Is it true that you can catch a cold if you get cold?
Can you catch a cold from being cold and wet?
A viral infection of the upper respiratory tract causes the common cold. Each year, there are over 15 billion cases worldwide. According to statistics, everyone on earth contracts it twice a year. The common cold is caused by about 200 different types of viruses. Fortunately, the illness is not particularly dangerous.
A runny nose, sore throat, sneezes, and coughs are typical symptoms. You may experience a fever, muscle aches and pains, a headache, diarrhea, or any number of other symptoms. It may show up in different ways. However, most people are very familiar with their typical symptoms.
How do you catch a common cold?
The same way you would catch any other upper respiratory illness, I suppose. Through fomite, an intermediary object, airborne droplets, or direct contact with infected mucosa. For an extended period of time, the virus can survive without its host. Temperature and humidity affect how long that period lasts, but a typical Rhinoivirus—the virus most frequently responsible for the common cold—can survive in the environment for at least 18 hours.
Courtesy of José R. Valverde, the rhinovirus
Courtesy of José R Valverde
The rhinovirus needs to enter the new host’s mucous membrane. It is unable to pass through the skin. This is one justification for washing your hands if you should touch anything suspicious.
Is the common cold contagious?
The common cold is easily transmitted. It has a reproduction number (R0) ranging from two to three. This means that in a population where everyone is susceptible to infection, every sick person spreads their illness to 2 to 3 other people (i.e., no one has ever encountered it before and thus developed antibodies, and no one has been immunized). This infection would spread.
This is mildly contagious. Measles R0 ranges from 12 to 18.
How can you prevent getting it?
When a sick person sneezes or coughs, the virus-containing microscopic droplets erupt. The maximum distance covered by the larger droplets is typically 6 feet. You can never feel completely safe because the smaller droplets, or aerosols, can stay in the air for hours. Even though you don’t know anyone there, someone could have been there before you arrived and spread the virus throughout the air.
However, the disease still needs to enter your mucous membrane. The skin is impermeable to the virus. It comes down to a few straightforward rules:
- Stay away from sick people. If you are sick, stay at home or far from others.
- Avoid being sneezed upon. If you are sick sneeze in the elbow and cough away from others.
- Wash your hands often, every time you’ve been close to someone who’s sick. And every time you get home or into any other constricted area where the virus is absent.
- Don’t touch your eyes, your nose, or your mouth until you’ve washed your hands and you’re in a safe zone (home).
So, can you catch a cold from being cold and wet?
You can’t do it. There is some debate about why some viruses appear to be seasonal in their appearance. It is more common during the winter.
This is most likely due to the fact that we spend more time together. The wind and rain force us to take the bus instead of riding our bikes, to eat at the bar instead of having a picnic, and to play chess instead of football.
A risk factor could be a low body temperature in the winter. Less vitamin intake, as well as less vitamin D from sunlight, could all contribute. The bottom line is that you cannot catch a cold unless you are exposed to the virus. It makes no difference how exposed you are to low temperatures.
And what about the name, then?
Why is it referred to as cold?
Feeling frozen could be one of the symptoms, especially if you have other symptoms. It may also be more common when the weather is cold.
One unintended consequence of its misleading name is that many people around the world, particularly in the northern hemisphere, still believe it is caused by cold temperatures. That wouldn’t be a problem if those people didn’t frequently miss the mark. They stay warm but share food, drinks, items, and living space carelessly. It’s fine as long as it’s hot.
Conclusion
No, you can’t get a cold from being cold. The common cold is caused by a virus that is transmitted from one person to another.
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