Wrap Up Right: Home Hacks for a Warmer Winter

How to keep you and your family warm this winter.

The shift into winter brings about a drastic change in our weather, grey skies, rain, frost, and snow become the normal weather patterns. Even though it is cold there are many things you can do to keep you and your family warm until the winter months are over.

Try to create a warm and dry home that will make it a healthier environment for you and your family meaning less illness in the winter months. Many household activities create moisture in your home such as cooking, showering, and drying clothes etc., excessive amounts of moisture in a home causes dampness and makes it harder to heat as well as increasing the likely hood of respiratory illnesses.

Minimising dampness can include drying clothes outside (when the weather permits), removing condensation from windows and doors daily and opening a few windows during the day even if only for a few minutes. Letting in the fresh air will help remove the moisture in your home and circulate fresh air inside.

The World Health Organization recommends keeping your home at 18 degrees but that may need to increase if you have young children or the elderly living with you. Draught stoppers and keeping your blinds or curtains closed when the sun is gone make a drastic difference in maintaining an average warm temperature in your home.

Electric heaters are often a cheaper option to buy and safe to use if you are looking for a quick option for heating. Heat pumps are also an effective and cost-efficient way of heating larger spaces and will maintain the set temperature meaning lower heating costs.

If your home is not insulated and you are struggling to keep the warmth inside, you can hang blankets in the windows (recommended for the evening) which acts as a thermal layer keeping the warmth inside and not escaping through the windows. Another affordable solution is bubble wrap, sticking bubble wrap to your windows is a cheap, easy, and extremely effective way to insulate your home.

If you find mould is creeping in around your home, then you can use this very easy DIY solution to remove any mould. Mix three parts water with seven parts white vinegar, and use as you would a normal household spay. Leaving the solution to sit for several minutes (up to 30 minutes) allows for a deeper clean to make sure you are removing all mould spores from your home.

Hot water bottles and wheat bags are an excellent and cheap way of heating you and your family up and are perfect for bedtimes and warming up the bed before hopping in. Hot water bottles aren’t considered safe for children, however wheat bags at a low heat pose minimal risk.

If you find any draughts coming through your doors or windows now is the time to try and stop those draughts before the thick of winter. A draught stopper at the bottom of a door will help to keep the cold out and will increase the warmth in your main living areas. Other alternatives to door stoppers can be pool noodles that have been cut and fitted onto the bottom of the door and self-adhesive draught excluder strips, to stop those draughts coming through the sides of the door.

Your community pharmacist has cold remedies available to help you to deal with some of the effects of the change in temperature, make sure you see your local pharmacist if you are needing any advice or relief.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only. It is not intended as medical or health advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional who understands your individual medical needs.

Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)

Causes of swallowing difficulties

Swallowing difficulties can happen at any age. There are a wide range of causes for them, including:

some medicines, such as antipsychotics
heartburn and acid reflux
cancer, such as mouth or throat cancers
nervous system or brain disorders
muscle disorders
blockages or structural issues with your mouth, throat or oesophagus.

Symptoms of swallowing difficulties

Symptoms of swallowing difficulties may include:

coughing or choking when eating or drinking
bringing food back up, may be through your nose
the feeling that food is stuck in your throat
having issues chewing your food
problems with dribbling.

Swallowing difficulties can cause weight loss, dehydration and chest infections.

Diagnosing swallowing difficulties

Let your healthcare provider know if you have swallowing difficulties. They will ask you about your symptoms and check if any other health conditions you have may be the cause.

Your healthcare provider may refer you to a specialist for tests. These may include a:

gastroscopy—a camera is passed down through your mouth to look at your throat and stomach
swallowing study—your throat and stomach are x-rayed as you swallow small amounts of food.

Treating swallowing difficulties

How your swallowing difficulties are treated depends on the cause and how severe it is. Treatments may include:

medicines to treat acid reflux
swallowing therapy with a speech and language therapist
making changes to what you eat and drink, such as softer foods and using thickener in drinks
using special spoons, plates and cups
surgery to widen your oesophagus.
using special medication lubricants eg Gloup to help make it easier to swallow tablets etc. For more information click here.

Self care for swallowing difficulties

As well as seeing your healthcare provider, the following tips may help you to get food or liquids into your stomach.

Sit upright in a chair—at a table is best.
Have regular small meals instead of the main large meals.
Eat or drink small mouthfuls at a time.
If your voice is gurgly when you eat or drink, give a small cough to make sure your airway is clear.
Wet food will be easier to swallow as dry food can catch in your throat.
If your food has 2 consistencies, such as fruit in juice and cereal in milk, try to mix it into 1 consistency, or eat the solid and liquid portions separately.
Concentrate on eating and avoid talking.
Hot, ice-cold or fizzy liquids are easier to swallow than room temperature liquids.
If you are told to have thickened liquids, avoid ice-cream and jelly as they thin before swallowing.
Drink from the top half of you cup to avoid tipping your head back.

Have a look at our range of Gloup medication lubricants here which can help with difficulties swallowing tablets...

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