MEDISCOPE | ISSUE 2 | 02 DECEMBER 2020

happens when your body temperature drops
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below 35°C, it needs to be treated in hospital . It
happens when your body loses heat faster than
it can produce it. When your body temperature
drops, your heart and other organs cannot work
properly, because of this if left untreated,
hypothermia can lead to complete organ failure
and death.
The most common causes of hypothermia are
exposure to cold-weather conditions or cold
water, however, being in any environment that is
colder than your body for too long can cause
hypothermia if you aren't dressed appropriately
or can't control the conditions.
Some examples of conditions that can lead to
hypothermia include:
- Wearing clothes that aren't warm enough for
the weather
- Staying out in the cold for too long
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- Not being able to get out of wet clothes
7 - Stress
Some people can feel overwhelmed by the
expectations of Christmas, the lack of time and
money and the pressure of gift giving which can
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cause them to feel incredibly stressed. As well
with the planning fallacy (a phenomenon where
we misjudge how much time and effort tasks will
take even though we have experienced them
before) people expect a fun, relaxing Christmas
and end up with a chaotic, stressful one. With
social media we can now see how everyone
else’s Christmas seasons are going which can
add even more pressure and stress to make your
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Christmas better.
8 - Asthma
For some people, asthma is harder to control
during winter months as cold air is a major
trigger of asthma symptoms. The cold, dry air
can irritate your airways which can cause the
muscles inside to spasm. Also on cold days, air
pollution can sometimes be worse which is
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another trigger of asthma symptoms. As well,
there’s a lot of cold and flu viruses going around
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which can also exacerbate asthma symptoms.
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blue. Raynaud's mainly affects your fingers and
toes, but it can also affect other areas of your
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body, such as your nose, lips and ears.
10 - Dry skin
Dry skin is often worse during the winter, when
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environmental humidity is low and there are
frequent sudden changes in temperature. Going
from the cold outdoors to a centrally heated
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house can bring on an flare up of eczema.
11 - Arthritis
For people with Arthritis, joints can get more
painful in winter. This may be because when the
atmospheric pressure and temperature drops,
the pressure inside people’s joints that pushes on
the nerves increases which causes pain. As well
the colder weather can make people’s pain
receptors a lot more sensitive which means they
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will feel more arthritis pain.
12- Heart attack
Studies have shown that cold weather may
increase your risk of a heart attack. This may be
because the cold weather increases your blood
pressure as your blood vessels constrict and
blood flow speeds up to keep your body warm.
The heart also has to work a lot harder in winter
to maintain body heat. Cold weather can also
increase cholesterol levels and can make blood
more likely to clot. As well, blood levels of
immune system compounds increase in winter
which can prevent your body getting infections
but research has shown that this can also
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increase the amount of plaque in artery walls.
CHRISTMAS
9 - Raynaud disease
Raynaud's disease causes parts of your body to
feel cold and numb due to cold temperatures or
stress. Small arteries that supply blood to the
skin narrow which limits blood flow. The affected
areas of skin usually turn white and then turn
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