How does being cold lower your immune system?

Answer 1

No. There is a long-held old belief that being cold can cause infectious illnesses like the cold and flu and/or can "lower your immune system". This belief began before people knew what caused the colds and flu. Once germs were identified as the cause, any of the prior thoughts on what caused colds, flu, and pneumonia did not immediately go away, and many people still cling to those beliefs, even today.

Science has disproved this with double blind studies and we now know that these illnesses are not caused by cold weather or by being cold. That is coincidental since the cold and flu season is in fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere and people made that connection when there really was no association. See the related question below about why the flu has a season if it has nothing to do with the temperature (hint: it is the humidity).

There are some studies that have indicated that the immune system response and activity can be negatively impacted by hypothermia. This may be true, however, it is often misunderstood what hypothermia is in medical terminology. That means that the core body temperature has gone well below the normal and your body systems and organs will begin to fail when that happens, including the immune system. The core temperature must be reduced significantly for this to happen, however, which is not easily done. Our bodies are extremely efficient in keeping our core body temperatures stable as that is a requirement for proper physiology of the human body.

Hypothermia is not just being cold or in the cold. It takes long term exposure to extreme low temperatures or immersion in cold water to take the core body temperature down to a hypothermic state. This would usually only occur well after extreme exposure situations with peripheral body parts frostbitten and damaged. We are not talking about just going out without a coat on or being chilled.

So, the answer to the question is no. See the related questions below for more details.

Answer 2

It doesn't in otherwise healthy people. Being cold does not cause cold or flu, nor does being wet. These infections are caused by viruses, and since these viruses are most likely to spread in the fall and winter seasons, there has been a cause and effect association made that really is only coincidence.

Answer 3

No, in fact being cold, like going outside in cold weather without a coat, stimulates the immune system. Scandinavians are correct that this is actually good for you.

That is, however, precisely why your nose runs when you're outside in the cold; your healthy immune system is protecting your nose from possible infections. Your body produces more norepinephrine when it's cold, which makes your nose produce mucus, helping clean pathogens from the air you're breathing.

Because old wives were ignorant of that, however, they ASSumed that the runny nose meant you'd "caught a cold". In fact, the opposite is true...if your immune system is unhealthy, your nose will run LESS when you're cold, but you're more vulnerable to infection.

The capilary contraction, when you breath cold air outside for a while, is also reversed when you come inside and breath warm air. This can cause the lining in your nose to swell slightly, and to produce even more mucus. If left alone, this will go away by itself.

Repeatedly blowing your nose, on the other hand, can give you a long-term runny nose, because it stimulates your tissues to produce more mucus. This is one reason that a person can go out into the cold, get a runny nose (a healthy immune response), come inside, it runs worse (from the healthy, temporary capilary expansion) and then suffer from it for a prolonged period after coming inside (their blowing irritates their nasal lining, making it produce ever-more mucus).

http://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-and-flu/colds-and-the-weather.aspx

Answer 4

It all depends on what type of illness you may have but, some could be serious. If I where you I would go right away to see a doc. I'm in the hospital right now been here for 11 days because I thought nothing of my cold sweats!, kidney failure!

Answer 5

I believe the cold weather actually just makes it so we're indoors more and in closer proximity to other people and that's the actual reason that we get more sickness around this time of year. It doesn't have a direct effect like that.

Answer 6

no it doesnt

Answer 7

no