There’s no scientific evidence that connects wet feet, sleeping in a draught or getting caught in the rain with catching a cold. Science reporter Graeme Quirk explained that you don’t catch a cold by getting cold – you catch a cold by breathing in a virus breathed out by another person who already has a cold.
The reason people catch more colds in winter is that the cold weather deters everyone from spending time outdoors. If the weather is chilly most people would prefer to go and see a movie, rather than going to the park. In winter we are also much more likely to find ourselves in crowded, confined spaces, such as buses and trains, with all the windows closed and no fresh air. In those situations, if anyone else has a cold we have a much greater chance of breathing in the virus.
It’s interesting that every year when researchers head off to spend the winter in the Antarctic, team members are carefully screened to make sure they don’t have colds. If no-one goes with a cold, no-one catches a cold for the entire winter.
