With the weather turning colder, it’s important to prepare for winter conditions. Damage as a result of burst pipes is a possibility over the next few months. However, with some simple precautions the risk can be reduced.

People are being advised to be prepared for the challenges of winter driving, and all road users to take extra care. From now until April more than 300 staff, more than 130 gritters, and 12 snow blowers will be on standby to keep traffic moving safely and freely on main roads during wintry conditions.

Darker morning and evenings

Now the clocks have changed, darker mornings and evenings, and lower temperatures, around this time of year make driving conditions more difficult.

All road users are advised to take extra care.

It’s important to take personal responsibility and pay attention.

Drivers should:

• slow down
• never ever drink or take drugs and drive
• always wear a seatbelt

In particular, watch out for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders, as they will be much more difficult to see in the dark mornings and evenings. 

Salting roads

The main roads which carry more than 1,500 vehicles a day are salted. In exceptional circumstances, some roads carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles daily will also be salted. This means that the road network which carries 80 per cent of daily traffic will be treated.

Additional salt bins are provided on routes not included as part of the gritting network. These are free-of-charge for people to use themselves.

Arrangements are also in place to enlist the help of contractors, including farmers, to clear blocked roads following any heavy snowfalls.

The following page has more information:

Drive with care

Remember, you should heed the advice in the Highway Code and drive with extra care, even if roads have been salted.

You should also be prepared for road conditions changing over short distances, and take care when overtaking gritters.

You should note that:

• a journey could start or end on an untreated section of road
• salt does not act immediately, it needs vehicles to turn it into an effective solution
• roads can refreeze after spreading, particularly in showery conditions

There is more information on the page below:

Up-to-date road conditions information

You can get up-to-date information about road conditions during the winter on the TrafficwatchNI website.

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With winter upon us, many people will pick up sniffles, sore throats, colds, and get infections. But it’s useful to know the difference between a viral infection and a bacterial infection and how can both be treated.

Viral infections

As their names suggest, viral infections are caused by viruses, bacterial infections by bacteria.

Antibiotics are effective only against bacterial infections – they cannot help you recover from infections caused by viruses.

Cold and flu are viruses and antibiotics are useless against them. The best treatment is:

• plenty of rest
• hot drinks
• maybe paracetamol to relieve aches, pains and help reduce a high temperature – make sure not to take more than the stated dosage

Viral infections are very common and, as well as cold and flus, they can include many infections of the nose, sinuses, ears, throat and chest. Most of these can be self-treated without the need for a visit to the doctor and definitely no need for an antibiotic.

In fact if you take antibiotics when you don’t need them, you could have some unpleasant side effects like an upset stomach, diarrhoea, or a skin rash.

Don’t forget, if you do have a cough or cold, it’s important to reduce your chances of spreading it to others by following good hygiene practices:

• wash your hands regularly
• if you sneeze or cough, use a tissue to help stop the spread of infection

Antibiotics do not prevent viruses such as the common cold or flu from spreading to other persons.

The first place to go if you’re feeling unwell is the pharmacist, who can usually provide over-the-counter medication to help deal with your symptoms until your illness passes.

If you must go to the doctor, don’t demand antibiotics from them.

Take your doctor’s advice. They’ll know what the best action to take is and if they say you don’t need an antibiotic, don’t demand one. 

Bacterial infections

If you have a bacterial infection, your own immune system can clear many of these infections without the need for antibiotics. Antibiotics do little to speed up your recovery from most common infections.

If your symptoms don’t go away or if you have any concern, it’s important that you see your doctor.

If you really have a severe infection such as bacterial pneumonia, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. 

Antibiotics should only be taken for serious bacterial infections. They are life-saving drugs for infections like pneumonia and meningitis.

If we continue to take antibiotics when we don’t need to, bacteria build up resistance, making antibiotics useless against fighting them. As it is the bacteria and not the person that become resistant to the drugs, antibiotic resistance affects everyone.

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be difficult to treat so we need to protect the antibiotics we have to make sure they work when they’re needed most.

We all have a role to play in using antibiotics wisely.

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It’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of mouth cancer. The earlier the disease is spotted the better the chances of a complete cure.

Risks and what to look out for

This form of the disease can happen in or on any part of the mouth, including lining of the mouth, gums, tongue, lips, and throat.

Smoking, regularly drinking large amounts of alcohol, too much sun or use of sunbeds, and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), can all increase the risk of developing mouth cancer.

In its very early stages, mouth cancer can be easy to ignore. The key signs to watch out for are:

• an ulcer on the lip, tongue, or in the mouth that doesn’t heal within three weeks
• pain in the mouth or earache that doesn’t go away
• a  white or red patch in the mouth that doesn’t go away
• a lump or thickening in the mouth, throat, or on the lip
• difficulty or pain when chewing, swallowing, or speaking
• bleeding or numbness in the mouth
• a lump in the neck
• loose teeth for no obvious reason
• unexplained weight loss over a short space of time

Mouth cancer and the treatment required can be traumatic, as this may affect functions such as speech, chewing and swallowing.

These symptoms are often caused by something less serious and don’t usually mean it’s cancer. However, if in doubt get checked out by your dentist or GP.

Reduce mouth cancer risk

The most important things to try and reduce the risk of mouth cancer are:

• check for changes in your mouth
• visit your dentist regularly
• get help to stop smoking
• limit the amount of alcohol you drink
• reduce the chances of getting  HPV by practising safer sex
• use sunscreen (at least sun protection factor 15 and four stars) on your lips in hot weather
• don’t use sunbeds
• exercise for at least 30 minutes a day
• eat a healthy diet, including five portions of fruit and vegetables daily

Visit your dentist

It’s important to visit your dentist at least once a year, even if you no longer have your own teeth.

Dentists are trained to spot early signs of mouth and salivary gland cancer and can easily see parts of your mouth that you cannot see.

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