Health hazards of rains

Rains bring in lush greenery which everybody loves to have around. But they also bring dampness and coldness. Many enjoy this cool climate, while for some who are not vigilant enough or protected, it also brings sickness of many kinds. The first problem which comes from the cold weather is muscular pains. These occur as vague chest pain, body pain or pain in the limbs. This type of pain occurs when one is not adequately covered with warm clothes. Everybody does wear a jacket or sweater when it is severe cold. But with moderate temperatures like we have here, people usually do not bother to do so. During night the temperature falls further thus exposing the human body to cold. The muscles and blood vessels contract to conserve the heat of the body. This results in a person shivering and feeling cold. He also suffers from muscular pains. Sneezing, blocked nose, e.t.c. symptoms of common cold can also occur or be aggravated by sudden cold climate. Similarly cough, whether dry or with expectoration usually comes when there are rains. Many of these cases of cold and or cough are due to allergy to the dampness and resultant spores of many kind prevalent in the atmosphere. These may be associated with other signs of upper respiratory tract infection like sore throat, enlarged tonsils, itching or pain in one or both ears or sense of blockade in one or both ears. Due to infection or inflammation of the inner ear, the labyrinthine apparatus(responsible for maintaining equilibrium of the body) is also inflamed. The result is many individuals suffer from ear pain and giddiness after rains, when it is cold. Attacks of bronchial asthma resulting in cough or breathlessness, are often precipitated by rains. Old people suffering from arthritis and stiffness of the backbone, suffer worse when the weather becomes cold due to rains. Their problems of pain and stiffness of joints and back are aggravated. The skin is also not spared. If one wears clothes which are slightly damp due to rains, he or she is at high risk of developing infections of the skin, notably superficial fungal infections. Initially one does not notice them, but when white or discolored lesions start appearing on limbs, trunks or moist parts of the body along with intense intermittent itching, one feels alarmed. Eczema is also precipitated in susceptible persons due to dampness. This also occurs due to allergy to one or more substances prevailing in the atmosphere and presents with itchy small vesiculo-pustular lesions. The greater risk than any of these problems is the precipitation of angina pectoris or worse still myocardial infarction. Studies show that most heart attacks occur when the weather is cold due to rains or just a climatic change. This occurs due to contraction of the cardiac muscle and coronary arteries (those supplying blood to the heart). For the same reason, one having hypertension, tends to have more of high blood pressure in cold weather. The solution to all these problems is very simple, i.e. to avoid exposure to cold and dampness induced by rains. After one or more showers, many persons feel pleasant but not cold. Hence they continue wearing; summer clothes. But if they develop any of the problems stated above, they should keep the body well covered by wearing thick or woolen clothes. The clothes both worn inside and outside should not be damp. They should have been dried well in adequate sunlight or by hot iron. Those who have a problem of ear pain or giddiness should keep their ears well protected from draughts of cold air. This can be done by wearing scarves covering the ears or keeping the ears plugged with cotton. Thus just with few precautions, one can enjoy the rains very well without falling sick. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk