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Dr Amir Khan has shared a “key message” regarding Brits’ homes and shared spaces this winter, but lamented not enough people are listening to his advice. As the temperatures plummet and the cold weather takes hold, many people become more susceptible to colds, flu, viruses, and all manner of winter ailments.

Dr Amir Khan, known and loved for his appearances on daytime favourites Lorraine and Good Morning Britain, discussed an important tip he thoroughly recommends on the podcast he co-hosts with presenter Cherry Healey. In a clip shared to Instagram, the doctor said: “My key message, and I say this all the time and it drives me mental because people don’t listen to me, is ventilate, ventilate, ventilate indoor spaces.

“These viral particles linger in the air. If you open a window, if you open a door and if you can afford to, get an air filter with a HEPA filter in there, that will filter out these viral particles and you’re much less likely to breathe it in.”

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He continued: “Imagine this right, every single classroom in Britain with a HEPA filter, air purifier in, think about how many fewer children will get infected, how many fewer children will bring that virus home and infect the rest of their family.

It has such a knock-on effect, so ventilating classrooms or having air purifiers in them, I think would be a game-changer when it comes to winter viruses.”

HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. Filters of this type remove dust, pollen, mould, bacteria, and other airborne particles from the air.

Co-host Cherry stressed its impact at home too. She said: “I’ve heard it’s called ‘burping’; you’re supposed to burp your house every day - where you open the doors and the windows and you get rid of all the old, stinky, stale air and you let all the fresh air in. Apparently, you’re supposed to do it everyday and it’s called ‘burping’.”.

This is a popular term for the German practice Stoßlüften, in which people open all the windows of their homes wide for five to 10 minutes in order to create cross ventilation; a natural flow of air which acts like a wind tunnel to get rid of humid and stale air in a property and replace it with fresh air instead.

The practice helps to prevent mould while improving air quality and reducing pollutants. The short timespan of the practice ensures there’s no major loss of heat, despite the chilly weather.

It’s recommended to do it once or twice a day, typically after first getting up in the morning, or after cooking or showering to help refresh your home throughout the damp and cold of winter.

Fellow Instagram users were keen to share their thoughts on the advice. One person said: “Always got a window open! I knew I was right."

Another said: “So true… I know people who keep the heating on and the windows closed when they have a flu/virus. It drives me mad… fresh air is a game changer!!”

A third commented: “YES!!! Why isn’t this common knowledge??? When the pandemic hit, I was so happy because I thought now finally people will learn a few basics. Washing hands, wearing a mask when sick to protect others, and ventilation. But nope.”

A fourth shared: “I don’t know why people just don’t open the windows on buses as well. They’re all steamed up and a germ factory. I always open a window for ventilation and then get strange looks, but it’s all for health reasons. People are so weird about that on public transportation.”