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[KittyTac]

I got really sick for no discernible reason. I ate only fresh food, and it wasn't that cold outside. My head hurts.

[Putnam]

Temperature outside has basically nothing to do with sickness; in fact, warm temperatures tend to be correlated due to all the insect-borne illnesses (though that's obviously regional). The reason sickness is correlated with cold temperatures in many places is because people tend to stick together more in cold temperatures, i.e. staying inside all the time. I (and, hell, most people) always get sick after going to conventions, for example.

[Eric Blank]

So theres these asshole birds that have a nest above our back door. They had two clutches of eggs this year, consecutively and now the second set of chicks have left the nest. Except theyre still flying around the house like they own it. I was sitting on the porch today when one landed on a cable right above me. As i looked up it shit on me, bouncing off my glasses. Goddamn bird just sat there giving me funny looks even though i swung a pop bottle within about a foot of it. Considered swiping at it with the broom but i decided to just sit inside knowing my luck theyd start attacking us.

The little chuckle heads will all just sit there on the fence right next to us while were reading or whatever. They dont care. I guess we cant complain too much because theyre insectivores and are keeping the bug population down right?

The deer have also gotten into the garden despite the electric fence around it and generally being pretty close to the house. Guess we dont get any bell peppers, tomatoes or corn this year. Maybe we can have venison instead.

[TD1]

Nature is reclaiming Blank land for its own.

[Kagus]

Temperature outside has basically nothing to do with sickness; in fact, warm temperatures tend to be correlated due to all the insect-borne illnesses (though that's obviously regional). The reason sickness is correlated with cold temperatures in many places is because people tend to stick together more in cold temperatures, i.e. staying inside all the time. I (and, hell, most people) always get sick after going to conventions, for example.

Is there no correlation with cold temperatures stressing the body by making it work harder to keep warm? I thought stress/exhaustion weakened the natural immune response.

[Reelya]

Temperature outside has basically nothing to do with sickness; in fact, warm temperatures tend to be correlated due to all the insect-borne illnesses (though that's obviously regional). The reason sickness is correlated with cold temperatures in many places is because people tend to stick together more in cold temperatures, i.e. staying inside all the time. I (and, hell, most people) always get sick after going to conventions, for example.

Is there no correlation with cold temperatures stressing the body by making it work harder to keep warm? I thought stress/exhaustion weakened the natural immune response.

Some people have claimed body temperature doesn't matter at all (that it's a myth), and it's all about being indoors during winter where viruses can spread. But ... that by itself doesn't explain why people who work all year round in offices full of people, with aircon spreading germs around don't all get colds and flu year-long. The "indoors" explanation fails, because lots of people live in 1-2 person households and work all year long in offices, yet still only get colds in winter. If the source is just "being indoors with people" then who exactly is spreading it? It's not like you spend less time in the office in summer vs winter.

https://news.yale.edu/2016/07/11/warmer-body-temp-puts-heat-common-cold

A new Yale study reveals how body temperature affects the immune system’s response to the common cold virus. The research, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may provide additional strategies for developing therapies for colds.

In an earlier study, a team of Yale researchers led by Professor of Immunobiology Akiko Iwasaki found that the cold virus replicated more readily when the temperature in the nose dipped below core body temperature (37 degrees C). The researchers determined that at a slightly cooler temperature (33 degrees C), key immune system proteins – interferons – were impaired, allowing the cold virus to reproduce and spread in mouse airway cells.

For the current study, the research team focused on human airway cells, which make little interferons in response to the cold virus, said Iwasaki, who is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. While examining infected cells incubated at 37 or 33 degrees C, they observed that even in the absence of interferon, cells still controlled the virus, raising the possibility of additional cold-fighting mechanisms.

Further investigation, including mathematical modeling, revealed two additional mechanisms: At core body temperature, infected cells die more rapidly, preventing viral replication. Second, an enzyme that attacks and degrades viral genes, RNAseL, is enhanced at the higher temperature. Each pathway independently contributes to the immune system’s defense against the cold virus.

So, those paper masks asian people wear? They actually work great for two reasons. 1) they block the virus speading in our out, and 2) they keep your nose warm, which actually kills off the virus. The old wive's tales actually check out, via science.

[Tack]

So our immune system is literally less efficient at lower temperatures (although not as bad as mice)?

[Kagus]

So our immune system is literally less efficient at lower temperatures (although not as bad as mice)?

I mean, this is kinda why fevers are a thing. We heat up to better deal with infections.

I'd also assume, then, that getting wet also has an indirect effect; since water is really rather effective at transferring heat.


But a lot of the overall efficiency drop might be kinda specific to rhinovirus, since it's a lot better at surviving cold temperatures than a number of other viruses. Not sure about bacteria, but presumably a lot of the common ones there are also at least slowed down by cold temps. I really wouldn't know.

[Reelya]

It's important to know this stuff, because one of the "old wive's tales" is about getting a cold if you're caught out in the rain. If you google it, lots of people scoff at that, since they said "rain doesn't cause cold, dummies!" more or less.

But ... being soaked in water lowers your body temperature, especially at the extremities, and it only takes a few degrees colder in your nose to reduce your immuno-response to the cold virus. And  viruses are everywhere. So, yes you can get sick more easily from being out in the elements, despite what a lot of smart-asses like to think. Listen to your mother.

I also recall some people spreading around the theory that it was the change in temperature that makes you get sick more easily. This actually makes sense: if you were out in the elements and got really cold, then your immune system is weakened. Then, you come into an indoors environment where there are a lot of cold viruses floating around. Until you start to warm up, you're at higher risk of getting an infection.

[Akura]

Well that's odd. Bay12 works for me, but I can't seem to access anything else, including Youtube, Steam, or isitdownrightnow.com.

[Reelya]

http vs https? Bay12 is one of the few http sites still around. I used to have that problem before, but sometimes routing https calls through a free http proxy can fix it, though the proxies tend to go on and offline all the time, so finding a working one that stays up can be a pain:

http://www.gatherproxy.com/

[Rowanas]

Well that's odd. Bay12 works for me, but I can't seem to access anything else, including Youtube, Steam, or isitdownrightnow.com.

This is the first indication I've had that I wasn't the only one having weirdness. I could access the FOTF, but not the forums for all of yesterday.

[scriver]

That describes probably every supermarket chain ever.

The one I worked at was much better.

Oh, and I also remembered yesterday that the managers stole all the bribes product tests for themselves. Which is vety likely not company policy but only the managers being asshole. But it's such assholery it should count anyway.

[Caz]

I always thought it was the low humidity (especially dry air caused by sitting in a heated room in winter etc) that caused you to get sick when it's cold 'cause it dried out your mucous membranes, and that viruses can survive better in low humidity or something sciency.

[Mephansteras]

There also seems to be some sort of seasonal aspect to people getting sick that is separate from the actual weather conditions. Flu season kicks off here in southern California in October same as it does elsewhere in the country, but October is still basically summer weather here. Like...mid 70's/80's with no real difference in humidity from normal.

Unless it's just a case of flu getting passed on via travel and being nasty enough to spread around the non traveling populations regardless of conditions? I don't know. It seems odd.