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You need to take care of your skin even more than usual during winters. Dry skin and hair is a common issue that affects many people during the season. Here are some skin and hair care tips that can keep the problems away:
Winter is the time when your skin and hair need maximum attention. Though the idea of piping hot water is very tempting, stick to a lukewarm water bath every day. Make sure to use a mild non-drying soap or a moisturizing soap.
During winters, the varying temperature outdoors and indoors can have a major effect on the skin. While taking a shower, get into the habit of exfoliating with a loofah so as to remove layers of dead skin and make way for new healthy skin cells.
Needless to say, choose a really good moisturizer to keep the skin moisturized and soft. Pay special attention to the exposed parts (and the most affected areas) like your hands, nails, feet and lips. Keep them well moisturized at all times. Use a lip balm to keep your lips soft and supple.
Wear a sunscreen when you step out in the open. In fact, it should be a part of your daily routine throughout the year and especially during the winters. This is the time when it may seem that you don't need protection from the sun but you really do!
5. Avoid excess use of deodorants
As you hardly tend to sweat during winter, it's best to restrict the usage of deodorants which contain high alcohol content. These products tend to strip away the skin's moisture leaving your skin dry. Go for alcohol-free products instead.
Since you don't sweat much in winter, don't shampoo too often as it may dry out the scalp and hair. Use a mild shampoo and lukewarm water as very hot water can be harmful to your hair and scalp. And don't forget the conditioner. If you want to go natural, coconut milk is an excellent conditioner.
However busy your schedule is, don't skip the oil your hair needs. It will help regulate the blood circulation and keep your scalp moisturized. Here are some of the oils you could use.
Say no to hair dryers/ flat irons/ curl irons. These hair styling instruments work on the principle of heat, which when used during winters make matters worse. Instead use the cool setting of the dryer which though may take longer to dry but it would retain the moisture. Choose wooden hair brushes or combs instead of plastic. This is to fight the static hair caused by absence of moisture. If it fits in your schedule and budget, visit a good salon for protein treatment.
While woolen caps, scarves and stoles may make a style statement, it can also be the cause of hair breakage especially at the nape of your neck or forehead. Don't try to be over-protective by wearing them tightly around your head. Leave sufficient space for air circulation in the scalp.
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Winter can aggravate symptoms of certain diseases as well as give rise to some. Since, during the winter our body's immune system is busy keeping us warm, it makes us even more susceptible to infections which can lead to common cold, viral fever, flu, etc.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Another problem that some people face is called the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It is a mood disorder which people suffer from during particular seasons especially winter. It that can make an otherwise chirpy individual quite and depressed.
Here are some tips to beat SAD:
1. Soak up the sun: Winter can be a tough time to get some sunshine. However you could try and go for a walk after lunch or mid-morning. Ditch the malls and take your loved ones out for picnics, 80s style.
2. Keep yourself warm all the time: You've got the best jackets but forget to cover your head. You've invested in Pashmina shawls but dislike wearing warm socks. The cold affecting the uncovered parts might play a huge part in making you feel low. So, the more you are covered, the better it is!
3. Stock up on healthy food:The mood swings could cause you to overeat, especially carbs. Make sure you stock on healthy stuff like nuts, wheat breads, brown rice, winter veggies and fruits. Have 5-6 small meals spaced throughout the day. Have lots of green tea or make kashmiri kawa at home. They are great as a source of antioxidants. The various flavours of tea available in the market today can surely boost anyone's spirits.
4. Catch up on sleep: Since you can't really stay out late, it's the best time to catch up on sleep. Go to bed early and snooze for an extra hour or two.
5. Enjoy your time indoors - Forced to stay indoors due to the dipping temperature? Spend this time giving your home that much needed cleaning or facelift/ play board games with kids/ listen to your favourite music/ dance with your partner/ read those books you've been collecting the whole year/ speak to friends on the phone for hours on end.
6. Visit the doctor - if all the above does not work it's time you visit a doctor who might prescribe you antidepressants or suggest light therapy.
Most of us know how disrupting, irritating and painful a cough can be. Especially if it prevents you sleeping at night or if your job involves a lot of speaking and the cough prevents you from doing it. In some cases, it may be necessary to take some cough suppressing medicines but often, simple substances in your kitchen along with OTC medication can help you find an almost instant relief from cough. (Read: Understanding the cough process)
As soon as you feel soreness in your throat, make it a point to gargle with salt dissolved in warm water. The salt in the water can help drain excess fluid from inflamed areas in the throat reducing the symptoms. According to the Mayo clinic book of home remedies, the gargling also removes irritants in the throat and thins the mucus.
Drinking warm water is a good way of soothing the inflammation in the throat*; but this does not have any taste and may be unappetizing for most people. A warm soup is a much better solution as is a glass of hot herbal tea. (Read: Why you shouldn't neglect cough)
A traditional remedy that most people swear by is the use of hot milk with turmeric. According to a study**, it is shown to even have antibacterial properties.
Heat a glass of milk, mix in half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and drink warm to find relief from cough. A turmeric gargle also gives good results. To one cup of hot water, add in half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and half a teaspoon table salt. Use this liquid as a throat gargle and you are sure to experience relief from cough.
For a dry cough, turmeric powder mixed with a teaspoon of honey taken three to four times a day is effective. You could also try preparing turmeric tea by adding one tablespoon of turmeric powder into 4 cups of boiling water. Keep for a few minutes, strain and mix in some lemon and honey to the liquid and drink.
