A neurologist has warned of the health effects of sudden temperature changes

In the cold season, we often have to deal with sudden temperature fluctuations, for example, when leaving a warm room for the cold. Polina Lepilova, a neurologist at SberZdorovye medical company, told Izvestia on January 9.

According to her, a sudden change in air temperature can lead to various consequences for the body. Thus, with a sharp drop in ambient temperature, for example, when leaving the subway in the cold, the body begins to lose heat faster than it has time to produce it. This, in turn, can lead to hypothermia, especially if a person is in wet clothes or shoes.

"Cold causes vasoconstriction, which leads to impaired blood flow and decreased delivery of oxygen as well as nutrients to immune system cells. As a result, the ability of immune cells to fight various infections is reduced. Thus, hypothermia increases the risk of developing, for example, acute respiratory infections and bacterial infections. In addition, it can cause stress to the body, which can also negatively affect the immune system," the doctor explained.

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In turn, when the ambient temperature rises sharply, for example, when a person comes in from the cold in a hot room, the body does not always have time to adapt quickly, which can lead to overheating of the body. This condition can be accompanied by headaches, weakness, sweating and even loss of consciousness.

"It is recommended to avoid sharp changes in air temperature if possible, especially for people with chronic diseases of the heart, lungs, kidneys and nervous system, because in addition to overheating and hypothermia, it can provoke an exacerbation of diseases. For example, patients with diseases of the cardiovascular system may have the following symptoms: shortness of breath, heart pain, a feeling of heart rhythm disturbance, increased blood pressure, and in bronchial asthma may increase cough and shortness of breath," - emphasized Lepilova.

Neurologist noted that to avoid hypothermia, do not be outside in wet clothes and shoes, it is desirable not to spend a lot of time outdoors in the cold - it is necessary to move to the heat at the first sensations of freezing.

Along with this, it is necessary to dress for the weather, taking into account two factors: multiple layers and ambient temperature. Several layers of clothing allow you to control the body temperature, for example, you can take off the excess to avoid overheating, or put on to avoid freezing, advised the specialist.

"Under the outer clothing for the insulation layer it is better to choose things made of wool, and for the lower layers - from breathable fabrics, such as cotton, because synthetic fabrics do not allow air to pass, thereby preventing the effective evaporation of moisture from the skin, which can lead to overheating, for example, when entering from frost to warmth," - added Lepilova.

Earlier, on December 10, Alexandra Fileva, a medical expert of the laboratory "Hemotest" told "Izvestia" that walking in winter, in the cold, with bare head can be harmful to health: it is not long to catch a cold, respiratory and infectious diseases, which can go into complications or provoke exacerbation of chronic diseases. All this happens because hypothermia of the head leads to hypothermia of the whole body.