[Image source: iStockphoto]
or try the A-Z Library
Fact Buster
Q: Will you get a cold if you catch a chill?
A: No, colds are caused by viruses. You can not get a cold or flu from being cold.
Published 02/04/2008
[Image source: iStockphoto]
Have your say
Do you usually get a cold in the winter months? Share your experience on the messageboard below.
Conditions of Use
We've all been warned against the perils of 'catching a chill'; in fact many famous people throughout history have reputedly died after 'catching a chill' – including Anna Pavlova, Emily Bronte and Sir Francis Bacon.
But is there any truth to this enduring myth that links exposure to cold weather to developing a cold?
Exposure to cold weather will not give you a cold because colds are caused by viruses, says Professor Raina MacIntyre, adding that there are around 200 viruses responsible for the common cold.
"There is an association between cold weather, or the winter season, and common colds and that's because for various reasons the transmission of cold viruses is much higher in cold weather," says MacIntyre.
Recent research from the US found the influenza virus has a hard fatty coating that protects it in colder weather; this coating then melts once the virus enters the respiratory tract.
While MacIntyre agrees some virus factors may play a role, she says it's more likely colds and influenza outbreaks peak in winter because we tend to huddle together in small, often stuffy, unventilated spaces.
"The reason we know that being in closed settings is a major factor is that explosive outbreaks occur in nursing homes, hospitals and other institutions, where people congregate closely. Outbreaks have also been well described to originate on airplanes and other closed transport vehicles."
It's also unlikely that exposure to cold weather will exacerbate the symptoms of your cold.
MacIntyre says if you have a cold and a fever then you'll feel more miserable if you head outside in bad weather rather than stay in bed and rest.
So while there is no chance of catching a cold if you head outside in bad weather, it's probably not a bad idea to stay warm and comfortable if you already have one – staying home will also stop you from spreading the virus to others.
Professor Raina MacIntyre is the Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and head of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales. She was interviewed by Claudine Ryan.
More Questions »
Comments (29)
-
carol :
06 Oct 2008 11:16:56am
As I've gotten older, getting chilled triggers a sore throat within 24 hours. That is followed by nasal congestion, a cough, sinusitis, night sweats, and fever. I invariably end up taking an antibiotic after a couple weeks. This scenario has recurred a least 2 dozen times. Sleeping in a warm bedroom and running an humidifyer in cold months has helped prevent it.
The "chill" study that was done involved healthy young men. I have to wonder if children, or older adults, would have had the same result. -
Michael McCallum :
14 Aug 2008 9:27:02am
There was a study done in the UK that showed when we get cold the number of blood cells in the nose drastically reduces, exposing us to greater risk of being affected by the viruses already in our nose. Science fact being cold does give you a COLD!
-
Mr. Tiggywinkle :
24 Jun 2008 7:29:47pm
Oh not this doing the rounds again..
Here is a test.. Two people, one stays inside with a warm heater, heavy clothing etc.
The other goes and swims in cold windy weather.
Which one gets a cold quicker? Gee I wonder.
This article is not only false, it's been done before (oh I don't know.. hundreds of times) and was proven wrong each time then too.
Being cold DOES drastically increase your chance of getting a cold, there is no question. -
Pascal Daglis :
29 Apr 2008 7:38:53pm
I recently read in the scientific American that the cold weather allows a virus to live longer and travel further thats why people are more likely to get a cold in winter. the link to the experiment findings is http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2034399#id2597645
-
ABC (Moderator):
01 May 2008 10:54:03am
There's a link to an ABC Science news story about this research here: Why flu virus loves the cold.
-
-
kris-t :
27 Apr 2008 7:38:20pm
well i find that if i set one foot outside past 4pm on a cold cement surface you can guarentee that ill get a sore throat . then asthma then the flu .
