Stay on Top this Festive Season

The  end of the year in Nigeria ushers in the Harmattan.season. Each year the actual time of. Onset, duration and intensity varies.
The Harmattan is a dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind which blows from the Sahara Desert over the West African subcontinent into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March . Most of the time, it rushes  in about December.lasting till January.

Appearance
The Harmattan season differs from winter, because it is characterized by cold, dry, dust-laden wind, and also wide fluctuations in the ambient temperatures of the day and night. Temperatures can easily be as low as 9 °C (48 °F) all day, but sometimes in the afternoon the temperature can also soar to as high as 30 °C (86 °F), while the relative humidity drops under 10%.
In some countries in West Africa, like Nigeria, the heavy amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days, comparable to a heavy fog. It temperatures can be as low as 3 degrees Celsius.
Harmattan is usually caused by heavy amount of dust in the air, it has severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days, comparable to a heavy fog. The sand stirred by these winds is known as the Harmattan haze, When the haze is weak, the skies are clear.

A health Hazards
• Humidity drops to as low as 15%, which can result in spontaneous nosebleeds for some people. Other health effects on humans may include conditions of the skin, eyes, and respiratory system, including aggravation of asthma.. the weather is harsh to the hair as well as the skin. People with pre-existing chronic chest infection suffer more during harmattan, especially Asthmatic patients and the season also triggers sickle cell crises in affected individuals as the blood oxygen is usually reduced in extremes of temperatures and cold.
• Many come up with coughing , Sore throat. Sneezing, , Conjunctivitis. And an eye infection called Apollo. This is common amongst any sufferers.
Generally in Nigeria, it is obvious that Hamattan period is usually characterised with some dreaded dieseases, the Northerners face this phenomenon heavily compare to the people in the south as a result, it has claimed so many lives. Over the years this phenomenon has resulted into spontaneous nose bleeds, it has negative effects on asthmatic patients .

Caring for yourself
Harmattan, despite its   adverse health effects, is not without some health benefits to man.
For example, the low temperature associated with it is unfavourable for breeding of mosquitoes thus reducing the incidence of malaria. The skin, the eyes and the respiratory tract which directly communicate with the atmosphere, the later via the nose and mouth, are most vulnerable to the adverse effects of this weather. The skin is usually dry with accompanying cracking of the lips, sole of the feet and even the skin itself. The body extremities such as the hands and feet are sometimes too cold to generate unpleasant symptoms. Babies and the elderly are particularly prone to hypothermia (core body temperature below 35 degrees centigrade) due to sub optimal temperature regulating mechanism.  The skin can be kept healthy by topical application of oily creams and weather friendly dressing. This is perhaps the best time to explore the cultural advantage of wearing baban riiga and suits, as it pleases one, to keep warm. As we use various means depending on our socioeconomic status to keep our homes warm, extra caution must be taken to prevent fire accidents.
The eyes are directly exposed to the harsh weather especially the dust particles carried by the wind. Thus itching, foreign body sensation and redness may be common especially in individuals with allergic eye disease. Proper eye hygiene in form of washing with clean water, reduce exposure to dust and protective spectacles, are advocated.
The respiratory system, because of its direct communication with the atmosphere, is heavily and badly affected. The respiratory tract has got a defensive mechanism that stops harmful particles in the air from getting to the lungs. This defense may however be overwhelmed by the concentration of the pollutants in the atmosphere, depending on the health status of a person or owing to a small sized particles that escape  entrapment. The resultant effect is damage to the system predisposing to infection. Excessive sneezing, cough and catarrh are some of the symptoms common to most people.
The Harmattan period is not the best of weathers for people with pre existing chronic chest infection. Worthy of mention is Asthma, a chronic (long-term) disease that makes it hard to breathe due inflammatory congestion in the lower respiratory tract. These groups of patients should pay special attention to their health, taking all possible and practicable measures to reduce exposure to the dusty atmosphere in addition to having their inhaler with them all the time. The epidemic of meningococcal meningitis usually experience between February to May in the ‘meningitis belt’, northern Nigeria inclusive, is an aftermath of Harmattan.

Be proactive
• Children, are advised to be indoors all the time due to the dust and to keep their skins healthy by topical application of oily creams and weather friendly dressing. Also proper eye hygiene in form of washing with clean water, reduce exposure to dust and protective spectacles.
• Mothers, are advised  to always keep the environment clean and their home should be free from dust. It is advised not to open their windows and doors due to dust and insects.
• In time like this harmattan season, the advice will be that people should try to limit their exposure to dust. How do you do this? Like in a house that have curtains, you can wash them, like drape curtains, some people can hang drape for years and they will not wash it to limit the amount of accumulated dust.
• Air-conditioners should also be serviced to avoid harmattan induced symptoms. Wipe windows, fans with wet rags. You cannot really control the dust on the street but you can control the ones around your environment. Do away with fluffy carpets, especially for those that have allergy. A better alternative is the rubber carpets or floor tiles, marbles, granites.  we also need to be aware that periodically, a few times in a day, if we are outside, we need to wash our face, wash off the particles, the dust particles from your eyes.