Welcome to the irishhealth.com Winter Illness Clinic. Winter brings more than cold weather and Christmas for some people. The combination of wind, rain and plummeting temperatures can cause many illnesses, and few Irish people manage to make it to spring without contracting at least a cold.

But while a dose of the sniffles is unpleasant, wintry weather can induce more serious complaints too. In Ireland, deaths go up by almost a third during the winter months.

Winter is when the flu is likely to make its unwelcome visit, and sub-zero temperatures can cause deaths through hypothermia and exposure, particularly in older people. Many other ailments, as varied as arthritis and depression, become worse during the cold and dark months of winter.