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That getting a cold does/does not come from exposure to low temperatures is a strong conviction I've encountered in both versions.
by rhn_mk1 5y ago
That getting a cold does/does not come from exposure to low temperatures is a strong conviction I've encountered in both versions.
- DaedPsyker 5y agoThose I can understand. It doesn't really take magical thinking, some viruses perform better at colder temperatures. Things like magnetic bangles, crystals and other stuff does appear in the west. I can't say how prevalent. Anecdotally it wasn't common amongst western researchers I've known, at least not outwardly.
- rhn_mk1 5y agoAh, I can point out some along those lines, too. Acupressure. Chiropractors. Horoscopes. Less fringe, but also less magical: the notion that a wild animal will abandon their young if a human touches them. It doesn't really make a lot of sense, but only on a second thought.
- andi999 5y agoIf a human touchea a young wild animal, the human will abandon life soon; is that what you meant?
- tsol 5y agoThere's an entire trend of witchiness with the secular, where they disavow traditional western beliefs but subscribe to paganistic beliefs on spells, charms, and magic. This stuff isn't uncommon at all honestly
- galaxyLogic 5y agoIt is easy to understand why people might assume so. There is a correlation. In colder temperatures people gather in indoor spaces and that helps spread the virus.
- Enginerrrd 5y agoThe reasons respiratory illnesses tend to be more prevalent in winter are not so definitively understood.
- galaxyLogic 5y agoI'm not a medic but it would seem rational to me that if viruses spread from one person to another then when people are close together in a group in a room for longer periods of time and the same air circulates in the room rather than get blown a way by wind outside, then it is much easier to spread the virus.
- boomboomsubban 5y agoFrom what I've understood, being cold weakens your immune system. So while the main cause is the closer contact to others, the cold weather does make it more likely to get sick.
- Dylan16807 5y agoThat's a very wishy-washy response without an effect size, though.
- boomboomsubban 5y agoIt's the kind of thing that's hard to quantify. But we have good reasons why cold weather weakens your immune system with how it effects mucus production. And people with weaker immune systems get sick more often. Therefore, stay warm to reduce chance of illness
- Dylan16807 5y agoUnless it's like half a percent of the base rate, in which case you're wasting effort and failing to enjoy situations for no good reason.
- boomboomsubban 5y agoGetting sick less is a secondary benefit of not getting hypothermia. Being cold isn't really an enjoyable thing.
- Dylan16807 5y ago> Being cold isn't really an enjoyable thing. Sometimes it can be. Sometimes there are tradeoffs. If it was as simple as "don't do the thing you hate", nobody would ever get cold in the first place, regardless of it makes them sick. So it matters whether the sickness effect is negligible or not.