Can we get sick from the cold?

The past several weeks have seen some wide swings in winter temperatures. From upper 40’s one day to below zero in 36 hours, our climate goes from spring to the deep freeze in very short order.

What does this do to our bodies? Can it make us sick?

The short answer is, no. Infection – either bacterial or viral – is what causes illness, not outdoor temperatures.  If you have a chronic respiratory condition, such as asthma, the swing in temperatures, particularly cold air, can trigger attacks or mask itself as a cold if not already diagnosed.

But everyone is running around with a Kleenex at their nose! The news is filled with reports on the progression of seasonal influenza across the nation! And it is cold! We don’t hear about this in the summer!

In cold weather, we stay indoors. At school, work, and home, we are often in close quarters with other people. All it takes is one child in a classroom with an upper respiratory infection to spread the germs to other children. Those children go home and live indoors with siblings, parents, grandparents. Parents and grandparents pick up the infection and take it to work with them, and the transfer of the illness continues.

Does cold weather make us sick? Not directly, no. How we live indoors during cold weather just might.

While we might not get sick from the cold, we certainly can get sick of the cold.

Nine weeks until the first day of spring. But who’s counting?

Links:

1. Can the Cold Give You a Cold?

http://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-and-flu/colds-and-the-weather.aspx

2. Iowa Department of Public Health “The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Norovirus”

http://www.idph.state.ia.us/IdphNews/Reader.aspx?id=7D6A749D-9CCE-4842-898C-5CA370216589