You’ll catch your death! Does cold weather cause colds?

2025-06-17

There tend to be more bugs around in winter making everyone snotty and uncomfortable.But does this mean that cold weather causes colds? Well no, viruses cause the common cold.But, as Norman and Tegan explain, winter does set the stage for those viruses to have more moments in the spotlight.References: Understanding the symptoms of the common cold and influenza - PMC Cold temperature and low humidity are associated with increased occurrence of respiratory tract infections - ScienceDirect Immune ...

There tend to be more bugs around in winter making everyone snotty and uncomfortable.

But does this mean that cold weather causes colds? Well no, viruses cause the common cold.

But, as Norman and Tegan explain, winter does set the stage for those viruses to have more moments in the spotlight.

References:

Understanding the symptoms of the common cold and influenza - PMC
Cold temperature and low humidity are associated with increased occurrence of respiratory tract infections - ScienceDirect
Immune system of cold-exposed and cold-adapted humans | European Journal of Applied Physiology
Immune changes in humans during cold exposure: effects of prior heating and exercise
Cold exposure impairs extracellular vesicle swarm–mediated nasal antiviral immunity - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Airborne transmission efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 in Syrian hamsters is not influenced by environmental conditions | npj Viruses

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