It’s the season that everyone and their mum eagerly awaits every year. The season of warm sunshine and long walks in the park, out with the bulky coats and in with jean shorts – Spring is finally coming to Leeds and you’re more than ready to leave the grey skies and icy pavements behind you.
Best known as a period of renewal and rejuvenation, Spring bears the accolade of being the most celebrated season since the olden times – however, it brings along with it its own little inconveniences, from allergies to insect bites. Inconveniences which can be avoided with just a little insight and preparation on your part.
Before you welcome the much-anticipated season with open arms, Clari Health has compiled some tips for you and your loved ones to keep healthy during Spring in Leeds and avoid spending your warm March days holed up in bed.
Navigate Bug Season
Turns out, we aren’t the only ones who adore Spring. Insects do too, and you might have noticed that they re-acquaint themselves with your garden, the park, the roads and even your apartment the moment a modicum of Spring warmth settles in Leeds.
It’s best to be on the guard against these critters and even more so with mosquitoes and ticks, as these two species can pose a serious threat to your health. Mosquitoes detest the cold weather but it’s their time to thrive once March comes around and April is in sight. Although mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue and Malaria aren’t common in the UK, it’s best to tread the safe path and keep from getting bitten as the bites themselves cause vast amounts of discomfort to some and may even trigger rashes or allergies in others.
Watch out for ticks too, as some of them are infected and can transmit Lyme disease to you with just one bite. Fevers, persistent fatigue and muscle aches are only some of the symptoms that you will experience if you’re infected with this disease and unless you want to spend Spring in the sickbed, taking daily courses of antibiotics and being nursed back to health by your Mum, you’ll want to avoid getting bitten by these bugs.
If you’re traveling out of Leeds in Spring and to spots such as Estonia or Japan, tick-borne encephalitis could be a problem as well. The good news is that you can get vaccinated and avoid contracting this viral infection which does not have a cure.
As much as you want to enjoy the sun on your skin, don’t forget to wear long sleeves and trousers when you’re traversing wooded areas, forests or places that are thickly vegetated. From mosquitoes to fleas and from ticks to bees – the insect kingdom awaits you in Spring in these areas, so be cautious! Use insect repellent if you’re prone to being bitten and for maximum coverage, make sure these repellents contain DEET. And though you might want to be adventurous, try to stay on pavements and paths instead of wading through long grass or hiking on unpaved terrain.
You might want to invest in a good pair of tweezers or a tick removal kit just in case you get bitten or stung by an insect – it’s best to remove the bee sting or the tick immediately after getting bitten. To soothe the inflamed and reddened area, ice it and elevate it. Remember, don’t scratch or further irritate the area and make an appointment with your GP if you’re experiencing unusual symptoms such as nausea or giddiness.
Keep those Allergies at Bay
For those of you who grew up with allergies, you’ll know that Spring is almost synonymous with Hay Fever season. As warmth and humidity reign, so do vast amounts of pollen. This pollen, along with spores which are numerous in Spring as well, can make your eyes water, your nose run and your life miserable if you’re not careful.
Hay fever manifests because your body recognises rather harmless particles such as pollen and spores as harmful and produces histamines to combat them – this then leads to all the sneezing and coughing and the perennial runny nose. It’s easy to dismiss these allergies as something trivial, but those of you who’ve been battling them for years would know how much they can reduce your quality of life.
You can say goodbye to restful sleep and welcome in its place drawn out periods of fatigue and unproductivity. Not to mention, those with asthma and sinusitis will have a particularly bad time of it when these allergies strike.
That’s not to say that you can’t combat Hay Fever and make the next couple of months a little easier on yourself – there are plenty of ways to reduce and manage the discomfort brought on by allergies. For one, if you know that your pollen allergies are severe, try to avoid grassy areas, gardens and parks. They’re hot spots for pollen and are an allergic reaction waiting to happen.
Don’t forget to do some spring cleaning – there’s a reason why they call it spring cleaning after all. Don’t let pollen and dust mites accumulate in the corners of your room and in the piles of untouched clutter in the storage spaces in your house. Clear out unwanted belongings, dust your cabinets and vacuum when you have to! You’re less likely to suffer from allergies indoors if you keep your home clean.
If all else fails and you do end up nursing that runny nose and scratchy throat, take a dose of your anti-histamines or the pills that your GP gave you for your allergies and take a trip to your GP for a check-up.
Ward off Seasonal Illnesses
You may have caught wind of the news in the last two years about measles outbreaks in Leeds. The city certainly isn’t a stranger to flu outbreaks either. By now, you’d know that both diseases are contagious and are spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes in the proximity of others.
What you might not know however, is that there is a high risk of transmission for these illnesses in Spring. Flu is usually passed off as an ailment that’s particular to winter and periods of cold weather, but it’s also prevalent in early spring, much like measles. It’s best not to become complacent and fall ill in the next few months when you’ve spent the winter months doing your best to avoid the very thing!
While a flu typically causes fevers, headaches and throat irritation, measles may cause rashes as well – even if you could somehow head out in the midst of debilitating fatigue, the blotches of red all over your face will make you think twice before meeting your date for a cuppa.
If you’ve managed to avoid getting a nasty bout of the flu so far, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and book an appointment with Clari Health to get your flu vaccines and keep yourself protected against the flu.
You may also want to consider getting the measles vaccine for yourself and your loved ones, especially if you have young kids in whom the illness could present more severely.
Kids also usually contract chicken pox during the months of winter and spring, so to be extra safe, get them vaccinated against chicken pox as well (and yourself too, if you’re one of those who’re lucky enough not to have contracted the chicken pox thus far).
In the case that you do fall ill, make sure to visit your GP and take the necessary medication as well as plenty of rest. There’s always next spring!
Keep Your Mind In Shape
While most of us do the best we can to keep ourselves free of illnesses and to seek help when we do find ourselves physically ill, not as many make the same sort of effort to keep their minds healthy. Remember, although seasonal depression is common and people are more likely to feel low during the cold season when they’re holed up at home, the coming of Spring doesn’t automatically make everything okay!
In fact, suicide rates in the UK were seen to be the highest in Spring. Mental illness doesn’t strike at a particular time or in a particular place, so this Spring, make sure that you actively work towards keeping your thoughts positive and your mind healthy.
If you feel that the past few months have impressed a low feeling upon you, make an effort to surround yourself with loved ones and lean on them – they’re your support system! Engage in activities that make you feel happy and give you respite from anxious or unhappy thoughts and keep yourself busy so that bleakness doesn’t set in.
Get some fresh air, as fresh air does wonders for your mood. Shake off the doom and gloom of winter and go outside to feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. If you’re feeling too low to try any of these things or if you’ve tried them and they just don’t seem to dispel the depressive cloud that’s surrounding you, fix an appointment with your counsellor or a mental health professional so that they can help you figure out a way to cope with these depressive thoughts and recover from them. If necessary, they will prescribe you with medication that’ll smooth the terrain for you in the upcoming months.
Enjoy the sunshine and your little flower, but make sure to look out for the ailments that we’ve mentioned and keep yourself healthy enough to enjoy the beauty and liveliness of the full course of the Spring months. If you want to make sure that you don’t waste any sunny days and are considering getting a flu or measles jab, fix an appointment with Clari Health right away!
