You\u2019ve probably heard these warnings:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too cold to play outside!\u201d
\n\u201cDon\u2019t go out with wet hair \u2013 you\u2019ll catch a cold!\u201d
\n\u201cWear your hat or you\u2019ll get sick!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nMaybe you\u2019ve even said them? I know my mother has! But\u2026are they true?<\/p>\n
Does being out in the cold give you a cold?<\/h3>\n
Nope. Viruses cause colds.<\/p>\n
The only way to get a cold is to be exposed to a virus.<\/h3>\n
Doctors call colds upper respiratory\u00a0viral infections. There are hundreds of viruses that cause colds \u2013 most often it\u2019s one called a rhinovirus that causes a stuffy, runny nose, sore throat, and cough.<\/p>\n
The symptoms of a cold usually last a week, but the cough and congestion can linger for longer. Plus, the common cold is indeed common \u2013 children get\u00a0many every year<\/a>.<\/p>\n
So why do these myths about catching colds persist? Cold and influenza viruses do occur more often in cold months.<\/p>\n
We get more colds in the winter months primarily because we spend more time\u00a0indoors close to other people. Warm dry rooms contribute to the spread of these viruses. Also, dry air dries out the mucus membranes lining your nose, lungs, and eyes making it harder for your immune system to fight off viruses that attack there.<\/p>\n
Think about your child\u2019s kindergarten class \u2013 all of those kids close together every day. If one of them gets a cold, their germs from sneezing, coughing, and wiping a runny nose will be easily shared to all their friends! Ick.<\/p>\n
Common cold viruses also survive better in low humidity, like in the winter months.<\/p>\n
Believing in the myths<\/a> about colds is dangerous because it can detract from the real way to prevent colds and flu<\/a>: handwashing and the flu vaccine<\/a>! And more time spent outdoors (dressed warmly) playing in the fresh air should help boost kids\u2019 immune response and decrease opportunities to share germs. So bundle them up, and kick them outside!<\/p>\n
And Mom, if you\u2019re reading this, I love you and thanks for looking out for us all these years. But \u2013 playing outdoors in the cold won\u2019t make the kids sick!<\/p>\n
Resources For Parents:<\/h4>\n
American Academy of Pediatrics<\/h4>\n
Children and Colds<\/a><\/p>\n
My Doctor Online
\nColds and Flu in Children<\/a><\/h4>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Being cold does not give you a cold. You only get a cold if you are exposed to a virus! So bundle the kids up and let them play – outside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[307,158,306,452,157],"class_list":["post-1668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-issues","tag-cold-viruses","tag-colds","tag-common-cold","tag-flu-season","tag-influenza","ages-all-school-ages"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1762560049:8"],"_edit_last":["8"],"slide_template":[""],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_custom_body_class":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["106"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["293"],"_thumbnail_id":["1676"],"wpfp_favorites":["119"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1762560000"],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Does being cold give you a cold?"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["71"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["2"],"cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":[""],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"ase_mapbox_style":["openstreet"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5138,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions\/5138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}