# Will being out in the cold for a few minutes cause me to get sick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701 "2003-12-08T05:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnJet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@JohnJet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnJet)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701/1 "2003-12-08T05:31:00Z")
I’m sure my title got cut off so here it is again: Will being out in the cold for a few minutes cause me to get sick? I wonder because my mother always yelled at me to put on a coat or I’d get sick, I never listened to her ofcourse. So, was I lucky, or does a few minutes in the cold really not matter? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701/2 "2003-12-08T05:43:36Z")
Viruses cause colds, not cold weather. However, having said that, going out in the cold with no jacket could affect your immune system leaving you more susceptible to getting sick. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701/3 "2003-12-08T05:48:55Z")
No. This is from a NY Times Health Section article (sorry, no cite). In studies where they actually put their subjects out in the wet and cold, there was no increase in catching the ‘cold.’ (Maybe it’s time we stop calling that group of related viral infections a ‘cold,’ we just need a ‘sexier’ name than rhinovirus.) So, being in the physical cold (wet or not) does not increase your exposure to the virus, nor does it make one more susceptible in contracting the viral infection (under the mistaken theory that chilliness compromised the immune system). If it did, professional skiers would be catching colds a dramatically higher rate than the general population. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701/4 "2003-12-08T17:58:16Z")
I think the wives’ tale of going out in the cold and catching a cold probably comes from the fact that going out in the cold for awhile can cause your nose to run, and when you catch a cold your nose may run, thus that symptom is mistakenly correlated to the two. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701/5 "2003-12-08T18:50:12Z")
I think the reason people think that colds come from cold weather is because most of the time, more folks get colds during the winter season. Not due to the cold weather itself, but because more people are staying inside because it’s cold outside, making it easier to spread germs. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-being-out-in-the-cold-for-a-few-minutes-cause-me-to-get-sick/217701/6 "2003-12-08T19:55:57Z")
Cecil did a column on this. I don’t have 20 minutes right now to wait for the search to work, but it’s in there somewhere.