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Cold Weather Can Be Dangerous for the Human Body. This Winter Worries Experts
A particularly nasty trifecta of influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is already portending a rough winter. But there’s another factor contributing to a potentially tough season for health: a colder-than-average season, which is forecast in the northern U.S. and the U.K. Even an ordinary cold season can pose a threat to human health and safety. One 2015 study published in the Lancet analyzed over 74 million deaths around the world found that more than 7% of deaths were attributed to exposure to cold temperatures. “There is conclusive evidence that there is increased risk for many health ou...
Source: TIME: Health - November 15, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tara Law Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Public Health Wellbeing Source Type: news

Pandemic's perfect storm: Uptick in cases this winter may be more serious than the initial outbreak
Health care systems in many places struggle in winter. Conditions such as asthma, heart attacks and stroke tend to worsen in colder temperatures, and some infectious diseases like influenza spread more easily, which means facilities face a greater patient load.
Source: CNN.com - Health - July 14, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Get the flu vaccine, reduce your risk of death
Last year was a lousy year for the flu vaccine. Hospitalizations for flu hit a nine-year high, and the vaccine prevented flu in only 23% of all recipients, compared with 50% to 60% of recipients in prior years. Why does the flu vaccine work well in some winters and not others? The flu vaccine primes the immune system to attack two proteins on the surface of the influenza A virus, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Different flu strains have different combinations of these proteins — for example, the strains targeted by recent flu vaccines are H3N2 and H1N1. Unfortunately, the influenza virus is microbiology’s ans...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - September 15, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Ross, MD, FIDSA Tags: Cold and Flu Vaccines Flu Shot flu vaccine Source Type: news

Flu and freezing weather may be driving up winter death rates
Conclusion There are always more deaths in winter than other seasons, particularly among elderly people. But why these fairly dramatic spikes in the death rate have occurred is still not understood. It should be noted these figures are provisional, as there can be a delay in the ONS receiving the data. Although the media has focused on the likely cause being flu, the numbers provided are for all respiratory conditions. Cold weather can exacerbate many of these conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. For most fit and healthy people, flu is not a serious threat, but the elderly and those with...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news

Flu jab "may cut" stroke risk by a quarter
ConclusionThis research finds that, overall, having the flu vaccine reduced the risk of a person experiencing a stroke by about 25%. The reduction in risk seemed to be greatest within the first three months of vaccination, but remained for up to 12 months.  However, the effect lasted only if the vaccine was given early in the flu season (September to mid-November); giving the vaccine late in the flu season (mid-November to February) was not associated with significantly reduced risk.The research benefits from using data coded within the General Practice Research Database for England and Wales for almost 50,000 people with...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 21, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Neurology Older people Source Type: news