-
Helen :
21 Apr 2008 1:24:07pm
Well I am a case in progress :) To set the scene: I am relatively fit, however have been working long hours, not sleeping enough and probably not drinking enough water = body system & therefore immune system stressed. I have a life long history of bronchial coughs and colds, from which I believe I can deduce some personal patterns. I also perspire easily and profusely. A girlfriend I had had contact with had just gotten over a cold, other than that, I don't believe that anybody in my recent immediate environments has had a cold, they may of course have been in incubation stages, who knows. I'm from Melbourne, where the days are now a lovely temperature, but generally the nights are getting quite cool. However I travelled to Sydney last week and as the temperatures forecast were similar I dressed similarly. The difference is that in Sydney the air is more humid and it does not get as cold at night as quickly. So at dusk I was wearing a coat, but with the humidity & walking around in the city a lot I perspired a lot, hence taking off my coat to cool down. This happened quite a few times, and obviously cooling down involves the perspiration cooling your whole skin temperature, of which I was acutely aware at the time, I felt quite healthy however. This was from Tues to Thursday. I returned to work on Friday, and during the course of Friday afternoon, noticed that I had a sore and swollen throat.... you know the rest, weekend wasted!
So from my experience, if the conditions are right, you can catch a cold from a chill. -
jenny :
16 Apr 2008 7:06:09pm
I work as a nurse in an airconditioned aged care facility and constantly interact with people all day long. Viruses are easily spread by the airconditioning and catching a cold is a regular occurrence. Back in the days before airconditioning there were far less coughs and colds and the need now to have a sick certificate to get sick leave encourages people to go to work still infected.
-
jh :
15 Apr 2008 11:31:13am
Get out of your car, get out of your airconditioned office whenever you can and actively (and sensibly) expose yourself to the changing seasons! I haven't had a cold for years, and I put it down to the fact that I commute on a bicycle over 20km's a day, and acclimatise to temperature changes. As I have become fitter and better able to regulate my own body temperature (I do stay dry and well fed by eating properly and dressing appropriately) - my immune system is less troubled by changes in temperature that seem to upset others so badly...
-
MJB :
09 Apr 2008 10:15:43pm
I go to ANU and during winter I get colds very easily. Why? Because lecture theatres are a giant germ factory. No one stays home with a cold because you need a medical certificate to be granted exemption from tutorials and the like, and no one is going to pay 60 bucks over a cold. So they all come along anyway, and the theatres are full of coughing people spreading pestilence.
-
Monique :
08 Apr 2008 9:44:57am
I definately agree with the theory that colds are more prevalent in winter because people congregate together in small, unventilated places. My trade friends (carpenters, outdoor workers and the like) never seem to come down with colds!
-
D Cherry :
08 Apr 2008 8:29:24am
What is a 'chill' that is catchable anyway? Isn't this just another word for cold? 'Catch a cold'/'Catch a chill'? One meaning of 'chill' is 'cold' after all.
-
Neil Godfrey :
08 Apr 2008 8:21:13am
'Tis true!
In Cambodia recently I and another tourist caught colds -- in 95 degree F (35 C) heat.
But I survived last winter back home in the mountains without catching a thing. -
K Douglas :
07 Apr 2008 10:39:52am
If I am chilled, by air conditioning in a car, and do not change to a warmer temperature quickly I develop a stuffed nose. Sinus trouble and a sore throat often resulted.
I am now very careful to quickly correct low temperatures of this type. I cannot recall whether a cold ever resulted. -
Listener :
06 Apr 2008 10:55:23am
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that the Eskimos never had colds until the white man brought the cold virus to their population?
-
Margaret Clark :
03 Apr 2008 10:02:17pm
The lack of association between cold temperature and developing a cold is likely due to the experimental design, rather than the purported link. If you take a subgroup of immunocompromised, fatigued, poorly nutrited subjects and expose them to cold or normal temperature and viral infections, those in the cold environment would be more susceptible, as energy would be used for heat maintainence thereby compromising the immune system further. In addition some immune responses eg antibodies are temperature related.
Personally, once a throat viral infection has commenced, it is preferable not to breathe cold air, not to have wet hair, and to wear a scarf whilst outdoors. Warm nebulised air is used to aid breathing for respiratory conditions.-
R Kirk :
07 Apr 2008 1:08:15pm
I think the word you need is "nourished". Unfortunately your thesis falls down as there is no link between bodily resources used for temperature homeostasis and the maintenance of immune mediators. Certainly gross malnutrition can lead to a lack of immune globulins, but you cannot generalise from this group to all people.
-
-
Betty Robertson :
03 Apr 2008 7:36:51pm
What about the once-held theory that feeling really cold may lower one's defenses against viruses?
