Scientists might have figured out why people get more colds/flu during the winter.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

And -- believe it or not -- the underlying reason turns out to (more or less) genuinely be "because it's cold"

 

Scientists finally know why people get more colds and flu in winter | CNN

WWW.CNN.COM

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A new scientific finding has uncovered why we get more viral colds, flu and Covid in winter and during cold snaps.

 

Quote

 

A chill is in the air, and you all know what that means — it’s time for cold and flu season, when it seems everyone you know is suddenly sneezing, sniffling or worse. It’s almost as if those pesky cold and flu germs whirl in with the first blast of winter weather.

 

Yet germs are present year-round — just think back to your last summer cold. So why do people get more colds, flu and now Covid-19 when it’s chilly outside?

 

In what researchers are calling a scientific breakthrough, scientists behind a new study may have found the biological reason we get more respiratory illnesses in winter. It turns out the cold air itself damages the immune response occurring in the nose.

 

“This is the first time that we have a biologic, molecular explanation regarding one factor of our innate immune response that appears to be limited by colder temperatures,” said rhinologist Dr. Zara Patel, a professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. She was not involved in the new study.

 

In fact, reducing the temperature inside the nose by as little as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) kills nearly 50% of the billions of virus and bacteria-fighting cells in the nostrils, according to the study published Tuesday in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

 

“Cold air is associated with increased viral infection because you’ve essentially lost half of your immunity just by that small drop in temperature,” said rhinologist Dr. Benjamin Bleier, director of otolaryngology translational research at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

 

 

[Brian]

Won’t be cold for much longer

 

[Chris-]

Is this really new? I’ve thought it was known that cold temperatures 

[TheLeon]

Isn't that why we call them colds? Because we get them most often when it's... cold? 

[Jason]

41 minutes ago, Chris- said:

Is this really new? I’ve thought it was known that cold temperatures 

 

That's what a lot of people think but it was supposed to be an old wives' tale. 

[Jason]

This also isn't exactly what the old wives' tale is, the old wives' tale is you should dress warmly to avoid catching a cold, which wouldn't do anything to prevent the mechanism described here. 

 

But wearing a mask would help by helping keep your nose warm from your breath.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

 

That's what a lot of people think but it was supposed to be an old wives' tale. 

 

Correct - which is why I framed it the way that I did!

[Jason]

Just now, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Correct - which is why I framed it the way that I did!

 

Yeah but see my second post, this isn't quite the same thing as the old wives' tale. 

[Joe]

I thought the old wife’s tale was that you literally catch a cold from the cold, but the reality is the cold lowers your immunity, which in turn makes you more likely to come down with a cold? I’ve been correcting people on this pedantic distinction for years!

[Jason]

11 minutes ago, Joe said:

I thought the old wife’s tale was that you literally catch a cold from the cold, but the reality is the cold lowers your immunity, which in turn makes you more likely to come down with a cold? I’ve been correcting people on this pedantic distinction for years!

 

The immune hit is happening in the nose, so "put on a jacket so you don't catch a cold" is still wrong useless advice.

[Ghost_MH]

15 minutes ago, Joe said:

I thought the old wife’s tale was that you literally catch a cold from the cold, but the reality is the cold lowers your immunity, which in turn makes you more likely to come down with a cold? I’ve been correcting people on this pedantic distinction for years!

 

That was the old adage. Thus you get this scene from my favorite currently airing anime...

 

 

[Chris-]

21 minutes ago, Joe said:

I thought the old wife’s tale was that you literally catch a cold from the cold, but the reality is the cold lowers your immunity, which in turn makes you more likely to come down with a cold? I’ve been correcting people on this pedantic distinction for years!

 

Yeah, that's what I meant but I was half-assing a quick post during a meeting (a poster's duty never ends).

[TheLeon]

20 minutes ago, Chris- said:

 

Yeah, that's what I meant but I was half-assing a quick post during a meeting (a poster's duty never ends).

Thank you for your service. 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

1 hour ago, Chris- said:

 

Yeah, that's what I meant but I was half-assing a quick post during a meeting (a poster's duty never ends).

🫡

[Chris-]

1 minute ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

🫡

 

[PaladinSolo]

Yeah this for sure isn't new, maybe its just at the point where its not accepted?  Just remember this being cited a long time ago, the specific temp talked about was temps under 40 F.

