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Why you get a cold in cold weather

It's the germs, stupid

Dear Matthew (Doc) Alice: My Frau is a recent transplant from Germany. She believes that the frequent temperature swings we experience in San Diego’s autumn (often compelling her to add or remove extra clothing several times a day) directly expose her to a much higher risk of seasonal illness (colds, flu) than would be the case in Germany, where, come autumn, it turns cold, stays cold, and you never go out without the protection of warm clothing. I argue that we humans, unlike reptiles, are able to regulate our body temperature and, barring extreme exposure, are put at no physical risk due to changes in our surrounding temperature. I believe that more people get sick in cooler weather because they congregate more indoors thus increasing their risk of being exposed to harmful germs. — Joe and Perpetua Ryan, Pacific Beach

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I’m glad to take this opportunity to clear up the universal misconception that you get a “cold” from being cold. Or from being too hot and then too cold. Or from sitting in a draft. You get a cold or the flu by coming in contact with germs, not weather. In general, colds and flu are more common in the winter because we spend more time indoors, germs can be more easily spread through sneezes, coughs, or from coming in contact with germ-laden body fluids in other ways. But medical researchers have noted seasonal patterns for many illnesses — measles, mumps, and chicken pox outbreaks are more common in the spring and summer, for example. As a result, investigators have mapped cyclical variations in white blood cell counts and other components of our bodies’ immune response to invading pathogens, which might also account for illnesses blamed on the weather.

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Dear Matthew (Doc) Alice: My Frau is a recent transplant from Germany. She believes that the frequent temperature swings we experience in San Diego’s autumn (often compelling her to add or remove extra clothing several times a day) directly expose her to a much higher risk of seasonal illness (colds, flu) than would be the case in Germany, where, come autumn, it turns cold, stays cold, and you never go out without the protection of warm clothing. I argue that we humans, unlike reptiles, are able to regulate our body temperature and, barring extreme exposure, are put at no physical risk due to changes in our surrounding temperature. I believe that more people get sick in cooler weather because they congregate more indoors thus increasing their risk of being exposed to harmful germs. — Joe and Perpetua Ryan, Pacific Beach

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I’m glad to take this opportunity to clear up the universal misconception that you get a “cold” from being cold. Or from being too hot and then too cold. Or from sitting in a draft. You get a cold or the flu by coming in contact with germs, not weather. In general, colds and flu are more common in the winter because we spend more time indoors, germs can be more easily spread through sneezes, coughs, or from coming in contact with germ-laden body fluids in other ways. But medical researchers have noted seasonal patterns for many illnesses — measles, mumps, and chicken pox outbreaks are more common in the spring and summer, for example. As a result, investigators have mapped cyclical variations in white blood cell counts and other components of our bodies’ immune response to invading pathogens, which might also account for illnesses blamed on the weather.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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