Q. When I get sweaty from working outside in the winter and then get chilled, I frequently start to feel a sore throat coming on within several hours. It often develops into a full-blown cold.
I believe the chill doesn’t cause the cold, but rather sets up the environment for bugs already in my system to thrive and cause the resulting infection.
A. For years, doctors believed the idea that a chill could lead to a cold was no more than an old wives’ tale. But research suggests that this link should be taken more seriously.
A study at the Common Cold Center in Cardiff, Wales, found that 29 percent of 90 study subjects who sat with their feet in icy water for 20 minutes came down with colds later that week (Family Practice, Dec. 2005). Only 10 percent of the 90 control subjects whose feet stayed warm and dry started sniffling and coughing. The old wives may have been right after all, although the underlying reason is still unclear.
We include a number of other traditional bits of advice on upper respiratory infections, as the doctors call them, in our Guide to Colds, Coughs & the Flu. One of the old wives’ favorite remedies, a steaming bowl of chicken soup, has garnered scientific support over the years. We include a delicious recipe.
