By S. S. Suarez
Having problems getting off the bed early in the mornings? Wanting to stay in bed to for a prolonged sleep and rest? Or is it because of the cool breeze that make our bodies so lethargic and lazy?
Well that’s because we are experiencing the tail-end of a cold front. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) says the country usually experiences the coldest weather during the months of January and February when the northeast monsoon reaches its peak. The tail-end of the cold front – the merging of cold and warm winds – will bring cloudy skies over parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
News reports said Metro Manila’s temperature dropped to its coldest for the year at 18.8 degrees celsius at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 6 a.m., while 19.5 degrees Celsius was recorded also at 6 a.m. at the Science Garden in Quezon City, the PAGASA said in its bulletin Friday.
The Department of Health warns the public against getting sick due to the cold weather. Although there is no scientific proof that says that cold weather will get you a cold or flu, the lowering of a person’s body temperature also lowers his/her immune system making the person more vulnerable to catching illnesses. Anytime a person's body is under great stress such as being too cold will have an undesirable effect on the immune system.
But there are connections made by some people through anecdotal evidence, since the viral cold and flu "season" is in the cold time of year. According to experts, cold weather isn't the reason more people can be sick with viruses then, though. Those infections are coincidental to the lower temperatures, not a direct result of cold temperatures on the individual or their immune systems.
People get sick because of some indirect effect of cold weather that keeps them indoors together more closely where they are more likely to spread viruses to each other. Moreso, the lack of sunshine in the winter allows more viruses to be in the environment because there are fewer sun rays to "kill" them than in other times of year.
Hypothermia is not the same as being cold, it is a specific medical diagnosis and:
.It is defined as a core body temperature that is at or below 95 F (35 C). The normal human core body temperature is 98.6 F (37 C).
* Needs to be treated if core body temperature goes below 95 F (35 C).
* Affects motor coordination through impact to the nervous system at core body temperatures of 95 F (35 C).
* Becomes life threatening below core body temperatures of 90 F (32.2 C).
* When the core body temperature drops that low, at the start of a hypothermic condition, symptoms can include intense uncontrollable shaking and shivering, then if your body continues to get colder, the shivering stops when the core temperature gets between 90 F and 86 F.
* It causes heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to rise during the first stages of hypothermia as your body tries to increase metabolism and warm itself, but these vital signs fall once the core temperature gets 90°F (32.2°C).
* Creates coma at below 86 F.
* Heart rate becomes very irregular below 82 F and death can soon follow.
You can be sick from exposure to extreme temperatures but it is from injury from the cold temperature, not from getting an infectious disease. To catch a common cold and flu, you need to be exposed to the virus that causes it. It won't matter if you get chilly or go out for a few minutes without a jacket. That is a myth.
