The secret to fighting colds effectively in winter

A new study shows that low temperatures make it harder for the body to fight off germs that cause half of the colds in adults and almost all colds in children. This discovery confirms the long-standing popular belief that people are more likely to catch a cold if chills are caused by not being warm enough or going out with wet hair in the winter.

Although warm dressing is the common advice of most mothers for their children, many science voices refuting it and declaring, coughing and runny nose do not stem from hypothermia. degree. Instead, they blame our body's reaction to cold weather, citing the reason that the cold-causing virus is more easily spread when people insist on confining themselves in air-conditioned rooms. .

According to the researchers, using a mask to help us prevent colds effectively.(Photo: Corbis)

To find the final answer to the controversy, Yale University researchers have looked at how rhinovirus, the biggest culprit in common colds, grows and multiplies in These cells are stored in different temperature levels. They found that the pathogen is proliferating at 33 degrees Celsius - the specific temperature inside the nose, compared to 37 degrees - the temperature is usually deep inside the body.

In particular, the team found that the body's initial immune response to cold was ineffective at 33 degrees Celsius (the same temperature as the nose), which means the virus has conditions.

According to a research report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , experts conducted experiments on cells extracted from mice. Even so, they insist, the results may be similar in humans.

Experts say that about one in five of us carry rhinovirus in our nose at any given time. The immune system of these people controls the virus during the summer months, but when the temperature drops, their immune systems weaken and colds appear.

Ron Eccles, the UK's leading expert on colds, recommends that people avoid colds by covering their nose when going out and there in the winter. He also advises people who want to prevent colds, try adding vitamin D, because this vitamin in our bodies tends to be low in the winter.

And although many people believe that vitamin C will help them stay away from colds, Professor Eccles said, most of us have enough of this vitamin in our bodies. According to the British expert, for those who have had a cold, drinking a glass of mixed liquor with hot water is also an effective solution.