Is it possible to 'catch a chill'?

Crimson look on a needlework web site call something like creative grids. They have fingerless gloves which are expensive but really work. They say they are for anyone from craftworkers to fish packers. Horrible colour but they work.

Despite the deniers I take what Age UK and others working in the field seriously. You can't have it both ways ie saying that cold weather kills off the germs AND that there are more germs around in the winter!!! Though logically central heating must play a part here.

Interestingly why does Finland have much fewer winter deaths per capita than the UK?

I would point out that I'm not aware of any research into 'catching colds' that targets subjects in the 70+ age group. It would make sense that our immune system gets less efficient as we age though.

I have just put the heating back on as it was only about 17degC in my living room. Too chilly for comfort! It is surprising though what one degree or so more makes as to how warm it feels.

I have just read this! from Age UK!

www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/keeping-your-body-healthy/winter-wrapped-up/

"You can protect your health by ensuring you're warm both inside and outside the house, and following these tips:

•Keep your bedroom windows closed at night
•Wrap up well when you go outside

•Keep your living room at 70F (21C)

•Keep your bedroom at 65F (18C)"

The ideal living room temperature is higher than I thought.
No wonder so many suffer. I am lucky enough to live in a modern well insulated house. It must be very hard to keep a lot of houses warm to these ideal temperatures.

Actually , it is easier to catch a cold in winter as people stay indoors and generously spread their bugs around instead of giving them to the fresh air!

A lot of the winter deaths are due to hypothermia.

The cold research centre showed that cold had no effect on colds ( of the coryzal variety) .either catching them or treating them.

nanado nanaej I assume the "cold elderly" are dying of cold related diseases rather than plain hypothermia (being cold iself.)

Its an interesting point about the "chicken and egg" causation question.

Could "common cold viruses" do better in cold weather and bacteria in warm weather. I always think of bacteria needing warm conditions to grow. Like food left unchilled!

anno didnt that give you piles as well? Or was that sitting on radiators?

But is that because more germs are around in winter months or there are more germs because more people are ill in colder weather? Chicken & egg question!

I know my dad felt his angina was affected by cold weather but that was breathing in cold air..which you have to do outdoors regardless of the number of vets/scarves etc.

Extra winter deaths are indeed a fact and well documented.

The question as to whether cold depresses the immune system is still unresolved. The extra winter deaths are a fact - some of them are due to chest infections and some due to increased numbers of heart attacks. There is also a little bit of evidence that repeated exposure to extreme cold can improve your resistance to infections. e.g. daily sea bathing
Part of the trouble is that the immune system is really complicated - it is not one system but many subsystems. It is perfectly possible that some of these sub-systems work less well in the cold, some work better and some are unaffected.

When I was nursing in the sixties we were still putting patients outside in their beds on the chest wards. Benefits must have outweighed the disadvantages.

And as for sitting on the grass! Instant chill on the bladder!

According to my late mother you could get a tummy upset if you walked around even in the house with no shoes on, as the "chill would go up your legs and into your tummy!

I do suspect that being cold possibly reduces the efficiency of the immune system.

Oh I think that is true particularly for elderly/disabled people who cannot move about a lot. Sitting still in a cold place is not ever nice and clearly not healthy especially for anyone with underlying health problems.

But a basically fit person, able to move around and be busy, eating regular meals does not need to bundle up. My SiL is much younger than me..her son is just 13!

Michelle Mitchell, the Charity Director General at Age UK, said: “Every single excess winter death is preventable and represents our failure to meet the challenge of plummeting temperatures in Britain. Even in very cold countries such as Finland, excess winter deaths are much lower because they take staying warm seriously and prepare for cold weather.

“Cold homes – caused by a number of factors including high energy costs and poor insulation – not only have a devastating impact on older people’s health, but are a major cause of excess winter deaths.

“Those living in the coldest homes are three times more likely to die a preventable death than those living in warmer ones. In addition to the incalculable human cost, Age UK estimates cold homes to cost the NHS around £1.36 billion to treat the casualties of cold each year.”

I am a believer in fresh air to kill the germs! No idea if this is based on any scientific evidence but I keep my bedroom window open as much as possible and 'air' the living room each morning with at least half hour of an open window! My SiL wraps herself up massively and sits in her house that she heats to high temp and NEVER opens a window. The family are always snuffling! However I accept my fresh air regime did not kill off my recent bad chest germs!

I do not believe you can catch a chill by just getting cold..unless extreme e.g. fallen in a chilly stream etc! I think sometimes as you develop a cold/virus you sometimes feel chilled (part of the fever symptoms) so could be coincidental that you are out when that happens?

Edinburgh Woolen Mill has turtle /polo sweaters! I do not wear them as I am short with a 'stately bosom' which such items of clothing only exaggerate!!

Rinky Birkenstocks and socks - I hope!

I rarely wear scarves or gloves as they make me feel trapped and never a hat. My nana was the same and went out at 90 in just a coat with an open neck in the winter unless it was absolutely bitter.
I have had everyone here in Toronto falling about because I went out to shop on Christmas Eve in Birkenstocks and no scarf. To me it was quite warm and we were going to be in the car or shops so no need to wrap up.
The Canadians are obsessed with layering up to the point of hardly being able to move. Must be a lot of Italian blood around! My son agrees with me and I am pleased to have caused so much laughter and amusement over to last three weeks..

I can't bear high necked jumpers - they make my face feel hot and besides I have a short neck and they make me look as if I had no neck. I always go for v-necks, although they are a bit more draughty.

Trouble is, it's a bit like when my ex used to grow a beard sometimes. He always got a shock when he shaved it off and his face underneath was older. My neck [always the bit that gives age away imo] always shocks me when it comes out of hibernation . And I always wear a vest [well, it's actually old sleeveless Top Shop tte shirts that I bought years ago and they seem to be lasting forever but getting tighter and tighter each year]. And a hat; yes, even at work sometimes....[fingerless gloves if I could find some].

Didn't Wainwright say there is no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothes? I agree with crimson polo neck weather starts in Nov. Some one kindly introduced me to Orvis who have polo necked mini vests. And BHS and Mand S have ribbed sweaters which I have in every colour to go under sweaters

The Italians are apparently completely convinced by the idea of catching a chill. There was a BBc correspondent report on it sometime last year. Children must be wrapped up to the ultimate degree. You should never sit in a draft etc

JessM It is just possible that if you get chilled when you have one of these unsymptomatic infections and you get cold, that your immune system responds by producing some symptoms that makes sense.

I don't know what a 'chill' is (and the last news item about the Queen I saw said she couldn't make church because ^she had a cold^). I know that a 'cold' is a 'coryza' or at least the symptoms of the 'cold' are - and it has nothing to do with being cold.

I'd go along with the notion thatbeing cold can lower one's resistance, allowing a virus to get busy.

In my experience, station platforms are some of the coldest places in the country. The winter of 62-63 was a nightmare. I was commuting to Edinburgh by train to do my Dip Ed and spent a lot of time waiting for trains. One day my mum was with me, took pity on me and gave me some money to buy a decent pair of boots. I usually find that if my hands and feet are warm I can cope.