Iqaluit (June 30/03) - When the sky is grey for weeks and there is cold mist, rain and even snow in June, it's tempting to blame all your aches and pains on the weather.

But local health care workers take a different view.

"The weather is not that bad that people can't get out and walk," said Louise Fillatre, manager of public health in Iqaluit.

"Cold is relative," she said laughing. "I went out the other day and my niece was standing outside waiting for me in a tank top and I had my jacket on. I'm thinking 'Ok, it is summer. Go ahead, wear your tank top."

Simply going for a walk can ease the pain of joints that feel under seige by the dampness.

"It gets you outside meeting people, visiting people. You have to look at a healthy lifestyle even though the weather is miserable."

Dr. Sandy Macdonald at the Baffin Regional Hospital said while painful joints are often blamed on the weather, he doesn't have concrete information to back up that claim.

"People always say with low pressure you get achy joints.

Your grandfather used to say he knew when the bad weather was coming because his bunions would act up.

But I don't know if there is any basis for that. Theoretically, air pressure changes and certainly could affect the joints."

People tend to feel blue when it rains for weeks and the sky is grey, Dr. Macdonald said.

But the hospital still sees more people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in the wintertime.

"We don't make the diagnosis very often here," Dr. Macdonald said. "It's more when we get the long, dark period, which is not as intense here as it is further North. We have the impression that there are certain times of the year where we seem to get more people getting anxious and depressed."

The cure, which sounds so simple it's hard to believe it works, is to get out of the house, said Fillatre.

"Put your raincoat on and go to the neighbours, have a cup of tea," she said. "Even though we don't see the sunlight, we're still getting the ultra violet rays. So you need to get out there."