Winter conditions can be bad for our health, especially for people aged 65 or older, and people with long-term conditions such as heart or kidney disease, COPD, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma or diabetes.
Being cold can raise the risk of increased blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. The cold and damp weather, ice, snow and high winds can all aggravate any existing health problems and make us more vulnerable to respiratory winter illnesses.
But there are lots of things you can do to stay well this winter.
- Keep warm and safe
- Some tips for ventilation
- Winter vaccines
- Respiratory and hand hygiene
- Reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses
- Contact your local pharmacist
- Stay active
- Look after your mental health
Keep warm and safe
Keeping your home warm and safe are important factors in staying healthy this winter. You can keep you and your family warm at home by following these simple guidelines:
- Wear several layers and use duvets and blankets. You can also use either a hot water bottle or electric blanket to keep you warm in bed. Be sure to adhere to the Electrical Safety First guidelines for electric blankets
- Setting your home to a suitable temperature (18-21 °C, 65-70 °F) will keep the rooms you use most in your home warm. Keep your bedroom windows closed at night when the weather is cold. For more tips on keeping warm and energy efficient, read Manx Utilities’ Winter Warmth and Readiness leaflet
- Try to have at least one hot meal a day and have hot drinks regularly
- Make sure you have your heating system checked regularly by a qualified professional. To ensure your safety, test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are working properly. It is also important to have your chimney and open fire/ wood burner safety checked by a registered professional
- Prepare for the risk of flooding by staying up to date on flood warnings and having information to hand on managing the risks to your health in the case of a flood. Visit the Isle of Man Flood Hub for more information
- It is also important to ensure that your home or office is well ventilated to prevent the spread of germs
Some tips for ventilation
- Once you’ve warmed up in the morning, open your windows for 10 minutes to get new air circulating. Opening windows on opposite side of the home allows cross ventilation. Opening windows wide provides brief but intensive ventilation
- Leave trickle vents open and unblocked, although this uses a little more energy to heat the home, the fresh air provided will help to prevent illnesses
- Open your windows and doors regularly throughout the day to entice more fresh air in your home, particularly whilst cooking or showering
- Switch on extractor fans to suck out moisture in the air and dry your washing outdoors whenever possible
- If you do dry your washing indoors, make sure the room is well ventilated to circulate healthy air in the home and prevent mould, mildew and condensation from forming
Need a warm space?
Organisations across the Island are providing warm spaces where members of the community can go during the colder months to stay warm and lower the pressure on domestic energy bills.
To find out more about available warm spaces near you, visit the Cost of Living Support website.
Help and Support
Help is available to those who cannot afford to heat their homes adequately. A winter bonus and other financial and community support is available to Isle of Man families and individuals this winter. Visit Isle of Man Help for Households for more information.
For more tips on preparing for winter visit 'Get Winter Ready' on gov.im.
Winter vaccines
Vaccines are the best way to protect yourself, friends and family from these potentially serious viruses.
Manx Care is offering the flu and COVID vaccines to eligible groups this winter.
Flu can cause serious complications, especially for older people, pregnant women, and those with certain long-term health conditions such as diabetes and respiratory problems. It’s important to get the flu vaccine as soon as possible if you’re advised to.
The flu vaccine is safe and effective. It’s offered every year to protect people most at risk of flu and its complications.
Find out more about flu and the vaccine.
COVID-19 is more serious in older people and in people with certain underlying health conditions. This winter it is expected that many respiratory infections, including COVID-19 and flu may be circulating at high levels – this may put increasing pressure on hospitals and other health care services.
The Isle of Man is currently running its Autumn Booster Programme to protect against COVID-19. Find out if you’re eligible.
If you have the opportunity, you can get the COVID-19 booster at the same time as the flu jab.
Find out more about the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Respiratory and hand hygiene
By keeping your hands clean and ‘catching your cough’, you can help stop the spread of infection and keep our Island healthy. Here’s how:
Hand hygiene
Cleaning and drying your hands is one of the simplest, cheapest and most effective ways to reduce the spread of infections, especially those that cause diarrhoea and/or vomiting and respiratory infections. A third of infections can be prevented with effective hand hygiene, which means washing hands thoroughly with soap and water. Hospital wards, clinical areas and many shops also have alcohol hand gel dispensers available for staff and visitors to use.
