Do people really get sick from cold weather or is that just an old wives tale?

Question

Just curious?

Answer 1

old wives tale. hate it when people say "don't go out! you're going to get sick!" many times i've gone out of the house on a cold weather, with my hair wet. with temperatures ranging from 10 to 5 degrees farenheit, within a matter of seconds my hair turns to ice. -- but i didn't get sick.

true, you can get "colds" -- where in your airways produce more secretions -- because it is our body's way of "humidfying" the airway because the air is usually dry on a cold weather.

main reasons why you get sick (Fever we're talking here)
it could be viral... but mostly it's bacterial infection

why do we get fevers? bacteria loves body temperature. when your body senses infection, your temperature rises -- this is your body's attempt to kill the bacteria. (they die in hotter temperatures). fever though, has a side effect on our body -- an increase in temperature may not be tolerable to our other organs, like our brain -- so that's why doctors came up with anti-biotics -- these kill the bacteria without. most common misconception about anti-biotics is that they "bring your fever down" it does not... it kills the bacteria, that's why your fever goes down.

Answer 2

Old wives tale, most illnesses are caused by a virus of some type. Eating bad or spoiled food, or drinking contaminated water.
Cold can cause a whole series of problems, from frost bite to other ailments. But if one is dressed properly, that shouldn't happen.

Answer 3

It's an old wive's tale. Think about all the people who live in arctic climates...they're not constantly fighting colds.

Answer 4

No Cold weather does not cause illness. You spend more time indoors durring the winter and this is one reason why you might get sick more often. Besides a runny nose nothing really will happend long term

Answer 5

Going in and out of the cold won't give you a cold, but it affects your immune system, making it more likely that you will pick whatever going around.

It also makes people's noses run, they get it on their hands and transfer it to doorknobs, keyboards, whatever and then the next person can pick something up from it.

Answer 6

Old wives' tale.

Answer 7

Born and raised in Wisconsin ... I've found that you actually get worse colds in the summer. Heat, moisture ... germies love that. I rarely get sick in the winter, and I work in an office building .The second that April hits, all hell breaks loose and everyone is sick.

Answer 8

it is an old wives tale......
bacteria or something viral causes sickness.