It was inevitable that I would, as Oscar Wilde quipped, become like my mother. After decades of being told to \u201cPut on more clothes! You\u2019ll catch a cold!\u201d I now, despite knowing better, insist the same for my daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother layer!\u201d I demand of my partner, who begrudgingly bundles up a toddler already as puffy as the Michelin Man. The scientifically literate part of my brain understands that no jacket will shield her from the onslaught of daycare viruses. And yet I cling to the conviction that underdressing or stepping out the door with wet hair in winter must be avoided at all costs.<\/p>\n
Are the cries about catching one\u2019s death just old wives\u2019 tales passed down like family heirlooms, or is there a hint of truth in the warnings?<\/p>\n
Old wives\u2019 tale or hint of truth?<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople get more colds when the weather is cold,\u201d Hassan Vally, an associate professor of epidemiology at Deakin University, says. \u201cIt\u2019s a very natural thing for humans to look for patterns<\/a>,\u201d he says, but points out that correlation is not causation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not going to catch a cold by just going out in the cold,\u201d says Dr Larisa Labzin of the University of Queensland\u2019s Institute for Molecular Bioscience.<\/p>\n To develop cold symptoms, you need to be infected by a virus, whether that be one of the rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or any other of the more than 200 strains that cause the common cold. Though the flu<\/a> may present with similar symptoms, influenza viruses can cause much more severe disease.<\/p>\n However, Labzin says, the weather does have a substantial impact on the spread of these viruses. \u201cHumidity really drops a lot in the winter \u2013 it gets really dry, your skin gets really dry \u2013 and that actually helps the viruses.\u201d<\/p>\n Moisture in the air hinders the airborne transmission of viruses, which means if \u201cthere\u2019s low humidity and someone around you has the flu, it is going to transmit better at a further distance\u201d, Labzin says.<\/p>\n Respiratory illnesses peak in winter in temperate regions, but Vally points out the tropics \u2013 where temperatures vary less year-round \u2013 don\u2019t see the same seasonal spikes. The rainy season in many tropical areas has been linked to greater activity of influenza<\/a> and RSV<\/a> \u2013 which may seem counterintuitive as ambient humidity is higher then.<\/p>\n One hypothesis<\/a> that may explain both winter epidemics in temperate regions and rainy season outbreaks in the tropics is behavioural: people spend more time indoors to avoid the cold and wet.<\/p>\n \u201cCooler temperatures certainly encourage people to gather indoors which increases transmission,\u201d Prof Nathan Bartlett of the University of Newcastle says. A cold day keeps us inside for about one to two hours more on average, and rainy weather 30 minutes more, according to one estimate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colder temperatures and immunity<\/p>\n Though being cold won\u2019t necessarily result in catching a cold, there is evidence that chillier temperatures affect immunity, Vally says.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is there more opportunity to catch a virus, but our immune response is also a bit diminished,\u201d Labzin agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cCooler, dryer air allows viruses to be transmitted more efficiently and suppresses innate immune defences in the nasal passages<\/a> \u2013 which is where these viruses get in,\u201d Bartlett says.<\/p>\n In dry winter weather, the mucus lining our airways \u2013 which plays an important role in trapping noxious inhaled substances \u2013 becomes thicker, making it more difficult for hair-like cells in the airways to remove trapped particles and pathogens.<\/p>\n Less exposure to sunlight \u2013 necessary for our skin to produce vitamin D \u2013 in the colder months may also have an impact on immunity. \u201cThere is evidence that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for increased respiratory infections during winter,\u201d Bartlett says. While a systematic review<\/a> \u2013 the strongest form of scientific evidence \u2013 has found vitamin D supplements can help protect against respiratory infections, other findings<\/a> suggest that supplementation is \u201cunlikely to have a clinically relevant effect\u201d in Australia, given that severe deficiency is not common here.<\/p>\n Cold exposure can also be a physical stressor. \u201cWhenever your body is under stress you can get transient suppression of your immune responses,\u201d Vally says. \u201cIf you\u2019re in -20C without a coat, your body is going to be hugely stressed, just like it would be hugely stressed if it ran a marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n Paradoxically, some<\/a> small<\/a> studies have found the stress of repeated cold water exposure activates the immune system slightly, suggesting the bodies of habitual winter swimmers develop adaptive changes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ultimately, catching a cold results from a \u201ccomplex interaction between virus, host and environment\u201d, Bartlett says. \u201cAll three are in a constant state of flux \u2013 and winter coincides with changes in all of these factors.\u201d<\/p>\n How to avoid winter lurgies<\/p>\n \u201cFor flu, for Covid, there are obviously vaccines available,\u201d Labzin says, noting that an RSV jab is now recommended for immunocompromised groups. \u201cThe best protection \u2026 is getting vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\n Flu vaccination rates<\/a> in Australia, across all age groups, are significantly down from 2020 figures.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for people to not take antibiotics for a viral infection, because antibiotics won\u2019t do anything,\u201d Labzin says, citing the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Minimising transmission by practising good hygiene, wearing a respirator mask and staying home while sick is familiar to most from the Covid pandemic \u2013 and the same advice applies to the common cold.<\/p>\n Donna Lu is an assistant news editor at Guardian Australia<\/p>\n Antiviral<\/a> is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n \u00a0What health trend\u00a0do you want examined?<\/p>\n Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop<\/a> service instead.Show more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was inevitable that I would, as Oscar Wilde quipped, become like my mother. 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