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Another counterpoint (from a centre investigating the common cold): http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/common-cold-centre/the-common-cold http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/common-
by lemming 10y ago
Another counterpoint (from a centre investigating the common cold): http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/common-cold-centre/the-common-cold http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/common-cold-centre/the-common-cold
Can a chill cause a cold?
A study at the Common Cold Centre in 2005 took 90 students and chilled their feet in cold water for 20 minutes and showed that the chilled group had twice as many colds over the next 5 days as a control group of 90 students whose feet were not chilled.
- bandrami 10y agoPretty much impossible to blind that study, though: the subject definitely knows whether or not his feet have been in cold water for 20 minutes.
- ghostly_s 10y agoYou could sedate them, I suppose. Although I wouldn't be surprised if that would overcast entirely the suppressing effect of the water.
- jessriedel 10y agoDid they purposefully expose people to cold viruses during that time? If not, it's a preposterously large effect size.
- adrianN 10y agoWithout the actual numbers, it might be that one person from the unchilled group got sick and two people from the chilled group.
- torgoguys 10y agoThat study was mentioned and linked to in this thread's article. Quote: >It may also be, as a 2005 study in The Journal of Family Practice showed, that people who are exposed to cold are more likely to report symptoms, even if they aren’t actually infected more often. Perception, and even potentially a belief in this explanation, may contribute to its longevity.