For the sake of a comfortable winter, many people have their own "winter habits": closing doors and windows tightly to lock in warmth, opening humidifiers for a long time to relieve dry air... Are these good habits for comfort and health, or hidden health risks? Hidden danger 1: Closed doors and windows without ventilation leading to recurrent colds. Recently, Xu Hui, Deputy Chief Physician of the Respiratory Department at Longfu Hospital in Beijing, treated a 62 year old male patient. This patient has been suffering from recurrent colds and sore throat for several weeks. After consultation, Xu Hui discovered the problem: in order to take care of her elderly mother who is over ninety years old and afraid of cold, this patient never opens windows for ventilation in autumn and winter, fearing that cold air may enter the house. This is the reason why he repeatedly gets sick, "Xu Hui said. In the warm, dry, and stagnant indoor air during autumn and winter, the human body is prone to respiratory symptoms such as dry throat, sore throat, and persistent coughing, as well as chest tightness, palpitations, and other symptoms, commonly known as" warm air disease ". Winter is the peak season for respiratory diseases. Xu Hui found in the outpatient department that due to poor ventilation in winter, there is often a situation where one person catches a cold and spreads it to the whole family. In winter, when doors and windows are tightly closed, viruses are prone to gather indoors, and if one person catches a cold, the whole family may be affected. Xu Hui suggests that during the heating season, windows should be opened for about 20 minutes every day for ventilation, and rooms can be opened alternately. This not only ensures air circulation, but also avoids sudden drops in indoor temperature. In addition, remember to wear more clothes when opening windows for ventilation to avoid catching a cold. Hidden danger 2: Improper addition of materials to the humidifier can easily harm the respiratory tract. Ms. Zhou, who is 60 years old, recently went to the hospital for treatment due to persistent coughing and sore throat. After winter, she often uses a humidifier at home. She saw a video online claiming that adding Isatis root and vinegar to a humidifier can prevent colds, so she tried, but it caused respiratory discomfort. After examination, there were obvious allergic symptoms in her airway mucosa. Xu Hui said that Banlangen is not suitable for adding to humidifiers. The solvent atomization of Banlangen cannot achieve the effect of sterilization and disinfection in the air. The truly effective method of air disinfection is ultraviolet irradiation, and the method of object disinfection is to use chlorine containing disinfectants to wipe the surface of objects. The method of adding Banlangen, Shuanghuanglian, or vinegar to a humidifier is incorrect. More importantly, these substances added to humidifiers may directly damage the respiratory tract. Xu Hui explained, "Something with a pungent odor like vinegar, when inhaled into the airway after atomization, can cause damage to the airway mucosa. In severe cases, it may lead to asthma and even pneumonia." "The function of humidifiers is to increase air humidity to alleviate discomfort caused by dryness." Xu Hui reminded, "Citizens should not easily believe online rumors to avoid" harm to the body. "Xu Hui said that after heating in winter, many families use humidifiers for a long time every day, and it is recommended to clean them once a week, otherwise it is easy to breed bacteria, mold and other microorganisms. Not cleaning the humidifier for a long time is like creating a wet and hot breeding ground for microorganisms. It is recommended to add purified water when using the humidifier, and you can choose boiled and cooled plain water to avoid using tap water directly, in order to reduce the risk of minerals or microorganisms being inhaled into the human body. In addition, Xu Hui suggests using a humidifier for no more than 6 hours a day. Long term use of a humidifier may lead to high humidity, which is also detrimental to health. Hidden danger 3: Using a hot water bottle can cause burns. Beware of the "warmth killer". In winter, many people like to stick to warm babies and hold hot water bottles to sleep. Little do they know, even these seemingly gentle heat sources can cause harm unknowingly if used improperly. Wang Cheng, chief physician of the Burn Plastic Surgery and Wound Repair Department at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, treated a patient in his 70s who was accustomed to placing a hot water bottle directly next to his calf to sleep. After several days of continuous use, he developed a dark burn wound on his calf area, which was only discovered by his family and sent to the hospital when the wound became ulcerated and inflamed. Such low-temperature burn patients are very common in winter clinics. ”Wang Cheng stated that he receives about 10 patients with low-temperature burns caused by improper heating methods every day during winter. Many people mistakenly believe that only high-temperature objects such as boiling water and open flames can cause burns, but in fact, prolonged reliance on radiators, close use of warm babies, and hot water bottles can also easily lead to burns. Wang Cheng said that low-temperature burns have strong concealment. When the skin is exposed to a heat source of 40 to 45 degrees Celsius for a long time, there may initially be only slight redness or small blisters, but the actual damage often reaches deep into the skin. "It usually