The NHS has advised elderly people to wear socks to bed to cope with cold winter weather.
Eight cold weather alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency as temperatures drop.
“Make sure to always wear socks, slippers or shoes around the house. If your feet get cold at night, then go to bed wearing socks,” the advice from Moulton Medical Centre in Lincolnshire said.
The health service has also advised people to encourage the elderly to wear a scarf around their mouths to protect them from cold air.
The elderly and those who were immunocompromised were also advised to wear multiple layers around the house.
The warnings come after the Government withdrew the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners in an attempt to plug what it said was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
The NHS warned people not to go outside early in the morning or late in the evening during the cold snap earlier this month.
In the West Midlands, the NHS Black Country integrated care board urged the public to be aware of trips, slips and falls, wear shoes with good grip and keep their hands free to stabilise themselves.
Last winter, NHS Scotland urged the public to walk “like penguins” to avoid slipping on ice, while the Met Office has previously told elderly people to wear a hat in warm weather.
The Met Office predicts “exceptionally strong winds” will hit Britain this week because of a strong jet stream in the North Atlantic.
It could also deliver the first major storm of 2025, which would be called Storm Eowyn.
Dan Stroud, a Met Office forecaster, said gale force winds of more than 70 miles per hour could be expected by Friday along the west coast.
“It will be increasingly windy from the west and we are likely to see gales developing and some significant winds of 60 to 70 miles per hour and above,” he told The Telegraph.
“The models are not settled exactly when it will hit. There is also the potential for the system to steer clear above and miss the UK altogether but it’s too early to tell.”
BBC weather presenter Chris Fawkes described the strong winds and rain to hit the UK later this week as a “weather bomb” as air pressure drops dramatically.
