A swing from near 90 degrees to the 50s and 60s may leave Upper Cumberland residents feeling under the weather, but simply being exposed to colder air will not give someone a cold.
Family Nurse Practitioner Maggie Bullock said there is some truth behind the connection people make between abrupt weather changes and how they feel.
“When the air shifts from the nice moist hot that we’re used to in the summer to the cold dry,” Bullock said, “All of those mucus membranes tend to get a little bit drier. And when that happens we can experience things like tissue swelling in the nose and you know increased sinus pressure, headaches.”
Bullock said people can take several steps to make seasonal transitions easier, including staying hydrated, dressing in layers, using a humidifier once the heat comes on and using nasal saline to combat dryness. She said fall allergies can also contribute to symptoms during the transition.
“So usually with a true infection whether that be viral or bacterial we would experience fever, significant body aches, chills whereas with just the weather-related stuff tends to be more stuffy nose, runny nose, little bit of a scratchy throat, headache, you know those are more of just the weather-related,” Bullock said.
Bullock said the rapid transition from summerlike conditions also requires the body to adjust.
“You know our body has been used to the hot moist warm air for months and months and now all of a sudden it’s cold, it’s dry, and it stresses our body,” Bullock said. “So we do tend to get just a little more fatigued and that immune system drops a little bit and we have to work a little harder to fight off things.”
Bullock said weather can contribute indirectly to another major reason illnesses become more common as temperatures fall.
“They are kind of relating to each other but you know definitely the more that we are confining ourselves to tight spaces around others that is definitely going to be more of a contributing factor of the spread of viruses and illnesses,” Bullock said. “Again just that close proximity to each other, you know you’re going to be more susceptible not necessarily just because it’s cold outside.”
Bullock said that distinction is where the old belief about catching a cold simply by going outside in cold weather falls apart.
“You’re not going to get a cold or a sickness just from the cold air. That’s that’s the old wives’ tale there,” Bullock said.
Bullock said feeling sick after a major weather change does not necessarily mean someone has contracted a virus or bacterial infection. Bullock said preventing the spread of an actual illness requires a different approach.
“Like I said just wash your hands and and if you feel sick, you know try to to stay away from others,” Bullock said. “Don’t go out and spread it especially if you have that fever and you’re feeling ill you know stay home.”