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I read that the common cold has to be caught from another person's germs. But if you go to where it's cold and there's no other people for miles, and you're not wearing warm clothes, won't you get sick? I thought a cold was when your immune system goes into high gear and tries to clear out your nasal and throat areas. I guess I'm confused.
No. Cold is caused by a virus-specifically rhinovirus of which there are many strains.The reason people get a lot of colds in the winter is because they stay more confined in their homes and other buildings trying to keep warm. Thus, the virus spreads from person to person via aerosol drops, snot, sneezes, and other varieties of human disgustiness. The actual temperature outside doesn't have anything to do with colds (or rather, it does but indirectly). I always get a summer cold. During a particularly bad one, I saw my internist about it and he explained that here in TX, colds are more common in the summertime, because it is so hot that people stay indoors blasting their A/C looking for relief, so the cold virus spreads more rapidly in July and August.
I read that the common cold has to be caught from another person's germs. But if you go to where it's cold and there's no other people for miles, and you're not wearing warm clothes, won't you get sick? I thought a cold was when your immune system goes into high gear and tries to clear out your nasal and throat areas. I guess I'm confused.
Colds are caused by viruses and not by cold outdoors, but getting chilled can bring your resistance down. Saying that, fresh air, cool or not is good for you, better than being shut up inside with all the germs most of us come in contact with daily.
But what would happen to most people if they ran around in the snow with no clothes on for an hour?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
They would get frost bite which is a heck of a lot worse than a silly cold.
And hypothermia.
I lived for 12 years in a house with almost no heat in the winter. It was realy cold. I pretty much never got sick. I did come down with a cold this summer but I recently started taking public transportation to work and so have a higher risk of exposure to sick people sharing breathing space. Wash your hands often, eat a healthy diet, stay away from sick people and smal children and get plenty of fresh air and you won't get many colds.
People also get more colds/flu during the winter because of the lack of sunlight and subsequent vitamin D deficiency. So take a vitamin D supplement and it will boost your immune system. (You have to take enough, and you have to take it consistently...if you just take it when you feel yourself coming down with something, it won't do a thing for yo. 2000 iu/day is probably a good start.).
I read that the common cold has to be caught from another person's germs. But if you go to where it's cold and there's no other people for miles, and you're not wearing warm clothes, won't you get sick? I thought a cold was when your immune system goes into high gear and tries to clear out your nasal and throat areas. I guess I'm confused.
Seriously???
You just "read this"????
The germ theory of disease has been around since 1870.....
I follow you. I think you may be referring to congestion, etc. that will be in your chest if you walk outside in 30 below zero with no coat on. Is that what you mean?
It is real and it has nothing to do with a virus. I've had situations in which I opened my front door and talked to my husband for about 20 minutes in the winter with no coat on and shirt that exposed my chest and the next day, I was extremely congested and coughing up all kinds of stuff in the next few days. It wasn't a virus that I caught. Or maybe it was and it just so happened to create congestion exactly where I was not covered. Go figure. I think it is possible for cold weather to establish itself in the body and take effect. Maybe it is similar to what happens when you heat a car on the inside and outside it is freezing and you get the condensation effect or something like that. There is a reason that you get congestion in your head if you never cover your head and you get it in your chest if you never cover your chest. I do not think it is random luck of the draw based on a virus in some cases. And you are absolutely right that you can be the only person for miles around and still get a cold.
I see it as no different than people whose bones ache when they've been outside in the cold for too long. That happened to my sister from time to time when we were growing up. It makes perfect sense to me that if you expose your body to any external elements that are harsh, your body is going to react to those elements. It is no different to me than the body reacting to extreme heat (which has negative internal affect with some people).
But what do I know. I only use common sense and believe the sharp rise in autism and other brain-related diseases in children nowadays has to do with the high amount of chemicals (read: pesticides) that fetuses injest through mom during brain development due to crap that the gov't allows to go on our food nowadays and the crap in our water and air but that's just me. What do I know. They only tell you not to eat certain foods during pregnancy and then turn around and tell us we can imbibe as many pesticides as we want on food during the same pregnancy. I just use commons sense so maybe it is all virus related although everyday life cause-effect of walking around improperly dressed in winter seems to say something different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertpasa
But what would happen to most people if they ran around in the snow with no clothes on for an hour?
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