; they will protect you from the severe cold.

6. Wear protective spectacles for your eyes in a dusty area.

7. Asthma patients or those with chronic respiratory conditions should pay special attention to their health and take all possible and practicable measures to reduce exposure to the dusty atmosphere and they should carry their inhalers with them at all times.

8. Due to the dusty atmosphere we should practice a healthy food preservation culture. Fruits and vegetables should be properly washed before eating and those of us that store our drinking water should always ensure that the containers are always adequately covered.

9. We can also keep our homes warm but please be careful as this is also the season when we have the most fire accidents. All fires should not be left unattended and we should avoid indiscriminate burning of refuse during this season.