Some Winter Emergency Tips for Older People

A new campaign called "Spread the Warmth" is being run by Age UK Camden in conjunction with the Met Office, in which the Met office will alert the charity when any extreme conditions are about to arise this winter The campaign aims to drastically cut the number of unnecessary deaths from the winter cold and harsh conditions. There are around 35,000 entirely preventable deaths among older people in the UK and the charity aims to alert and educate older people and their carers, friends and family about the risks posed by the severely cold weather.

Many older people think the only risk to them in the winter is getting a bad cold. However due to many older people's decreasing ability to detect temperature changes they can be exposed to drops in temperature which put them at risk of strokes, heart attacks and increased respiratory problems among other conditions.

Age UK Charity staff and volunteers will be able to update service users with advance warnings of severe weather conditions and advice on keeping warm. The campaign has also published a cook book called "Keep the Cold out this Winter", (to order, email campaigns@ageuk.org.uk) tips on how to stay healthy this winter and an information guide "Winter Wrapped Up" for which you can call Age UK Advice on 0800 1696565).

Here are Age UK's top tips for older people staying warm and healthy this winter:

Make sure your bedroom temperature does not fall below 18 C as it is essential to keep your sleeping area warm. Also ensure that your window is closed at night to keep out the cold draughts.

Try to keep the living room heated to a consistent 21 degrees minimum and ensure all the doors are closed. If it is difficult to maintain this temperature then do make sure your room is fairly warm and heat is kept in.

Eat good nutritious food with plenty of protein and vitamin C to ward off winter illnesses and keep the immune system functioning. Regularly take plenty of hot drinks and eat an extra hot meal a day.

Take care to wrap up warmly when going out. Remember, the head and fingers are the first places to feel the cold so do wear a hat and gloves.

Get a flu jab to avoid dangerous and unpleasant bouts of winter flu. Flu jabs are free to over 65s and are available at your GP's surgery.

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