Odd question for those of you who left the UK to live in warmer climes

[Aubergines]

Did you find your health, and that of your DCs, improved?

In th UK people seem to accept that small children are inundated by winter bugs. Mine are v small and have been ill almost constantly since Oct. So have I. The GP keeps saying "that just winter with small kids". I hate it do much and hate the unhealthy winter lifestyle of being stuck inside with no fresh air or much exercise. I am so depressed about it I wld consider emigrating just to avoid another winter like this.

So are warmer climates healthier? Do children still have constant viruses or is that more common in the UK?

[muggglewump]

I caught everything going both winters I lived in Australia.
I found the winters there much harder going.
I know it sounds odd, but the houses just aren't set up for it, and I felt cold for the whole winter, which was much harder than the UK where it's at least warm inside.

I've never lived in Asia, but have travelled there and I find the humidity a killer and have twice had chest infections there.

I've never had flu, and haven't had a cold for 3 years here. (Scotland)

I agree with whoever said about it being too hot too. You can't go out in it, it's just as unpleasant as too cold, and you will burn.

I'm also sensitive to air con, and never used it as it made me wheeze.

There really is no perfect 'healthy', weather.

[thumbwitch]

most people will only get proper flu once every 10 years, as that's the approximate time it takes for the flu virus to do a big antigen change. Things that people assume are flu are usually bad colds.

[WhatSheSaid]

I agree about houses in NZ and Oz not being set up for colder weather. Central heating and double glazing are very rare and many houses have little or no insulation. Our kitchen temperature in the worst of the winter used to be about 8 degrees when I got up in the morning - till we put insulation in and it rose to the balmy heights of 12 degrees.

Asthma/bronchitis/chest infections are apparently very common here due to cold and damp homes.

Having said that, dd, who was born here, has been ill about 3 times in her life. The last time I took her to the doctor (apart from immunisations) was in August 2007 when she was 9 months old - she is now nearly two and a half. But I have no idea if that is down to climate, good luck or genetics (dh never gets ill and I do very rarely)

[springaporesling]

thumbwitch yes I think it's just turned into a turn of phrase. Singaporeans seem to call everything flu. One of my team is off today with stomach flu (generally some kind of d&v bug)!

[jabberwocky]

I live in the southern US and have always been surprised at how much more often the dcs on my post-natal group are ill compared to my boys So, yes, I think the climate may have something to do with it.

[mumoverseas]

totally agree with Kitty and Kreecher.

At first I thought it was great living in the Middle East, in particular as my bad back seemed a bit better.

However, over recent months I've had real concerns about my DCs health. They seem to have non stop coughs and colds and they have both recently had croup and bronchiolitus which was very serious in my DSs case (1 year old) We had to get a nebuliser and he needed to go on it every few hours through the day and night.
So many children are getting sick now and I'm pretty sure its because of all the sand and dust which is worse since we moved to a new compound a long way outside town into the desert.

Also, as Kitty says, all the bloody bugs they pick up from school. Just yesterday we had a letter back from nursery reminding parents not to send their little darlings in when they are ill.

We are seriously contemplating returning to the UK if we find out it is the dust/sand making the DC ill.

[expatinscotland]

I grew up in the southern US and in various semi-tropical and tropical climes in S. America and Asia. Then I lived in Denver. Have come to the conclusion that it's not warmth in general, it's when warmth/heat is combined with lowish humidity that leads to better health, because it means you usually spend a lot more time outside.

When you live in a place where it's 40 degrees and 80%+ humidity or when it's just staggering hot and dry, chances are you're going to spend as much time indoors, with A/C running, as you will in the UK with the heater running.

[eidsvold]

I grew up in Aus and never had a chest infection until I moved to the UK. However on the flip side dd1 never had croup until she moved to Aus. I think her smaller tubes were a contributing factor as her other siblings only had one or two bouts between them. Dd1 used to get it all the time.

