12 Winter Health Quirks, Explained

With colder temps here to stay, it's time to consider what the winter weather means for your health. You probably already know to be extra diligent about washing your hands, but can going outside with wet hair really make you sick?

As many as four in 10 mothers think sending their children outside with wet heads means trouble, according to Discovery Health. Wet hair or dry hair, it takes exposure to a virus to come down with a cold.

But what about going out without a hat? And why exactly do we shiver? Read on for answers to these and more of the most common cold-weather health questions.

Comments

[RoadTurn]

11:44 PM on 04/11/2012

Try easing into the cold like you would into a hot bath (same principle, different direction). Relax, avoid tensing up...the cold doesn't seem so cold, and the shivers go away.

[eve123250]

09:27 PM on 12/16/2011

we should care more about our face cleaning in the winter,drinking more water and wearing warming shoes so that avoiding frostbite feet.
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[Chuck Bluestein]

05:09 AM on 12/15/2011

People do get colds from viruses but they are everywhere. The strength of your immune system determines if you get a cold. Webmd has a cold/flu calculator. You answer questions and they tell you how many days you will be sick. I took it and it said that I would be sick for 0 days for the year.

In the cold weather you get a lot less or no vitamin D from sunlight. That vitamin is very important for preventing colds and flu. Also people exercise less in cold weather. http://bit.ly/flu-cure People also sweat a lot less during cold weather so they retain more toxins during cold weather. The more toxins you retain, the weaker your immune system. Having a weaker immune system also makes you more prone to getting breast cancer.

[Chelsi Snow]

02:33 PM on 12/13/2011

I'm a biochemist and am pretty sure its not true that children are just as sensitive to cold as adults. They still have brown fat, that we lose as we age, which produces an extreme amount of heat. The "expert" interviewed here is named Dr. Brown. At first I wondered if it was a joke.

[mwnyy]

07:01 PM on 12/11/2011

In the winter, I wash my hair every 3 days, cuz of the awful flyaway hair I have, and my lips are always chapped, no matter what I put on them. Any ideas anybody? Thanks

[Al Schrader]

09:04 PM on 12/11/2011

Wash your hair everyday or more. Use a conditioner. Eat some French fries or other oily/greasy food. This should raise the lipids in your system to keep your lips and joints lubed....Al-

[averyleigh2083]

10:23 PM on 12/11/2011

Condition your hair more at that time. That adds moisture to your hair. And the petroleum jelly is really the way to fix chapped lips. Mine once got so sore they were swollen, the doctor told me to put petroleum jelly on them, no lipstick, no chapstick. It really worked. Do that until they get better, use it as much as you can. Good luck.

[mwnyy]

07:16 AM on 12/12/2011

I tried the petroleum jelly and as weird as it sounds, I break out in cold sores with the jelly.

[beanbrain]

05:47 PM on 12/11/2011

HUFFINGTON'S why do i have to sign in every dang time i want to make a comment, this is very annoying. i go through the entire news and make comments all at one sitting. could you please stop with the continued making me sign in every dang time???????? thanks. i would appreciate it.

[beanbrain]

05:44 PM on 12/11/2011

a blatant lie you can get addicted to chapstick. i'm in the medical field, and through research, have found no proof of that at all. you can not put it on for months, and your lips can still be dry, due to many things. medications, diagnoses, and the person just has dry lips or skin. enough with the myths

[beanbrain]

05:38 PM on 12/11/2011

uh you catch colds from GERMS/BACTERIA not weather sheesh this was a no brainer!

[beanbrain]

05:36 PM on 12/11/2011

vaseline would last on a woman about 1 second. it doesn't stay and tastes nasty. it is a myth you can get addicted to chap stick. ask anyone who has sjogrens. my lips never get chapped, i keep them moist!

[Ted Cantu]

05:34 PM on 12/11/2011

I eat whatever I want. This of course makes Ellen and Oprah worshipers sad, shrivel up and groan with eternal sadness.

[nerak kneeling]

03:50 PM on 12/11/2011

I did not know over weight people even got cold ,, cuz if they shivered an earthquake would ensue.

[exoticdoc2]

03:25 PM on 12/11/2011

I don't know if I buy the children not being less sensitive to cold. Speaking from personal experience, I spend a lot of time in the cold and have noticed as I have gotten older I definitely feel it more than when I was a kid.

[lthrnck68]

11:56 AM on 12/11/2011

Talked about foods in the lead-in. Pity the visible part of the article had nothing to do with food.

[Harlan Corel]

09:47 AM on 12/11/2011

So, my husband came home this week with a copy of "Get in the Kitchen, BIT@HES! Cookbook" Seriously, google it.. the site is kinda funny.. anyway.. he tells me it's part of my Christmas present.. so I flipped through it.. found a recipe called "Eat Me Eggplant", made it for him and served it to him in a doggie bowl on the floor.. how you like them apples, bit@h!?!?

[GOODDOC1]

03:43 PM on 12/11/2011

Good one!

[firststatemate]

09:30 AM on 12/11/2011

"Shivering is a bodily reflex to cold" -- It's just fascinating how these great minds are able to figure these things out.

[beanbrain]

05:40 PM on 12/11/2011

ya we've know this for hundreds of years lol