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!
2. Avoid carbonated soft drinks. They dehydrate your skin quite bad.
3. 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.
4. Keep the skin healthy by applying
oily creams and wearing weather
friendly clothing.
5. Use lip balms and apply Vaseline to the soles of the feet to prevent them from cracking.
6. Remember to keep your hair
moisturized and also do hairstyles that keep your hair ends hidden. You can also wrap up your hair to protect it from the dust.
7. Wear warm clothes; they will protect you from the severe cold.
8. Rinse your eyes with clean water
and reduce the exposure to the dust
by wearing protective spectacles.
9. 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.
10. Sicklers should be vigilant and
keep warm as much as possible to
prevent any crisis.
11. 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.
12. 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.
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