-
Gerald Hunter :
03 Apr 2008 7:21:14pm
This article without double blind proof is just an other opinion. No-one can tell me that when sweaty and moist, getting a chill is not a fast way to a cold.
However it is worth repeating that frequently washing your hands when out of your home is one great defense and avoiding coughing and snotty people is an other one. Let alone tasting fruit etc in the supermarket. Tell your guests, not to come if they have a cold.
These prevention ideas go for the Professor also, before she does the scientific number crunching.-
adrian propht :
03 Apr 2008 8:33:32pm
Telling your guests not to come if they have a cold is fine. At least you won't breathe in the virus that will be spread in the droplets of his/her sneeze/cough. The professor is correct in what she wrote.
Why is that when a myth is broken that there is so much aggression in a response to the statements.?....I support the prof she is there to number crunch. Stats are important.
-
-
Martha Sinclair :
03 Apr 2008 3:58:29pm
During the 1950s and 1960s a number of experimental studies failed show any increase in infection rates when people were inoculated with the cold virus and exposed to cold conditions. Orthodox medical opinion therefore dismissed any link between being cold and developing "a cold", however a study published in 2005 does lend some support to the folklore belief. The study was carried out at Cardiff University in the UK, where 180 students without current symptoms of upper respiratory infection were randomly assigned either to sit with their bare feet in cold water (10ºC) for 20 minutes, or to keep their feet dry and warm. Subjects were asked to score cold symptoms (runny or blocked nose, sore throat, sneezing, cough) immediately before and after the procedure, then twice a day for 5 days afterwards. A statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups, with 14.4% of those in the cold feet group reporting cold symptoms in the following days, compared to 5.6% in the control group.
Chilling of the feet causes constriction of blood vessels in the nose, and it has been hypothesised that this may temporarily impair defence mechanisms against infection. The authors of the Cardiff study suggested that the increased rate of symptoms in subjects exposed to cold conditions may be due to worsening of existing sub-clinical viral infections to the point where symptoms are experienced, rather than the occurrence of new infections. This would explain why previous studies which deliberately inoculated subjects with the virus failed to detect an effect of exposure to cold conditions. The reference for this research is Johnson C. and Eccles R (2005). "Acute cooling of the feet and the onset of common cold symptoms." Family Practice 22(6): 608-13.-
Bron :
04 Apr 2008 1:49:54am
Yes, it is true that a virus causes a cold or flu, but it doesn't always cause it. The body can fight it off. In certain conditions, this is harder to do. As pointed out by other readers, while cold cannot cause a cold if no virus if present in the first place, it may lower the body's defenses and so make it harder to successfully attack the virus before it becomes a cold or flu. It seems that more research is needed. If there is such research, please site it.
-
R Kirk :
07 Apr 2008 1:12:38pm
As was pointed out in the follow-up to the Cardiff study, for it to have relevance in the debate, the students would need to be matched for presence or absence of the cold viruses prior to the cold exposure, and a significant increase in positive viral findings post exposure would need to be shown for the conclusion that exposure to cold increases the liklihood of developing an infection by the viruses to be valid.
-
Amber Sidor :
23 Apr 2008 8:07:34am
I can see how this study has proven that a sudden decrease in temperature can cause you to be "suseptable" to illness. Your body must work harder to keep your core tempt to 98.6 F I have seen this throughout my life and the life of my children. Your body is constantly fighting off bacteria, viruses and disease etc..A chill can lower your defenses. No doubt about it.
-
-
Liz Woods :
03 Apr 2008 3:54:28pm
I find that my susceptibility to catching a cold increases if I don't keep warm.
-
Dawn Plested :
03 Apr 2008 7:57:51pm
I recently went walking in the UK with a cold in the snow & sleet. Not sensible I acknowledge as it definitely converted my cold into bronchitis. So having the cold perhaps made me more suceptible to the chill factor in getting the bronchitis.
-
AM :
29 Apr 2008 10:30:25pm
I agree with Dawn. I was in Canada recently and for several days felt like I was coming down with, or at best, fighting off a cold. I went for a walk outside not appreciating how cold it really was. Near the end of the walk my head and extremeties were feeling quite chilled. It was only a matter of hours before I was sick with a very nasty flu.
-
-
Elsewhere on ABC
-
Mice share misery of sniffling cold
The World Today