Dr Amir Khan has detailed his "key message" for British households and public areas this winter, while expressing frustration that too few people take his guidance seriously. With freezing conditions settling in, countless people find themselves vulnerable to colds, flu, bugs, and various seasonal illnesses.

Dr Amir Khan is a familiar face known and loved for his regular stints on Lorraine and Good Morning Britain, and shared a health tip he strongly advocates for on the podcast he presents alongside Cherry Healey. In footage posted to Instagram, the GP stated: "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."

He went on: "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. These filters eliminate dust, pollen, mould, bacteria and various airborne particles from the atmosphere.

Co-host Cherry highlighted its significance in the home. 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 refers to the German tradition of Stoßlüften, in which residents throw open all their windows for five to 10 minutes to generate cross ventilation - a natural airflow resembling a wind tunnel that expels stale, humid air from a property and replaces it with fresh air.

The technique helps prevent mould while enhancing air quality and minimising pollutants. The brief duration ensures minimal heat loss, despite cold temperatures outside.

Experts suggest doing this once or twice daily, particularly upon waking in the morning, or following cooking or bathing to help revitalise your home during the damp, cold winter months.

Instagram users were eager to weigh in on the guidance. One commented: "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 person said: "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."

Another added: "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."