Panacea potion | Simple ways to avoid summer maladies | Summer health issues | summer maladies | summer heat stroke | headache | fatigue | summer relief in ayurveda | UTI in ayurveda | urinary infection prevention | summer health complications | skin irritation in summer | Health News

As the summer peaks, the human body is prone to minor ailments. The heat saps energy and consequently the body is weakened. Later acute conditions manifest with the onset of monsoon. With a few regulations in our daily regime one can avoid health hazards and lower the risk of diseases.

Also read: Panacea potion | Beat the heat with the right diet

Heatstroke

Panacea potion | Simple ways to avoid summer maladies

You don't have to spend long hours under the blazing sun to suffer heatstroke. The few minutes of wait outside for your cab or a bike ride is enough to overheat your body. The following simple precautions will help you to lessen the adverse effect of heat:

1. Carry an overhead cover; an umbrella, a scarf or a hat will help reduce the direct impact of the heat. Bike riders must place a cotton cloth beneath their helmets.

2. Always carry a bottle of sweetened water; it may be juice, coconut water or an ORS. The sugar in solution is much easier to digest and spikes up the glucose level and cortisone which helps prevent the chance of a stroke.

Panacea potion | Simple ways to avoid summer maladies

3. Make sure that you bathe twice a day and that too in lukewarm water or normal water. Do not use warm water at all especially for the head during summers (unless it is a chronic ailment like arthritis).

Urinary infections

Panacea potion | Simple ways to avoid summer maladies

During summer, urinary infections spike as the fluid you drink is sweated out. The body tends to heat up all the more and diseases come in the wake.

Consider the following steps to lower body heat:

1. Drink at least 3 l of water.

2. Reduce the salt, sour and spice level in your diet and increase the sweet and fat in your diet a little more.

3. Reduce alcohol intake.

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4. Barley and sandalwood sticks should be added to the water you drink.

Headaches

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The blatant heat increases the internal temperature of the body. When the temperature of the brain increases, the functioning of the brain also gets affected. Avoid such risks with these simple steps:

1. Oiling: if not daily but at least thrice a week oil your head with at least a tablespoon of oil for 10-15 minutes and wash it off under running water.

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2. Regularise motions: The increased heat and dehydration causes difficulty in passing motions which can lead to headaches. Along with ample hydration, adequate intake of fruits that cool down the body and also help pass motions is good.

3. Applying kachooradi choornam, a herbal powder, at the vertex (the crown of the head) helps in cooling down the brain. It also reduces the formation of phlegm.

Constant coughs and cold

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Age-old remedies to keep away coughs and cold should be tried.

1. Chew an ajwain leaf whenever a trace of cold hits you.

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2. Gargling with tulsi water as soon as you get up and before you go to bed will reduce the chances of developing cough.

3. Applying rasnadi choorna, a herbal powder, after bath will help keep a check on phlegm formation.

Fatigue

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We get tired easily in summer. Summer fatigue could be overcome by the following easy-to-practise steps:

1. Ample hydration: Drink at least 3 l of water daily

2. Buttermilk with the butter churned away is a very good coolant. It also reduces acidity and exhaustion

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3. Cold cow’s milk in the afternoon also helps abate the heat.

4. Keeping buckets of water near your bedside will help reduce the room temperature and cool the body. This should be done, especially if you find difficult to sleep.

Also check: Panacea potion | Get rid of your wrong notions about Ayurveda

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Skin burns and acne

1. Body covers like hats and long sleeves will protect us from hot rays that not only cause tanning but also may destroy the texture of the skin and hair

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2. Apply sandalwood paste, aloe vera, licorice, lodhra facepack as soon as you are back from the sun.

3. Apply red sandalwood (raktachandan) and turmeric on the body before he evening bath will help remove body tan.

4. For the increased acne in this season: drinking buttermilk about a litre , steaming and then applying aloe vera gel will find great relief.

These simple measures help us to tolerate the heat and thereby keep us stay healthy before the onset of monsoon. As they are only preventive measures, they should not be taken for aggravated illness.

(The author is an Ayurveda doctor. You may reach her on dhanya@dhanyasayurveda.com)