Will walking around with wet, cold feet cause me to catch a cold?

[techs]

Every so often I go out in my sneakers during winter. And every so often I step in an icy puddle and get my sneakers and socks soaking wet.
Does this contribute to catching a cold? Does being outside in cold weather with inadequate clothing contribute to catching a cold?

 

[MX2]

No

 

[Schadenfreude]

Yes. There was a recent study about that, IIRC. I'll try to look it up unless one of the other denizens of ATOT can find it faster (more than likely) . . ..

 

[MrChad]

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/114/111312.htm

9. Can you catch a cold from getting chilled?

This is one of the most persistent myths about colds. The only way to catch a cold is by being exposed to a cold virus. Cold air may irritate an existing condition, such as asthma, which would weaken your immunity. This could make your body more receptive to a cold virus, but only if you come in contact with it. If you've caught a cold after getting chilled, it's only coincidence.

 

[AlienCraft]

Only if you step into a puddle filled with cold virus and hold it up to your nose / mouth immediately afterward.

 

[SilentZero]

No, but you can catch the Clap that way!

 

[MX2]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
Only if you step into a puddle filled with cold virus and hold it up to your nose / mouth immediately afterward.

lol

 

[Lola]

i don't think that is true, but it does give me the chills like crazy.
same myth about walking outside with cold hair.

 

[Atomicus]

And that runny nose you get from being out in the cold weather doesn't constitute you catching a cold either. Its just the moisture condensing with mucus from the cold air vs. your warm blood vessels in the nose.

 

[kranky]

I've always said you don't get sick from being cold, but from a virus. But in opposition to the info from the webmd site, I just read last month about a study that explained you CAN get sick from being cold.

You still need a virus, but the research showed that if you are cold, causing the blood vessels in the nose to constrict, you could get ill from a virus that your body could have successfully fought off had you not been cold.

 

[Amused]

Colds are more prevalent in winter because people are closed up in confined, unventilated spaces more.

Yes, getting severely chilled can slightly lower your immunity, but exposure to the virus must still exist. And exposure is far more likely in winter than in summer.

 

[Atomicus]

Originally posted by: kranky
I've always said you don't get sick from being cold, but from a virus. But in opposition to the info from the webmd site, I just read last month about a study that explained you CAN get sick from being cold.

You still need a virus, but the research showed that if you are cold, causing the blood vessels in the nose to constrict, you could get ill from a virus that your body could have successfully fought off had you not been cold.

But hypothetically, if it were not for the virus, you won't catch a cold.

So if virus never comes in contact with the person, then the fact is simple; no virus = no cold.
That's the whole essence of the debate.

 

[BrianH1]

Originally posted by: SilentZero
No, but you can catch the Clap that way!

:thumbsup:

 

[imported_LoKe]

So if I took off my shirt, walked to the store (two minutes there, two minute back), I wouldn't risk getting a cold?

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Atomicus
But hypothetically, if it were not for the virus, you won't catch a cold.

So if virus never comes in contact with the person, then the fact is simple; no virus = no cold.
That's the whole essence of the debate.

True, no virus = no cold. But Virus + Cold Temperature = Double the chance to actually catch the cold vs Virus + Warm Temperature.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Atomicus
But hypothetically, if it were not for the virus, you won't catch a cold.

So if virus never comes in contact with the person, then the fact is simple; no virus = no cold.
That's the whole essence of the debate.

True, no virus = no cold. But Virus + Cold Temperature = Double the chance to actually catch the cold vs Virus + Warm Temperature.

You know, I googled and the one recent study I can find that suggests an increased incidence of cold symptoms in people exposed to cold was sketchy at best. It contradicts all previous studies and has not been repeated independently.

Can you point me to the study you're refering to?

 

[kranky]

Here's the story I saw recently.

 

[Midlander]

Originally posted by: LoKe
So if I took off my shirt, walked to the store (two minutes there, two minute back), I wouldn't risk getting a cold?

No, but you might get a visit by the men in the white coats.

 

[ntdz]

The only way being cold contributes to you getting a cold is suppressing your immune system, but there was a study done recently that the difference is minute, if there at all, between people that stay in the cold and those that don't.

 

[Zenmervolt]

In the absense of germs, no, it will not cause you to catch a cold.

However, anyting in general that stresses the body (cold, heat, etc) will eventually lead to a suppression of the immune system making you more susceptible to germs in general.

ZV

 

[JulesMaximus]

No, the common cold is a virus. Unless your feet have open wounds and people with colds have been sneezing on the floor you're walking on prior to you walking on them you cannot catch a cold from walking around with wet cold feet.

 

[mercanucaribe]

What will allow you to get sick easily is having a cold neck and breathing very cold air. It's a myth that being cold won't cause you to get sick. In a sterile environment, nothing will make you sick, but chances are the air you breathe is full of pathogens, and moreso the things you touch. Being cold will weaken your immune system, allowing a virus or bacteria to gain a foothold that it otherwise would not.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: techs
Every so often I go out in my sneakers during winter. And every so often I step in an icy puddle and get my sneakers and socks soaking wet.
Does this contribute to catching a cold? Does being outside in cold weather with inadequate clothing contribute to catching a cold?

Maybe not directly but having wet feet for a long time will give you trench-foot.
Nasty stuff!

 

[kukyfrope]

I've heard from human biology students that cold weather promotes a better environment for the cold/flu virus to survive in your throat when the temperature is colder outside, thus causing more cold/flu viruses when it starts getting colder in the seasons.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: kukyfrope
I've heard from human biology students that cold weather promotes a better environment for the cold/flu virus to survive in your throat when the temperature is colder outside, thus causing more cold/flu viruses when it starts getting colder in the seasons.

Right. There's a reason this is called the flu season.