Health Department cautions against common myths in winter

Mandi Ahmedgarh, Jan 5

Advertisement

In wake of the severe cold wave, the Health Department has cautioned residents against adopting some practices which are considered in layman’s sense beneficial to fight the dip in mercury.

Consuming liquor to fight cold temperature, maximising temperatures by keeping angithis or bukharis inside rooms at night and installation of gas geysers in small bathrooms were cited as most hazardous practices that have proved fatal in several cases.

Warnings are being issued to parents and organisers at schools and anganwadis. Authorities at government healthcare centres in local towns have advised people to take precautions to prevent health hazards arising due to hypothermia and suffocation.

As per instructions received from Deputy Civil Surgeon Sajila Khan, authorities at local government healthcare centres cautioned against the common myths being followed to fight the effects of severe cold.

“Unfortunately people in rural and sub-urban regions resort to consumption of liquor, believing that it helps fight against severe cold. However, studies have revealed that confronting low temperature after liquor consumption causes hypothermia, which can prove hazardous to human life,” said Rajesh Garg, SMO at the local civil hospital.

Installation of gas geysers in bathrooms and using angithi with burning coal to maximise temperature in enclosed rooms were also found dangerous for human life. Rajesh Garg said in both cases combustion of fuel in restricted supply of air produced carbon monoxide gas, which is poisonous to life. “Contrary to common belief, gas geysers are absolutely unsafe even if the gas cylinder is installed outside the bathroom as actual combustion process takes place near the appliance which is installed inside the bathroom,” explained Garg, claiming that many lives had been lost due to carbon monoxide poisoning in closed bathrooms in the recent years.

Burning of coal in closed rooms was also reported to have taken many lives due to production of carbon monoxide gas which has strong affinity to combine with haemoglobin and forming carboxyhaemoglobin, which causes acute deficiency of oxygen in blood and proves fatal, said Garg.