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Can you get a cold from being outside when its cold?

In: Cold and Flu [Edit categories]

Answer:

No, you get a cold from a virus. Your body becomes uncomfortable because of the cold. But you do not get infections from being cold. Eskimos don't spend all their time having a cold.

It is often believed that colds and flu and other infectious diseases can be caused by cold weather, changes in temperatures, being wet outside, or having wet hair, etc. None of this is correct information.

People also often say that being cold affects your immune system so you are more susceptible to infections. This is also not correct. When this is discussed, it doesn't just mean feeling chilly or even getting "goosebumps" or shivering. Hypothermia can have negative effects on your entire body including the immune system, but just being cold is not hypothermia. When medical studies use that term, it is used to refer to a specific measurement of core body temperature.

Hypothermia is not the same as being cold, it is a specific medical diagnosis and:

It is defined as a core body temperature that is at or below 95 F (35 C).
Needs to be treated if body temperature goes below 95 F (35 C).
Becomes life threatening below body temperatures of 90 F (32.2 C).
Affects motor coordination through impact to the nervous system at 95 F.
When the body temperature drops that low, at the start of a hypothermic condition, symptoms can include intense uncontrollable shaking and shivering, then if your body continues to get colder, the shivering stops when the core temperature gets between 90 F and 86 F.
It causes heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to rise during the first stages of hypothermia as your body tries to increase metabolism and warm itself, but these vital signs fall once the temperature gets 90°F (32.2°C).
Creates coma at below 86 F.
Heart rate becomes very irregular below 82 F and death can soon follow.

The term is not used just to mean that someone felt cold.

First answer by Robbb. Last edit by D4est. Contributor trust: 1251 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 3 [recommend question].

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