Doctors have finally found the scientific and medical explanation regarding the reasons we catch a common cold. This way they established what we could do to avoid getting sick and the solution is quite simple because all we need to do is to cover our faces when it’s cold outside.

According to Akiko Iwasaki, lead author of the study and Immunobiology Professor at Yale School of Medicine, the data gathered from the research showed that there is a close connection between common cold and chilly weather conditions.

The most significant finding was that our immune system had a different response to the virus when we had to deal with freezing temperatures.

The rhinovirus is responsible for the common cold because once it enters inside the nose, it starts to replicate. Iwasaki explained that the airway inside the nose is cooled when we inhale the cool air from outside.

This airway becomes the ideal environment for the virus to replicate. Cooler temperatures prevent our immune system from producing molecules that usually block the virus from spreading into our body. Worse, the infected cells do not die, so they become much like a host for the virus to better replicate.

All of this is possible due to cooler temperatures that affect the efficiency of our immune system response to the rhinovirus. In other words, the virus will continue replicating until we catch a common cold. Besides covering our noses when we go outside, Iwasaki underlined the importance of washing our hands.

When we wash our hands, we get rid of many types of bacteria, so we can prevent many infections, even Hepatitis A. Another significant countermeasure would be to keep our bodies and the nasal cavity warm to make sure that our immune system can respond to the rhinovirus.

Limiting our exposure to the cold is a good option if we want to avoid catching a common cold. But not winter is our worst enemy, but the transition period between summer and fall, when the temperatures become cooler.

Also, when people spend too much time in crowded environments, they have a higher risk of getting contaminated with the rhinovirus and catch a common cold. It is important to have a healthy diet as well if we want the body to be able to respond to any virus or bacteria.

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