5 Tips For Staying Healthy During Harmattan Season

The harmattan season is here. What are you doing to ensure your health is safe during this period?

During harmattan in Nigeria, the air is dusty and dry. So dry that at some point the insides of your nose begin to hurt and breathing becomes a problem. Your lips crack painfully, and your skin feels like scales. Additionally, the soles of your feet may break, and sometimes your palms may start to peel.

Such is the ordeal you may go through during harmattan in Nigeria. There's still the constant battle with respiratory issues like catarrh and asthma. But the situation is not hopeless. This article will provide you with simple tips on how to stay healthy during harmattan.

Typically, the harmattan season begins to peep in late November and gets into full gear in December. The severity of harmattan depends on where you are in Nigeria. The weather is milder in the southeast and particularly colder and dustier in cities like Plateau, Kano, Taraba, Adamawa, and Bauchi. Apart from the cold and dust, the harmattan season is characterized by thick haze.

5 Tips For Staying Healthy During Harmattan Season

Below are tips you can follow to ensure that you stay healthy during harmattan.

1. Drink a lot of water

Particularly at that time of year, you should increase water intake because it helps your body stay hydrated. Dehydration is more likely during harmattan because of the excessive dryness of the air. Therefore, take a bottle of water with you everywhere you go. This helps facilitate the movement of mucus. Also, hot coffee will help you stay warm during this season.

2. Eating a lot of fruits

Fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals that would keep your body healthy during the harmattan season.

It is advised to eat fruits rich in vitamin C such as mango, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, guavas, bell peppers, kiwifruit, oranges, papayas, broccoli, tomatoes, kale.

3. Drink honey and lemon dissolved in warm water

This will help to soothe the dry, irritated areas of the throat and give you the comfort you need. Honey is a natural remedy for a sore throat and cough. You can also use the honey by spreading it in a snack or putting in tea/coffee as it suits you. This is an effective relief for cold and cough

4. Moisturizing your skin regularly

The skin is one of the first receptors of the harsh weather. The dryness in the atmosphere drains the skin of moisture. It is therefore important to regularly moisturizes the skin.

Ensure to use an oil-based moisturizer such as Vaseline, shea butter, coconut oil etc. Also, exfoliate your skin a few times a week to help shave off dead and dry skin cells and allow new skin cells to come up.

For your lips, take time out to regularly moisturize it with lip gloss or any of your preferred lip moisturizer. For people who get skin reactions during the harmattan season, make sure to see your doctor.

5. Wear the right clothes

Wearing the right clothes in the right weather helps to prevent common cold and cough. Thick and heat absorbable clothes keep heat released from the body trapped inside and limit radiation of heat to the surroundings. Hand gloves and well-covered shoes also provide enough warmth that you need.

Also, when you're indoors, keep your feet inside thick socks. And when you're going outdoor, wear your shoes and gloves. This is particularly for people in Plateau, where the cold attacks the hands and feet. The trick is to generally minimize exposure.