Keeping warm

Staying warm in the winter is vital in ensuring you stay independent and healthy. There are a number of small things you can do to make sure you keep you home and yourself warm:

• Have a seasonal flu jab and or a ‘pneumo’ jab (pneumococcal). 
• Wear plenty of layers and warm shoes or boots with non-slip soles.
• Keep your main living room and rooms you use during the day heated (18–21oC, 64–70oF), warm your bedroom before you go to bed.
• Heat your home as best you can but if you can’t heat all the rooms you use, heat the living room during the day and your bedroom just before you go to sleep.
• Keep windows shut at night to keep your home warm.
• Do not use a gas cooker or oven to heat your home – it is inefficient and there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Remember to close curtains and shut doors to keep heat in the rooms you use most.
• Keep simple cold, flu and sore throat remedies at home. 
• If you take prescribed medication order repeat prescriptions in plenty of time and see if your pharmacy will deliver. 
• Eat healthily and keep as active as possible. 
• Keep basic food items in the cupboard or freezer in case it’s too cold to go shopping. 

Check on elderly or at risk family/neighbours during cold periods and offer help or support.