[Themasterandmargaritas]

Health is not just about 'not getting sick'. You can have escaped colds and viruses for years but yet not be healthy, wherever you are in the world.

Being healthy is about having access to all factors that lead to a healthier lifestyle, ie good housing, sanitation, a decent water supply, nutritious food and education. At the end of the day the climate itself is not a contributing factor, there are viruses that travel the world and there are diseases specific to the different climates.

Living in a warmer climate may offer you the opportunity to live in a better house, with more easily available fresh fruit and veg and offer better opportunities to exercise. It may simply help your mental health to be in the warmth and sunshine, which in itself can have a positive influence on your overall health. But at the end of the day, there will always be viruses and diseases to be exposed to.

Sorry for the lecture Fwiw, I live in the tropics, everytime there is a severe D&V virus in the UK, we get it too, everytime there is a chickenpox epidemic in the UK, we get it too.

[MaMight]

Isn't it more to do with population density?

I remember my daughter's ENT consultant telling me that human's immune systems evolved to work healthily in groups of a few hundred people or fewer, not hundreds of thousands.

Then there's the fact that in big cities and travel hubs you are only a handshake or a door handle away from almost anywhere in the world. Swine flu in Mexico in the morning, business meeting in Dubai that afternoon (luggage in Cairo ).

A small, self contained, rural community somewhere in the Med would be your best bet OP.

[MaMight]

My 1st line looks like I'm directly contradicting TM&M. I meant "more to do with population density than climate" in general thread terms.

[Geocentric]

I live in South America (grew up here) in a very polluted city; whenever I'm in the UK I feel much better - my allergies (chronic rhinitis) give me little or no problem. DH and DS also have the same problem, in fact most families I know have an ENT specialist in their phone book!!!

[expatinscotland]

That is so true! Everyone I know in Houston, a polluted, populous city in a humid, hot, semi-tropical climate, has loads of problems with sinuses, allergies, rhinitis, asthma or all of them!

[MaMight]

Same here in Dubai. My youngest has had a runny nose since we arrived. Antihistamene helps but he can't be on that all the time because it makes him drowsy. So, snotty it is. And they always get ear infections too because of the relentless snot production draining into their ears. Coughs, colds, wheezes, nebulisers, inhalers... all a part of living here.

[Shitemum]

I lived in Spain for 19 years and I got colds every winter and flu a couple of times over the years.

My DDs went to fulltime nursery from the age of 2 and DD1 was hardly ever off ill. DD2 had an ear infection once or twice. Most of the other kids had the same D and V bugs that people in the UK were complaining about but mine never did!

We've been back in the UK since last summer and frankly I don't think they've been iller since we got here. The odd cold but nothing major.

My cousin lived in the Canaries for a year with 3 DC and her youngest did get less chest problems but she was particularly prone to them in the UK.

You still get ill in warmer places. Not a good enough reason to move abroad unless you have something chronic that you know for sure will improve in a dryer warmer climate.

i think some people are just more prone to colds etc.

[Shitemum]

Oh yes and I am relieved i'll never have to suffer several months of hayfever from the Spanish olive tress ever again.
i developed hayfever after 8 years living there and it got worse evey year after that, total nightmare, many people hospitalised with lung problems.

[thumbwitch]

Aubergines, it might cheer you up to know that it's raining here in NSW - has been on and off all week and will continue over the weekend, but it's really muggy with it - perfect weather for mould and mozzies.

I was supposed to be going out this evening to an outdoor event but it's just too wet, although I do realise that as an English person I should be able to cope with that!

[brightongirldownunder]

Hey Thumbwitch! I know - the weather here in Sydney is really foul. High humidity, hot and rainy. I've hurt my back and this is aggravating it even more.

DD hasn't had too many colds since we've been here, but plenty of flu related thingies, probably due to childcare and hand foot and mouth, which has been rife.
I think winter anywhere is pretty unhealthy but I definitely second powdered probiotics for kids. DD has them in her nightime drink of milk.