Senior physicians have warned Nigerians against the common practice of regular intake of alcohol to stay warm during the rainy or cold season, describing it as potentially harmful.
According to the experts, while alcohol may give a temporary feeling of warmth, the effect is misleading and can expose the body to serious health risks, especially in cold weather.
Speaking in a separate interview with PUNCH HealthWise, the public health specialists explained that alcoholic beverages, particularly spirits, stimulate the release of adrenaline and other hormones that create a false sense of heat.
However, they warned that this makes the body’s actual temperature drop, increasing the risk of hypothermia and related complications.
Hypothermia, according to Mayo Clinic, is a medical emergency condition that occurs when core body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius).
It added that in hypothermia, the body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature.
“When body temperature drops, the heart, nervous system and other organs can’t work as well as they usually do. Left untreated, hypothermia can cause the heart and respiratory system to fail and eventually can lead to death,” the online health website said.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH HealthWise, a Professor of Public Health at the University of Ilorin, Tanimola Akande, said while alcohol presents a false warmth, its effect is not good for the body.
He warned that rather than rely on alcoholic beverages to fight cold, Nigerians should adopt appropriate clothing, drink hot tea and other measures.
Akande, a former National Chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, said taking excessive alcohol during the rainy or cold season could predisposes users to several health complications, including death in some instances.
“It is true that there is a false belief that alcohol keeps the body warm when it is cold. Though it is true that alcohol keeps the body warm, through its effect of widening blood vessels (vasodilation) particularly those close to the skin, this however reduces the flow of warm blood to the body’s key organs. The net effect is not good for the body,” the don said.
According to him, Nigerians resort to alcohol when it rains or gets cold because of the perception that alcohol keeps them warm.
“While this is true, it has adverse effects. It is therefore important to take other measures to keep warm, like the use of appropriate clothing, drinking hot tea, and the use of appropriate room heaters.
“While alcohol makes the skin warm, it deprives key organs of the body of necessary warmth, and this can lead to poor functioning of the organs. Alcohol may further impair an individual’s judgment on other measures to keep warm and keep further exposure to cold, which may become dangerous,” Akande said.
He warned that consuming excessive alcohol in rainy or cold weather puts people at greater risk of illness.
“Excessive alcohol use in rainy or cold weather can lead to alcohol-related illnesses like liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and mental illnesses like alcohol dependency. Alcohol use to keep warm can lead to false judgment, and in extreme cold, it can lead to hypothermia (low body temperature) and may occasionally lead to death,” the don added.
Also, a Professor of Community Medicine and Public Health at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Best Ordinioha, cautioned that regular reliance on alcohol for warmth could lead to excessive consumption.
Aside from excessive consumption, he added that it could lead to drunkenness, impaired judgment, and long-term addiction, which he said could increase the risk of accidents and unsafe behaviour.
The don also noted that alcohol misuse is linked to more than 40 health conditions, including liver and heart diseases.
“When one takes alcoholic beverages, especially the spirits, alcoholic beverages like the local gin, brandy, and all those ones, they excite the body. So the body releases those hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline. They have a way of generating heat. It is through that pathway that it creates that acceptable feeling of warmth to achieve that purpose.
“But the fact is this, alcohol is dangerous because it can easily lead to excessive consumption. And beverages with high alcohol content can result in drunkenness. Drunkenness can lead to a lot of things, especially what is called dissipation. Dissipation means that, in that drunken state, someone can do what they wouldn’t have done under normal circumstances.
“And you can stretch it; people might engage in some sexual activities, unprotected sexual activities, in that drunken state. Not to mention accidents and a lot of other things. And of course, one can be pushed into becoming an alcoholic, which can put the person at risk of several diseases, more than 40 different diseases,” Ordinioha said.
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