Masuk Angin: What and how to treat it – Masuk Angin might be the most common sickness you’ll hear about in Indonesia. But what is it really? And how to treat it? Masuk Angin translates to “the wind entering us”, some of the symptoms are not feeling well, feverish, nausea, and bloating stomach due to spending too much time in the rain or outdoor activities.
Medically speaking, masuk angin is not a real thing but most Indonesian like to associate this type of sickness as such due to how common and easy people caught it, though it might be similar to influenza or cold.
What Does Masuk Angin Mean in Indonesia?
In Indonesian culture, masuk angin refers to a collection of mild symptoms that usually appear after:
- Being caught in the rain
- Spending too much time outdoors
- Experiencing fatigue or lack of rest
Medically speaking, masuk angin is not an official diagnosis. However, its symptoms often resemble those of the common cold, mild flu (influenza), or digestive discomfort.
This is why the term is so widely used in Indonesia and it serves as a convenient way to describe a general feeling of being unwell without pointing to a specific illness.
Why Expats in Indonesia Often Experience Masuk Angin
Adjusting to Indonesia’s tropical climate can be challenging, especially for newcomers. Several factors may increase your chances of experiencing masuk angin:
1. Sudden Weather Changes
Frequent rain and humidity shifts can affect your body’s balance.
2. Lower Vitamin D Levels
Despite the tropical sun, expats who stay indoors or avoid direct sunlight may lack vitamin D, which is crucial for immune health.
3. Fatigue and Lifestyle Changes
Busy travel schedules, work stress, or adapting to a new environment can weaken your immune system.
4. Poor Diet or Hydration
Not consuming enough nutrients or water can make your body more vulnerable to illness.
Masuk angin symptoms
As stated above, some symptoms are similar to influenza or the common cold. While the locals believed that the major cause is due to the rainy weather or being drenched in the rain, it’s actually more to our immune system weakening during the rainy season because of the lack of vitamin D.
Vitamin D is crucial to keep up fit and healthy, as well as maintaining our immune system to counter any other sickness. Other factors resulting in masuk angin include the lack of sleep or rest and not paying attention to our nutrients intake.
Some other symptoms are headache, sore muscles, lack of appetite, fatigue, stomach ache, and diarrhea.
How to prevent masuk angin
The most effective way to prevent it is to maintain our immune system. Here are some ways to do so:
1. Eat food with enough nutrients
2. Drink enough water (8 glasses of water daily)
3. Sleep adequately (7-8 hours)
4. Exercise daily
5. Wash your hands before eating or after going to the bathroom
6. Wear jackets or wind-resistant jackets during windy days
7. Consume some vitamins to keep our immune system well
How to treat masuk angin
It’s recommended that you take the whole day to rest. Taking a doctor’s prescription or common medicine to counter your illness like taking some paracetamol if you’re feeling feverish will usually get you up in no time. If you feel like the symptoms isn’t getting better in a few days, we recommend you go to a doctor.
With how unpredictable the weather is in Indonesia, taking care of our body is important. Typically, masuk angin is not a life-threatening sickness but if you let it be it can. So, remember to have adequate rest, eat healthily, drink lots of water and if needed, consume vitamins to keep you fit and well during your activities in Indonesia.
Hope this helps to understand further about this particular sickness!
