While we might enjoy walking in the rain, playing around the puddles, or enjoying roadside food, it is also necessary to stay safe and have fun when it rains. And while some people have mixed feels about the rainy season, if you are conscious about your health during this time, you need to know that there are chances of diseases and infections.
To help you with taking care of yourself, we have listed the top 12, basic but very important tips to be healthy in monsoon.
Increase Vitamin C Intake
You will notice that during the monsoon season, viruses and bacteria thrive along with viral fevers, allergies and other infections. And the air quality goes down to low making way for more bacteria to follow. Therefore, to remain healthy and rejuvenated, you have to work on boosting your immunity during monsoon and one of the easiest ways of doing that is increasing your Vitamin C intake. Eat sprouts, fresh green vegetables and Cal-C to have a Vitamin C-rich diet.
Increase Probiotic Intake
Probiotics are healthy microorganisms that support your health; they typically live in the gut and digestive system. So you have to increase your intake of probiotic foods like curd and yogurt, and even buttermilk. These will make your gut health more stronger and resilient, thus making your digestive system better and avoid any stomach bugs.
Avoid Junk Food
Street food, freshly cut fruits and other kinds of food items sold on the street should strictly be avoided because the roads are filled with water and mud which are a safe zone for harmful organisms to make a place, including the air. So the longer the food items are exposed to the open air, the higher they are likely to become home to them. So, whenever you eat your favourite junk food, you are more likely to contract a disease.
Destroy Mosquito Breeding Grounds
One of the worst issues of monsoon is the breeding of mosquitoes and they just know how to make you feel miserable. But with a few precautions you can make your space mosquito-free by using mosquito repellents (learn how to make them here) and follow some basic tips like ensuring that there is no open water storage in your home, that water is always in covered pots and vessels. Similarly, ensure that the drains are not clogged and there’s no rainwater held stagnant in your nearby areas. Mosquito are born in stagnant water, so removing sources of stagnant water will help a lot.
Iron Your Damp Clothes
It might seem like a strange tip, but the monsoon is perfect for moulds. Closets and wardrobes are generally used to store clothing, bedsheets and linen. These places stay cool and start to get damp as the rains progress. With wet moisture come moulds. Since, there’s seldom any sunlight to warm your clothes, getting them ironed is the next best thing.
Add a Disinfectant In The Water When You Shower
When you go out in the rain to enjoy or get drenched, remember to bathe with a disinfectant like Dettol every time you get wet. It will save you from the millions of microorganisms you carry home and help you stay healthy and fit. Washing your hands and feet and legs are advisable as you get back. Remember, use only clean water to wash your face.
Use Clean Fruits & Veggies
Prefer clean, freshly cooked food when eating outdoors. During the monsoon, it is imperative that you thoroughly scrub your fruits and vegetables under running water because germs live on the skins of fruits and vegetables, we all know the water that they use to wash the fruits and veggies with.
Hand Hygiene Is Crucial
Wash or sanitize your hands carefully before you eat something when you are away from home and after you come back home. Practising good hand hygiene kills almost all microbes that may exist on the skin of your hands and as we know, the population of harmful germs expands during the monsoon.
Exercise
Don’t let the rain wash away your exercise routine. Jumping rope, squats, planks and burpees are all excellent exercises that can be done indoors. Exercising not only helps you lose weight or stay in shape, but it is also great for your immunity. It gets your heart racing, improves blood circulation and triggers serotonin (happiness hormone) production, all of which fortify your immune system against viruses and bacteria.
Care For Your Nails
Even if you are not in the habit of tending to your nails, you must, during the rainy season. Clip your nails regularly and wash them underneath them so that germs and bacteria do not accumulate there.
Say No To Wet Shoes
It is almost impossible to go to work and come back with your shoes clean and dry during the monsoon. If your shoes are mud-spattered or drenched, clean them properly and let them dry completely before you wear them again, otherwise, pathogens will grow in them. Make sure you have a dry pair of shoes or you can opt for special rubber shoes.
Protect Yourself Against Allergens
Allergies can become severe during the monsoon. So if you know that you react badly to dust, vapours or pollution, you must wear a mask when you go out. Keep your doctor-prescribed anti-allergy medicine with you at all times.
