When I was a kid and i learnt about diseases in school it was that micorganisms of various kinds cause them. However since growing up I’d always been told by my parents to cover myself properly when being exposed to the cold e.g. wearing warm clothes after getting out of a hot shower in winter even though you might not immediately feel cold.
I asked my science teacher and he told me that when exposed to temperatures outside of what our body is normally used to, our body becomes more susceptible to being ill because our immune system is compromised. I think about this every now and then if I’m ever cold or sick because I didnt feel fully satisfied with his answer. I’ve also read in some places on the internet that this is just an old wives tale. Would someone give me a definitive answer to this query? ( I am currently on sick leave after being in a cold place for a while and I was thinking about this again)
In: Biology
I used to work in forestry in Canada. Would be outside all day in winter, often freezing cold. Walked home freezing cold.
Never got sick though.
Became a teacher and got sick all the time in winter.
Cold might have some affect on our immune systems, and cold dry air might make viral transmission mire efficient, but it’s mostly exposure to others inside, particularly children in schools spreading illness around.
Brisbane never gets cold, but has cold and flu seasons, and a similar incidence of these illnesses as colder places.
Brazil similarly never gets cold, but has cold and flu season during the rainy season (when the air is very much not cold and dry), but people are indoors a lot more.
The cold = sick is mostly just correlation, while the causation is everyone being indoors.
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