Too much exposure to heater can harm you

Delhi is shivering under a cold wave and we feel lazy to perform even our routine activities. This chilly weather is forcing everyone to wear lots of woollens but no matter how many clothes you wear, still you feel cold and you become dependent on air heater/blower. You feel comfortable as long as you are in front of it. But do you realise how much harm it does to your body? It makes development in your body slow and also makes your muscles weak.

"As we switch on the air heater/blower, the air around us becomes dry and the moisture in the air which is very important for us and our body disappears. The dry air makes your outer and inner body parts uncomfortable from inside. The dry heater inside your room means that you are breathing dry air which is not good for you," says Dr Vivek Nangia, head of Respiratory diseases, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi."The air heaters that we use are very dangerous and invite trouble for you and your body parts. We breathe the air that contains moisture, it helps in the routine functioning of the body," adds Dr Nangia.The air heaters that we use are responsible for increasing the level of indoor air pollutants and also the incidence of respiratory problems.

"Air blower we use heat up the atmosphere around. People who suffer from asthma, pneumonia and swine flu shouldn't use the air blower at all," says Satish Kapoor, advisor, Holistic Health Care, Healing Hands. The best thing to do is put hot water in an open bucket along with the heater so that all of the air is not absorbed by the heater, suggests Dr Satish. 

"Air heater is especially bad for heart patients and asthma patients, they feel suffocated. Even healthy people get affected as after switching of the heater, it results in headache. The second problem that the heater does is it affects the skin. Skin has seven layers and exposure to heater affects the skin badly. The tissues and skin cells get affected and the excessive use leads to skin rashes and sometimes eczema can also occur," says Dr ND Sharma, chief medical officer, New Delhi Municipal Council. All in all, heater leads to lack of blood supply to the heart and the blood. "The substitute that you can use can be the radiant heaters and the rod heaters. Radiant heaters are the best option than going for the hot air blowers," advises Dr ND Sharma.