takes more than a month for this kind of scald to heal, and it is easy to leave scars." The two groups of people need to pay special attention to low-temperature scalds: diabetes patients are insensitive to nerve endings, the elderly skin perception ability is reduced, and they are often unable to detect abnormal temperature in time. Wang Cheng reminds that when using heating equipment in winter, it is important to maintain a safe distance: do not lean on radiators for long periods of time; Warm babies must be used through clothing. In addition, it is best to wrap the hot water bag with a towel and not fill it too full to prevent the hot water bag from aging and breaking, causing burns. If you experience symptoms such as redness, swelling, and blisters on your skin after using heating equipment, seek medical attention promptly and do not handle it yourself to avoid delaying treatment, "said Wang Cheng. Hidden danger 4: Sweating from soaking feet, dizziness, palpitations, and weakness. Recently, 63 year old Mr. Cao went to Xiyuan Hospital for treatment due to repeated symptoms such as palpitations and dizziness. The doctor found through inquiry that Mr. Cao saw the circulating saying on the internet that "soaking feet until sweating profusely can relieve fatigue", so he started soaking his feet in hot water every night and persisted in soaking until his whole body was sweating profusely before stopping. After a period of time, he found that he often felt palpitations and dizziness after soaking his feet, and even became increasingly tired during the day, so he decided to seek medical examination. Sun Linjuan, the chief physician of the Brain Disease Department of the hospital, said that from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, soaking feet in winter can indeed stimulate the meridians of the feet, promote blood circulation, and is particularly suitable for people with weak and cold constitution and cold hands and feet. However, there is a misconception that "soaking until sweating profusely" is considered appropriate. In autumn and winter, pursuing sweating profusely can actually lead to the dispersion of yang energy. Many people feel tired, palpitations, dizziness, and even more prone to catching a cold after soaking their feet, which is why. Sun Linjuan suggests that the ideal soaking state is "warm and slightly damp body" - feeling warm and comfortable, with slight sweating on the back and head, but without forming sweat droplets flowing down. This state can achieve health benefits without damaging Yang Qi, "Sun Linjuan specially reminded patients with lower limb varicose veins to pay attention to foot soaking methods. Their lower limb blood vessels are already in a dilated state. If they want to soak their feet, in addition to controlling the water temperature, they should also raise their lower limbs after soaking to promote blood reflux. People with severe hypertension, coronary heart disease, and cerebral vascular stenosis also need to be extra careful. Hot water can dilate blood vessels in the lower limbs, leading to a relative decrease in the amount of blood returning, which may cause insufficient blood supply to important organs. These patients must control the water level not to exceed their calves when soaking their feet, preferably for about 10 minutes. Before soaking their feet, it is best to understand their physical condition and choose the appropriate temperature and time. ”Sun Linjuan said that it is advisable for healthy people to soak their feet in water at a temperature of 40 to 45 degrees Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes, and avoid sweating profusely. Caution should be exercised when using radiators to bake all things. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reminds us that there are also some heating season habits that may pose health risks. For example, some people have the habit of drying wet clothes such as freshly washed underwear and socks directly on a radiator without dehydration. This will increase indoor humidity and create conditions for mold growth, especially Aspergillus, which may cause serious lung infections and pose a greater threat to people with weaker immunity or severe asthma. Some people like to heat milk and soybean milk on the radiator for a long time, and even the fried bagged Chinese medicine is placed on the radiator for heat preservation. These practices not only affect the taste of food and cause nutrient loss, but may also lead to the "fermentation" of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, affecting their efficacy. To save time, many people will thaw frozen meat, frozen fish, etc. directly on a radiator. This method can easily cause the external temperature of the food to be too high while the internal temperature remains unfrozen, which in turn promotes the growth of bacteria. In contrast, thawing in water is safer and more hygienic. Some families also wrap plastic vines or other decorations around their heating pipes for aesthetic purposes. This not only affects the normal heat dissipation of the radiator, but may also cause the chemical components in the plastic to evaporate into the air, affecting indoor air quality. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reminds residents to pay attention to adjusting their clothing and diet reasonably during the winter heating period. If you need to go out, you should add clothes in a timely manner to adapt to the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, and prevent catching a cold due to sudden changes in temperature. (New Society)