2023-12-19 14:27:05
“Put on a scarf, you’ll get cold“. Or, another school: “Wear socks, you’ll get a cold.“We have heard these words from our parents since we were little. Because it never fails, every winter “it’s freezing” and it is the choice, on the long list of displeasures, of the body which suffers a cold, a sore throat or other rhino-pharyngitis… When it is not bronchiolitis or the flu.
Since the cold is not strictly speaking a virus, are cooling temperatures really the culprit? We had to wait until 2022 to see the science decide. Researchers now agree that “catching a cold” is indeed factual.
“The cold is neither a disease nor a virus”
The most popular doctor in France, Michel Cymes declared, in 2021 on RTL: “We don’t catch a cold. The cold is neither a disease, nor a virus, nor a vector for the transmission of all the small illnesses that threaten us when temperatures drop. So, the cold has nothing to do with it. with gastroes, tonsillitis, flu, rhinopharyngitis and other bronchiolitis which we talk regarding a lot in winter and much less in summer, although the multitude of viruses capable of keeping us bedridden for a few days is able to rage all year round “.
The medical consensus then pointed the finger at promiscuity. In winter, we prefer to stay warm, but in spaces that are often poorly ventilated. “It is enough, in these conditions, for a person carrying a virus to cough, sneeze or splutter, for as many of their little friends as possible to benefit from it,” explained Michel Cymes.
Weakened nasal mucous membranes
At the office, in the subway, even at home, it is indeed difficult to avoid those who blow their nose, cough, sniffle. The joys of winter. Because it is through the nose, a natural immune barrier, that everything passes; it is the entry point for many micro-organisms. And, in France, when it is cold, the air is rather dry, which dries out the mucous membranes (which produce more mucus), making them more vulnerable to viruses. The experience of Covid will have sadly demonstrated this.
The nose protects like “a hornet’s nest”
However, the cold will have benefited from the benefit of the doubt until 2022. A study published in the medical journal Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology demonstrates, building on previous work, that cells in the nose release extracellular vesicles (EVs), a cloud of very small particles attacking bacteria upon inhalation. Professor Mansoor Amiji, co-author of the study and professor at Northeastern University in Boston, compares this reaction to a “hornet’s nest”. Just as hornets would defend a nest in the event of an attack, the extracellular vesicles fly in swarms to latch on to the invaders and kill them.
The ENT sphere less effective below 5 degrees
But scientists have also discovered that while the nose does produce EVs to fight viruses, a fall in the thermometer can affect their protective power. Under “normal” conditions, EVs block infection. Whereas in case of cooler temperature, the production of extracellular vesicles is not only less dense, but also less effective once morest the viruses tested: two rhinoviruses and a coronavirus. Concretely, when the thermometer falls below 5 degrees, the functioning of the antiviral response of the ENT sphere is less effective. And we can therefore say, without making any mistake, that “we catch a cold”.
Children and elderly people at greater risk
“Even we doctors didn’t understand the report, smiles Aurore Baudoin-Haloche, doctor in Marseille. But it is clear that when it is cold, we get sickershe continues, inviting “learn the lesson of Covid. Virus transmission occurs mainly orally, with volatile contamination. The healthcare professional, like many of her colleagues, is currently facing numerous cases of flu or people positive for Coronavirus.
“We are in the middle of it. People should be careful, wear a mask, wash their hands regularly, she highly recommends. Particularly to protect more fragile people such as babies or the elderly.” Seniors and infants are more exposed, because the body adapts less well to temperature variations.
“Before the holiday season, recalls Aurore Baudoin-Haloche, it is necessary to pay attention to the consequences of joining your family (if you have symptoms Editor’s note).” At the risk of spoiling the reunion, while the Covid epidemic accelerates.
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