TORONTO – Your grandma would always tell you: Put on a hat and scarf, you’ll catch a cold out there. The idea that being out in the cold could trigger the common cold is often seen as an old wives’ tale, but new research suggests it may hold some clout.
The common cold virus reproduces better in cooler temperatures inside the nose and immune system defenses are weakened by the chill, according to Yale University scientists.
“We found that the innate immune response to the rhinovirus is impaired at the lower body temperature compared to the core body temperature,” lead author, Dr. Akiko Iwasaki of the university’s School of Medicine, told the Yale News.
“In general, the lower the temperature, it seems the lower the innate immune response to viruses,” she explained.
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Pay attention to your nose, the researchers said. For decades, scientists have known that rhinovirus – the culprit behind our leaky, runny noses – replicates easily in there, where it’s easily a few degrees cooler especially as we inhale frigid winter air.
Iwasaki wanted to look at how temperature tampered with immune response. Her team’s research was spearheaded by a postdoctoral fellow, Ellen Foxman, who looked at cells taken from the airways of mice.
Their immune response to the common cold virus was put to test at 37 C – our core body temperature – and at a cooler 33 C. Turns out, the rhinoviruses replicated faster in the cooler climate.
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In the mice, immune system sensors that detect virus and create an antiviral response weren’t as potent in the face of cold weather.
Keep in mind, 20 per cent of us carry rhinoviruses in our noses at any given time. The researchers say the old adage of bundling up and covering our noses before heading out into the cold carries some weight based on their results.
Their next steps are to look at how temperature affects immune response to other conditions, such as childhood asthma. The common cold – with its runny noses, sneezing, aches and pains – are a nuisance to the general public, but for kids with asthma, it could trigger severe breathing problems.
READ MORE: 5 ways to protect yourself from the flu
The Yale research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read the full findings here.
And if you’ve already caught a cold? Your options for taming your symptoms are limited to bed rest, for the most part.
Last year, a Canadian researcher and family doctor studied what works best against the common cold. A laundry list of remedies – vitamin C, Echinacea, vapour rub, ginseng, gargling salt water, nasal sprays – were all considered in the review.
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“People get frustrated when there’s not much they can do so they go looking. We believe in theories or possible naturopathic therapies that really don’t have a lot of research to back them in hopes that they do something,” Dr. Michael Allan told Global News.
“It’s born out of a hope that there could be something to prevent or improve your situation.”
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Allan is a family physician and professor at the University of Alberta.
There’s some research that suggests that adults could get a small or moderate benefit from a combination of antihistamines and decongestants with acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
(Allan couldn’t name brand names in the case of drugs, but typical antihistamines include Benadryl or Sudafed, while acetaminophen is more commonly known as Tylenol and ibuprofen as Advil.)
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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