[Massdriver]

I’ve always heard public health officials claim that colds and the flu spread more in the cold because people gather in close quarters indoors more often when it’s cold. This can complement that fact. 

[thewhyteboar]

My grandma always told me to wear socks in the house. Has she been vindicated???

Spoiler

not reading the article plz and thank you

 

[Keyser_Soze]

3 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

That was the old adage. Thus you get this scene from my favorite currently airing anime...

 

 

 

Nice trick but @Commissar SFLUFAN won't watch this.

[Ghost_MH]

17 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Nice trick but @Commissar SFLUFAN won't watch this.

 

I wouldn't recommend a cute girls doing cute things, slice of life comedy to anyone that isn't what a big anime fan. My non-anime fan recommendation for the season is Chainsaw Man, but that one is stuck on the very anime-only Crunchyroll. Second would go to Gundam Witch from Mercury. That one is actually free on YouTube.

[unogueen]

The whole respiratory pathway has specificity. It's adapted towards certain temperature and moisture. I guess winter is like a daily enema for the lungs then.

[Jason]

8 minutes ago, unogueen said:

I guess winter is like a daily enema for the lungs then.

 

@Bacon is this a type of porn?

[Bacon]

16 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

@Bacon is this a type of porn?

No, but there is a probably false story of a Japanese woman drowning to death on cum during a bukkake scene.

[Xbob42]

11 hours ago, TheLeon said:

Isn't that why we call them colds? Because we get them most often when it's... cold? 

Please for the love of god can people stop using the names of things to draw conclusions about those things! Nomenclature is not causation, definition or explanation! 

[cusideabelincoln]

11 hours ago, TheLeon said:

Isn't that why we call them colds? Because we get them most often when it's... cold? 

 

Yep! Everybody nose this already.

[LazyPiranha]

8 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

I wouldn't recommend a cute girls doing cute things, slice of life comedy to anyone that isn't what a big anime fan. My non-anime fan recommendation for the season is Chainsaw Man, but that one is stuck on the very anime-only Crunchyroll. Second would go to Gundam Witch from Mercury. That one is actually free on YouTube.

Are you outside of the US, because I watch Chainsaw Man on Hulu.  Also there are countless cute girl slice of life anime I’d recommend to non-anime people before I’d dream of recommending Chainsaw Man which is actively antagonistic to the viewer.

[Keyser_Soze]

56 minutes ago, LazyPiranha said:

Are you outside of the US, because I watch Chainsaw Man on Hulu.  Also there are countless cute girl slice of life anime I’d recommend to non-anime people before I’d dream of recommending Chainsaw Man which is actively antagonistic to the viewer.

 

Doesn't matter. @Commissar SFLUFAN thwarted @Ghost_MH's plan by putting a false copyright claim in to get rid of the clip 🤫

[Ghost_MH]

1 hour ago, LazyPiranha said:

Are you outside of the US, because I watch Chainsaw Man on Hulu.  Also there are countless cute girl slice of life anime I’d recommend to non-anime people before I’d dream of recommending Chainsaw Man which is actively antagonistic to the viewer.

 

I didn't realize Chainsaw Man was also on Hulu. Here I thought Crunchyroll had an exclusive. That's pretty great to know. Now I can more easily recommend the series to non-anime fans. What makes Chainsaw Man work for non-anime fans is that it doesn't heavily rely on anime tropes to tell its story. Fujimoto really paved his own way his own way with Chainsaw Man and absolutely nailed the ending of the first season. I can't wait for the anime to get there and see how people feel about it.

 

Also, without derailing the thread too much, I'm never really sure about recommending CGDCT anime to folks. It's a very...anime genre. Bocchi the Rock I think is hilarious and should connect with anyone that appreciates the indie rock scene. Bocchi the Rock might be the best kids starting a band anime out there. At the very minimum, they've absolutely nailed the sound better than I've ever seen.

 

...

 

Getting back in topic though, I guess I'll be buying my kids scarves and having them to wear them wrapped around their faces. They're pretty used to masks, so I don't think they'll complain about the scarves.

[DarkStar189]

4 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

Getting back in topic though, I guess I'll be buying my kids scarves and having them to wear them wrapped around their faces. They're pretty used to masks, so I don't think they'll complain about the scarves.

I've always loved having my nose covered from the cold, now I know it's actually good for me!