According to Dr. Soumya Bhat, Ayurvedic doctor, inhaling the smoke of burning turmeric (dhooma paan) is also considered to be an effective remedy for cough and cold. Take a dried turmeric root, burn it and inhale the smoke. Another way out is to place a few pieces of red hot charcoal in a small mud pot that has been placedon a cup of water. Add a few dried leaves over the charcoal and a spoonful of turmeric powder over the leaves. Gently blow to ignite the turmeric powder and inhale the smoke emitted. (Read: Top 8 cough myths busted)
Since ages, honey has been known to soothe the irritated throat linings and reduce cough. A study conducted at the Penn State School of Medicine on children above the age of 2 years showed that honey helped them cough less and sleep better.
There are different ways of using honey besides the one mentioned in combination with turmeric. A dry cough responds to a mixture of honey with juice from grapes. A glass of hot milk with some honey added just before going to bed is effective at relieving night time cough. Mix in honey and lemon juice to a glass of warm water and drink this three times per day for relief from cough.
If you have a particularly nasty cough, try this remedy. Take about 3 tablespoons of flaxseeds in 1 cup of water and boil. When the water starts thickening, strain the liquid and mix in 3 tablespoons each of lemon juice and honey. Swallow about 1 tablespoon of this mixture when you experience a severe coughing fit. Honey also works well in combination with betel leaf (paan). Grind a few washed betel leaves and extract the juice; add 1 teaspoon of honey to 2 teaspoons of this juice, mix and consume about half an hour after meals. Repeat for about 5 days to find relief from cough.
Viral fever, as the name suggests, is a condition that is transmitted from one person to another through direct contact with the person's bodily fluids. This is much simpler than you think. When a person coughs, sneezes, yawns or even talks they tend to spray tiny particles of fluid that contain bacteria and viruses from their body. If you are close enough, these bacteria enter your body through your nose or mouth and infect you. Once infected it takes anywhere from 16 hours to 48 hours to turn into a full blown infection.
What can you do once you have viral fever?
If you are suffering from viral fever it is best that you take enough rest and have warm soothing food like soup and khichidi till you get better. If you have very severe symptoms like high fever, extreme body ache, etc. you should visit your doctor for some medicines to give you some symptomatic relief. A number of people tend to self medicate during such times, relying on antipyretics, analgesics and antibiotics to help them out, but remember that self-medication is a bad idea. More importantly a viral fever will not heal with antibiotics. Antibiotics are medicines that are made to kill bacteria, they cannot kill viruses; so by taking them, all you are doing is heading towards a bad case of acidity, stomach disturbance and in more severe cases damage to your liver and kidneys.
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It's called winter blues. It's just the time when it's ideal to laze around and cuddle up in bed. One can't be blamed for either that sense of lethargy or not feeling motivated to wake up early. Nevertheless, one can always make up for it by inculcating a healthy routine. You can be still be energized by exercising indoors and be trim, even if you wake up late in the morning.
Winter is ideal to open your home to various exercising equipment; it could be a treadmill or an exercise machine. Engage a personal trainer and make sure you get into an exercise routine at home.
It's beneficial to invest in a set of dumbbells, resistance bands and a jump rope. Both dumbbells and resistance bands help in resistance training, while the jump rope is for the cardio fitness routine. You can try out simple exercises like squats and mid and lower abdomen crunches. Cycling indoors is also a nice way of shedding flab.
In case all this isn't possible, team up with a few friends and follow an exercise video. You can sweat it out even in your living room. (Read more: Shape up this winter)
Here is a list of food items that could keep you in the pink of health this winter and also satiate your hunger.
Winter friendly root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beetroots, radishes serve as the perfect accompaniment in your daily diet. Besides being loaded with multi-nutrients they build your immunity to fight cough, cold and other such winter illnesses. Plus, when hunger beckons every now then, these serve as an excellent healthy snack item. Secondly, the warm and spicy ginger is a great detoxifying agent. A majority of Indian households add it in tea as it helps combat indigestion and acid reflux.
Fresh fruits like oranges and apples are a favourite in cold winters. Notable for their impressive list of nutrients and anti-oxidants, they are essential for normal growth, development and overall well-being. The Vitamin C found in oranges helps build immunity against common cold and cough. Another great fruit is Pomegranate which is high in polyphenols (plant chemicals that fight inflammation). Add them to a bowl of corn flakes or oats and you have a crunchy yummy breakfast in no time.
Time to open those dry fruit boxes you got during Diwali from friends and family. Eat them with your cornflakes, add them to sweets or pulao or just carry them around in your bag for a quick snack between meals. They carry the same amount of nutrients found in fresh fruits including vitamin A, potassium and folate and help build resistance. If you do not have dry fruits, the humble peanuts could also work.
Besides rice, wheat and lentils (dal) found in almost every Indian household, you can also try and stock up whole grains such as bajra, maize, corn, soyabeans and oats. These have a more warming effect than others because of 'diet induced thermognesis' which release energy during digestion and assimilation.
The otherwise expensive peas year around are available in plenty during the winter months and at a very affordable price. You'll find that two out of every five lunch boxes will definitely carry peas in some form of the other, be it as mutter paneer or pulav or aloo mutter. Loaded with phytonutrients that provide anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits, they are also known to prevent stomach cancer as per a recent study. (Read: Give peas a chance - 10 health benefits of this small wonder)
Water and other liquids
In winters, we do not feel as thirsty and tend to skip grabbing that glass of water. On the contrary, your body needs to be hydrated in this season to ward off issues like flaky skin, dry cough, mild headaches and dry lips. If possible, refrain from reaching out to those vending machines for colas and packaged juices. If you must, then go for unsweetened fruit or vegetable juices. (Read: 5 foods you should eat in the winter)
We wish our readers a happy and healthy winter!
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