Have you noticed how old people will tell us to stay out of the cold so we won’t get sick and catch a cold? Most of us follow their instructions out of respect but wonder whether there was any truth to that or whether it was another one of those nonsense old wives’ tales.
So, what does Science say about catching a cold?
“The common cold (also known as nasopharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza, head cold, or simply a cold) is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract which primarily affects the nose.
Signs and symptoms include coughing, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, and fever which usually resolve in seven to ten days, with some symptoms lasting up to three weeks. Well over 200 virus strains are implicated in the cause of the common cold; the rhinoviruses are the most common.” – Wikipedia
Based on the definition of the common cold by Wikipedia, a person could not catch the common cold just by being cold! It is necessary for a person to be exposed to at least one of the 200 virus strains before he becomes sick of the common cold.
So, why is the common cold often associated with the weather and being exposed to cold conditions such as rain or snow?
Firstly, most of the viruses that cause the common cold are seasonal – they often appear during colder seasons, such as winter or rainy seasons. It is unknown why these viruses are seasonal but they had been proven to be more active during cold seasons.
Second, cold weather does cause changes in the body, such as decreasing immune response that make the body more susceptible to contracting diseases. So, technically, the body is more prone to getting sick in cold weather; whether with common colds or other ailments.
Third, as AsapSCIENCE pointed out, people tend to stay in enclosed spaces during cold weather. Although this is not “bad” per se, the closer proximity increases the risk of contracting viruses from an infected person in the room compared with being out in the open and staying farther away from others.
Check out this candid video from AsapSCIENCE:
Sources: Wikipedia, AsapSCIENCE
