Have you ever caught a nasty cold from being outside in chilly weather with wet hair? Spoiler alert: You actually didn’t ― no matter what your grandparents, great aunt and parents say.
The pervasive myth is something that older generations have told people for decades, but going outside with wet hair in the winter simply is not a possible way to catch a cold, according to doctors.
“There’s no evidence or literature to suggest that,” said Dr. Swapnil Patel, the vice chair of the department of medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in New Jersey.
Going out with wet hair on a wintry day does decrease your body temperature, making you feel colder, but you won’t actually end up sick as a result, said Dr. Parul Goyal, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. (This is also true for going out without a jacket, she said.)
If you do notice that you suddenly have the sniffles after spending time outdoors in the winter ― with or without wet hair ― there is a reason for that. “Cold temperature, it can affect how your blood vessels constrict and dilate. So, cold [temperature] usually causes something called vasoconstriction, which tightens up your blood vessels,” Patel said.
When your blood vessels loosen, like in a warm shower or steam bath, your sinuses open up and you feel better, which is why hot showers are often comforting to people who have a cold, Patel said. But that works in the opposite way with cold temperatures. Cold air or chilly weather tightens you up, Patel explained.
If you have a cold but are asymptomatic, the frigid weather may force your blood vessels to react and bring those symptoms out — but the cold weather (or wet hair) isn’t the reason for the infection, he added.
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How Colds Actually Spread — And How To Prevent Getting Sick
While heading outside on a winter day with wet hair isn’t going to be the reason for your cold, there are other behaviors that actually make you come down with an upper respiratory virus.
You may get sick if you are exposed to a virus or exposed to bodily fluids that are infected with a virus. “Usually it’s contact with nasal fluids ― somebody sneezes, leaves their nasal droplet somewhere, you touch that same surface,” Patel said.
If you touch your dirty hands to your eyes or mouth, you can also end up with a cold.
Washing your hands with warm water and soap is an important way to keep yourself from getting sick with a cold or another virus such as COVID-19, the flu or norovirus.
“You can use more drastic measures, like masks and things like that, especially if you’re around people that are sick,” Patel said.
Goyal added that it’s a good idea to stay away from sick people when possible.
It’s also helpful for people who are sick to stay home and away from others and if they need to go out to wear a mask to prevent the transmission of droplets.
“We also recommend people get regular exercise so that our immune system is strong enough [and] we can fight off the viruses,” Goyal said. Getting enough sleep and eating a nutritious diet can also help keep your immune system in good shape to fight off any winter illnesses.
It’s also a good idea not to smoke, which can make you more susceptible to colds, Patel said. Staying up-to-date on vaccines can reduce the rate of transmission and severity of certain illnesses, too. For example, if you get the flu shot, you’re more likely to have milder symptoms than someone who didn’t get their vaccine, he said.
While you may not be able to totally avoid the occasional cold, the reason for your sickness is a virus spread to you by a loved one or from a dirty surface — not from wet hair on a chilly day.