# Why do more people get sick in the fall/winter?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-more-people-get-sick-in-the-fall-winter/204087>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 27, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-more-people-get-sick-in-the-fall-winter/204087 "2003-09-27T01:14:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Metallicblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Metallicblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metallicblue)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-more-people-get-sick-in-the-fall-winter/204087/1 "2003-09-27T01:14:07Z")

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I’ve been wondering why more people get sick when the weather starts getting colder.

Does it have any correlation with kids returning to school? The shools act as little bacterial/viral breeding grounds which are then brought home to parents and then on to coworkers?

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**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-more-people-get-sick-in-the-fall-winter/204087/2 "2003-09-27T02:08:42Z")

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…well, sort of…

Winter forces more people inside exchanging germs. This is the primary reason flu and colds explode. More people inside, more germs inside, more opps for exchange of germs.

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**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-more-people-get-sick-in-the-fall-winter/204087/3 "2003-09-27T03:18:31Z")

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I always thought it had something to do with The Government’s end of year testing of its new line of germ warfare products.

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**Author:** ![constantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@constantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constantine)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-more-people-get-sick-in-the-fall-winter/204087/4 "2003-09-27T09:17:10Z")

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I don’t know, but it was one thing I hated about living in Chicago–which I hasten to add is an awesome city.

During the three years I lived in Chicago, and the four years I lived in Connecticut, and the one year I lived in Boston, I got SICK EVERY \*&%@ Winter and I hated hated hated hated it.

During the 5 years I lived in San Diego, and the almost 4 years (and counting) that I have lived in LA, I got (and still get) sick occasionally, but nowhere near as often. And when I do get sick in California, it lasts a few days and then goes awy. I remember my first fall/winter in Chicago. I think I had a cold for, jeez I don’t know, 6 weeks. It drove me absolutely insane.