According to the Daily Mail, Liam Rudd, from Guildford, UK, who had just moved to the Gold Coast, Australia, suddenly collapsed in the bathroom. Fortunately, his girlfriend, Stella Slinger Thompson, found him lying on the floor and immediately called an ambulance.

After being rushed to the hospital, doctors diagnosed Rudd with a stroke, resulting in left-sided paralysis, and he needed emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. The surgery lasted for 6 hours, during which the doctors opened his skull to relieve pressure inside his brain. However, another high-risk blood clot was discovered during the procedure, and he was put under anesthesia for 3 days before being woken up for the complex surgery. While he temporarily survived the danger, he still lacked motor function on the left side of his body and would need at least a year and a half of rehabilitation to recover.

This case has drawn attention, with doctors warning about the rapidly increasing number of strokes among people under 40. Reports show that in the past 20 years, the stroke rate among men under 39 in the UK has risen by nearly a quarter, while the rate for women in the same age group has only increased by 1%. Data also indicates that the stroke rate for patients aged 50 to 59 has increased by 55% over the past 20 years. Currently, more than 100,000 people in the UK suffer strokes annually, which means one person has a stroke every five minutes, leading to 38,000 deaths. Stroke has become the fourth leading cause of death in the UK and the leading cause of disability.

In Vietnam, the stroke rate among younger individuals has also been on the rise recently. Especially in cold weather, taking a shower incorrectly can lead to unfortunate consequences. Experts recommend the following five points to consider when showering in cold weather to avoid disaster:

1. Follow the correct showering order
   When showering, it is important not to wash your hair first. Instead, you should reverse the order to prevent brain issues. The reason is that cold weather causes significant changes in blood pressure before and after showering, which can trigger a stroke.
   The typical shower order should be: wash your face first, then rinse your body, and finally wash your hair. This sequence can help minimize cardiovascular and brain vascular discomfort and prevent poor blood circulation. It is also suitable for people with underlying conditions like heart disease and stroke.

2. Water temperature should not be too high
   When the body is cold, blood vessels constrict, and blood pressure rises. When you enter the bathroom and start showering, your body temperature rises quickly, and blood pressure increases as the body adjusts. As the water temperature rises, your blood pressure will begin to drop, which can easily trigger a stroke.
   Remember, the water temperature should be warm, not hot. The water temperature should match your body temperature. In summer, it can be lower than body temperature, and in winter, it can be a little higher, around 38-40°C. Of course, this is not an absolute standard, but it is suitable for most people.
   Even if you consider yourself healthy, after the age of 40, it is important to keep the bathroom temperature warm when showering. Especially in cold weather, it is best to maintain the bathroom temperature at around 25°C.

3. Do not shower for too long
   It is best to control your shower time to 10-15 minutes in cold weather. Avoid showering for more than 20 minutes, as prolonged showers can destroy the skin's oil balance, leading to dryness, cracks, peeling, and itching.

4. Do not scrub too hard while showering
   As the largest organ of the human body, the skin is the first line of defense. If the skin is cleaned too often, the sebaceous glands may not have enough time to secrete sufficient oil, resulting in dry, peeling, cracked skin, and even weakening the skin's resistance, which could lead to or worsen skin conditions.

5. Special care for the elderly and children
   Children should shower 2-3 times a week since their skin is still developing and is only about one-third as thick as an adult's. Frequent showering can lead to drier and itchier skin. It is recommended that the water temperature for children’s showers should be below 38°C, and each shower should last no longer than 10 minutes. You can warm up the room before showering to avoid catching a cold.
   Elderly people should shower once a week, or 2-3 times in half a month. The shower time should not exceed 5 minutes, and the water temperature should not exceed 40°C. They should also avoid excessive movement.
   Elderly people with underlying health conditions must control the water temperature when showering, and increase the room temperature beforehand. They should also drink a glass of warm water (100ml) after showering to prevent falls and colds.