Some key things to remember about washing your hands:
- Soap and water is the most effective way to wash your hands. Liquid soap is preferable. If this is not readily available, you should use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Dry your hands well after washing
Everyone should wash their hands at these important times throughout the day:
- Before eating or preparing food
- Before touching your face
- After using the bathroom
- After leaving a public place
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching animals
Visit our Handwashing page for more guidance.
Respiratory hygiene
As the common saying goes, 'coughs and sneezes spread diseases'. But by practising these simple principles of respiratory and cough etiquette, together we can minimise the spread of infection:
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, dispose of the tissue promptly and wash your hands. Tissues should be disposed of in domestic waste
- Cough into crook of elbow rather than your hand if you don't have a tissue
- Do not use cloth handkerchiefs or reuse tissues - this can contaminate pockets or handbags, which then re-contaminate hands
- Clean your hands frequently, especially after coughing, sneezing and using tissues
- Spatial separation (ideally more than one metre) of persons with respiratory infections in common waiting areas where possible
- Please protect hospital patients by avoiding visiting if you have a respiratory infection such as a cold or flu
- Educate children and young people on why respiratory hygiene is so important. Guidance can be found on the E-Bug website.
The above wording has been adapted from cdc.gov for local use.
Reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses
There are simple things you can do in your daily life that will help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19, and protect those at highest risk. Things you can choose to do are:
- Get vaccinated
- Let fresh air in
- Remember good hygiene
- Consider wearing a face covering
- Stay at home if you are unwell
- Continue to test for COVID-19 if you are unwell and report positive results
Visit Staying safe for more information.
Contact your local pharmacist
Your local pharmacist is best placed to support you through winter. All pharmacists are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and are trained in the use of medicines. They can guide you on healthy lifestyle choices that will help you prevent illness in the first place. Your pharmacist can assist you in the following ways:
- Recommend which medicines should be in your cabinet to help get you and your family through the winter months
- Suggest over the counter remedies to relieve symptoms of common winter aliments such as colds, minor skin conditions, upset stomachs or general aches and pain
- Provide help and advice about your current prescription. In addition many pharmacies are part of the Minor Ailments Scheme where residents can potentially receive faster access to treatment for a range of common conditions. Read more about Minor Ailment Scheme.
- Diagnose and treat many common ailments
- Provide advice on looking after yourself and your family with guidance on healthy eating, physical activity, losing weight and stopping smoking
A Vitamin D supplement is recommended throughout the winter months to help replace the lack of sunlight. There is some evidence that taking at least 10mcg (400 international units) of Vitamin D per day may reduce your risk of severe illness if you catch a viral respiratory infection. Ask your pharmacist or visit our Vitamin D page.
Staying active
The winter months can be a challenging time to stay active, with colder temperatures, slippery conditions, and fewer daylight hours. Staying physically active is one of the best ways to improve your mental and physical health.
Did you know?
- Physical activity can help you sleep better and reduce anxiety
- Strong evidence indicates that people who are active have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, depression and dementia. Regular exercise can also reduce the risk of falling and can be beneficial for recovery if you do get ill
- You don't have to go to the gym. There are many activities you could do at home, such as walking up and down stairs, dancing, gardening, housework, chair based exercises or taking part in online fitness classes, look for those that are free or low cost. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it’s something you enjoy and keeps you moving
- Help others while helping yourself. Look for volunteer opportunities that involve physical activity such as walking dogs and shopping for those unable to do so
Visit our Get Active page for information, resources and helpful apps.
For things to do on the Isle of Man, which involve getting out and staying active see Visit Isle of Man.
Looking after your mental health
Perhaps one of the most important considerations where health is concerned is your mental wellbeing. There are several factors that can contribute to our mood and it is important to identify these factors in ourselves and in others before they start to weigh us down.
Remember these important steps to address mental health:
- Check in on friends, family and colleagues regularly
- Stay active with regular commitments, such as joining a walking club or signing up to a fitness class
- Give your time or do something nice for someone else
- Try new things, keep your learning fresh each day
- Take notice of things, start meaningful conversations
There are a number of resources available locally if you or someone you know is feeling low. Visit the Are You Connecting page for a list of groups that can help and their contact details.
You can also visit NHS' Mental Health page for a useful list of tools to help address your worries and improve your mood.
The important thing to remember is that you are not alone. There is always someone there for you if you need help. Visit areyou.ok.gov.im to find out more
Some of the above wording has been adapted from the UK's NHS for local use.