We are at the beginning of the winter season, which forces us to act differently from
the way we have acted till now, in the summertime. The drop in temperature and the
arrival of rain influence our body. Therefore, we need to relate to this change, as
being unwell is quite common during winter season.
How do we need to behave in order to take care of our health? This is a fundamental
and basic question, which concerns each and every one of us. Without properly
addressing this question, it will be almost impossible to implement the necessary steps
in general, and to avoid being unwell during the winter season in particular.
Why is it that there are more unwell people during winter? Why are the corridors of
the hospitals totally full, and why is the health system collapsing? Why is it that
specifically in winter we come across the same pathologies over and over again?
First, we need to understand scientifically that the lower the temperature, the lower
the quantity of bacteria and viruses is. From physics point of view, cold is a process of
contraction and compression of molecules. This is, for example, the way ice is formed
in a simple icing process.
However, this scientific information not only does not help to understand, but actually
makes the question more difficult – if there are less microbes in the winter, why is it
that there are more unwell people in the winter?
We were taught that the body is being attacked by an external pathogen (usually a
virus or a bacteria) penetrating the system and destabilizing its function. But here is
the question: Is the external pathogen, the microbe, indeed the cause for the disease?
Or does it all start and end internally in the body? Is it, in fact, the state of out body
that will determine the penetration efficiency of that external pathogen and its ability
to create pathogenic change in our body?
Medicine is first and foremost an understanding of what happened, what caused the
problem and what is the root of the problem.
It is a well-known fact that winter is not characterized particularly by causing
diabetes, cholesterol or other chronic prevalent illnesses. However, winter brings with
it cold and damp, which affects our body and increases symptoms, such as common
cold, fever, cough, phlegm, ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. There could be
no dispute that the state of the individual immune system will determine for each and
every one of us, how strong will our inner defense mechanism be to protect our body
and our health. Therefore, the mere existence of any of the above said symptoms
indicates malfunction or weakness of the immune system. Having understood that, the
next stage is to clarify, what caused the immune system to become weak or how do
we prevent it from becoming weak before the coming winter.
When diagnosing, there is another important principle to remember. Each and every
person is unique, with his/her congenital and acquired constitution, life circumstances,
personality, lifestyle, nutrition and all the other factors, which tell us apart. True
medicine is the one which examines and checks each case on its own merits, even if
the doctor has seen thousands of similar cases with the same symptoms prior to the
current one. Therefore, even if cases of ear infection or cough are prevalent in
children, each new case has to be examined and assessed from start according to its
specific data. This clarifies how important it is to perform in each case an individual
medical diagnosis. We must first diagnose accurately: What are the causes? What are
the factors? Where does the ear/nose/lung infection start from? Why was there a rise
in body temperature,…etc. Unless we answer correctly and deeply all these questions,
we cannot really offer a true and a long-lasting solution. All we will be able to do is
perhaps merely suppress the symptoms, without going deep into the real pathological
process that needs to be dealt with.
The third important basis for a good diagnosis and an efficient treatment is a clear
differentiation between the disease and how it manifests – e.g. its symptoms. The
symptoms, (such as fever, cough, sneeze, phlegm, inflammation, etc.) are merely the
way in which the internal disease manifests. The symptoms reveal to us the pathway
of the inner pathological process going on within the body – therefore, they are just
the warning signals, the "messengers", and are not the disease itself. It is important to
realise this, because if we focus and "treat" only the symptoms by suppressing them –
we have not provided a solution to the deep pathological process, which brought
about those symptoms to begin with. The result will be that the disease will penetrate
into even more deep levels and after a while, the symptoms will also return and much
more fiercely.
Let's take cough as an example. Cough by itself is not a disease, but a natural defense
mechanism of the body against foreign objects penetrating the respiratory system and
threatening to damage it (such as phlegm in the respiratory system, smoke that can get
into the lungs through the trachea, dust, viruses, bacteria, etc.). Therefore, treating
only the cough in order to suppress it is, in fact, detrimental to the natural defense
mechanism of the body. Merely suppressing the cough also does nothing to the
foreign object, which has penetrated the system and is causing damage there. So the
diagnosis must go deep into the causes of the cough and help the body get rid of these
initial causes. If the factor causing the cough will be correctly diagnosed and treated,
then the cough will most probably disappear by itself too.
In Hebrew the word "Mahala" (= disease) has its roots in the word "Hahlama" (=
cure). It signifies the ability of the doctor to diagnose a disease and establish an
efficient medical strategy toward a cure.
There are some basic tools, which are worth strictly adhering to in order to strengthen
the immune system, thereby preventing a disease. First and foremost, we need to
verify that our feet and our children's feet are at all times warm. Many of us go around
with cold feet without taking notice of it. Many children have difficulties in adjusting
to the change of season between summer and winter, which requires wearing socks
and shoes. For many of us, even wearing socks does not suffice, and the feet can still
feel cold. So, we need to make sure that our feet are warm at all times, because when
the feet are warm, the whole body fills warm. If we cannot warm our feet (and hands)
ourselves by various means, we must seek professional advice as to what is the cause
for it. Upon diagnosis, we also need to receive a proper treatment strategy as to how
this problem should be treated from its root, once and for all, so that it will not
reoccur next winter.
Furthermore, the food we consume must go through the same change according to the
change in the weather, and so we need to adjust the temperature of our food
accordingly. Cooked warm food is the best for our body and especially in winter time.
It is even recommended to start the day with cooked warm food that will warm our
body and by that will also decrease the need for an intensive external warming of our
surroundings.
Another important advice is to exercise by making quick movement for a short time.
This will recreate a movement of heat and expansion in the body, which in turn will
help keep the body warm.
All these are tools to be adopted in order to prevent a cold. Naturally, even if one
strictly adheres to those rules, there could still be more causes for contracting an
illness in winter time. When this happens, one should turn to professionals who are
able to help with diagnosing and providing a long-term solution for this health issue.
With our blessings for a healthy winter,
