Can being too cold make you sick?
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive December 2006:
Can being too cold make you sick?
It is cold here tonight -12c, I think that's about 10F, I'm not sure. Anyway I pulled a stupid, I got dressed in my nice warm ski jacket hat, gloves, scarf and YOGA pants! I went out for about an hour maybe hour and a half and delivered my Avon books. It was cold, my upper body felt fine, my legs were cold, but I was moving so I thought I'd be fine.
About 20 mins. before I got home I could feel my butt freezing, almost literally, but still I was nice and toasty in my jacket (I didn't even have the inner layer zipped in). About 10 mins from home I suddenly felt my core body temperature drop, it was instant. My torso felt cold inside. So I headed home fast. When I walked in the door I felt weird and my head started to pound. My legs were bright pink with white areas that were warm, it was really strange. I went up to the shower but I couldn't feel the temperature on my legs so I made sure it wasn't too hot by touching it with my hands.
Then I started to feel nauesous and very cold again despite the warm water. I got dressed and went downstairs, DH made me a tea and I've been sitting on the sofa wrapped in blankets for 2 hours and I'm just now starting to feel better. If I stood up I would feel sick to my stomach. I also took 2 Advil which got rid of the headache.
It's the strangest thing, I don't know if the cold made me sick or if I'm just sick and it's a coincidence.
I've got to get some warmer pants! I start running again in January.
Being cold can't make you sick as in a cold or something, but it CAN cause hypothermia. Sounds like that may have been the start of what was going on. If it ever happens again take your temp. Also layer warm blankets and drink warm liquids to warm up inside and out.
That happened to me a few weeks ago. I went for a walk on a damp day and got caught in the rain. It was only in the 40's outside, but I thought the same as you, if I am moving and keeping my blood pumping, I won't be cold. I didn't have a headache, but I did have the chills for a couple of hours.
Tuesday night I took my son and a friend of his sledding at a local park, and I stood watch on top of the hill. As it got darker, it got colder. I had sweatpants, a hat and warm gloves on, but my coat wasn't heavy enough so my back and arms were cold and I only had on one pair of socks and my feet were cold. When we got home I got right in the hot shower and put on a sweat shirt as soon as I got dried off.
So the lesson here for both of us is bundle up EVERY INCH of our bodies from head to toe. 
Take it easy and hope you feel better.
I thought maybe very mild hypothermia as well, but when I looked it up online it didn't say anything about headache or nausea. But I assume the headache was caused by all the blood rushing out of my brain to warm my body up. Yeesh, I'm not usually so stupid. I did read after I had the tea, that you should not drink tea or coffee, didn't say why but I'm assuming that it might further dehydration.
Thanks Lisa, we were posting at the same time. I feel fine now.
It was -33 to -40 all last week here! Now that is COLD!
I am sick this week but it's been going around here for about a month so I don't think it had anything to do with the cold.
For years my mom would hang out the laundry all year in her nightgown and robe. I don't think she ever got sick though.
Glad you're feeling better.
Sorry if my post was confusing. I know you can't get a cold or the flu or a virus from being cold. What I meant was can the extreme cold make you feel nauseous or sick to your stomach? I could barely stand for a few hours with feeling like I was going to empty my stomach. DH was mad and worried I could see him watching me very closely. He said "Don't do that again." Which tells me he was concerned.
Paula my mom lives near you, I know it's cold. They called her to come into to work for an hour and she said no way, it would take her half an hour just to warm up her car to get there and an another 1/2 hour to get home.
Stay warm.
I don't have any idea if the cold is what made you sick (Cold here is low 40F) but that sounds scary and I'm really glad to hear that you're feeling better now. {{{Heaventree}}}
As a matter of fact, this issue of Consumer Reports (Jan 2007) says:
"Getting a chill might lead to sniffles after all
Being cold might make you more susceptible to catching a cold, an idea long dismissed as folklore. In a 2005 study Welsh scientists chilled half of the 180 volunteers by putting their feet in cold water for 20 minutes. Within days, 29 percent of them caught colds vs. 9 percent of the others. In theory getting chilled may lead to colds by hampering the body's immune response. While the study wasn't definitive, it adds a possible reason to stay warm in winter."
When I read this, the first thing I said to my son was "I told you so!!!!".
Don't know if you had hypthermia, but when your body gets chilled, your circulation is hampered, which sounds like what happened to you. Yoga pants? at 10F? What were you thinking? When it gets that cold, I wear my loosest fitting jeans and wear sweat pants under them - the sweat pants to hold in my body warmth and the jeans because the tight-woven denim helps keep the wind out. And almost knee-high insulated boots with thick rubber soles.
Glad you had no serious effects and that you feel better. And I know you'll be more attentive to the weather and how you dress for it in the future. I agree with Tink - that sounds scary.
Sorry Mom. 
How could you stand being out there, in 10F weather, without the liner zipped in??? Brrrrrrr.
Even with a winter jacket, I usually need a sweater on, besides a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket! I would have been so cold, with just the outer layer of a jacket on. (Although, I don't have a jacket with the zip-out liner.)
It's a really warm jacket, the liner is a jacket you can wear on your own. It has to be really, really cold to need the liner. It was the Yoga pants that got me.
Um, what are yoga pants?? And what material are they?
It's an athletic type pant, mine are a poly/spandex blend.
Here's what most look like:
So, then it was probably not having enough cover on your legs. I wear 2 pairs of pants when I go to my school job. lightweight cotton-knit pants, with sweatpants over the top. There's no way I could do them the other way around. I would look like the pillsbury doughboy.
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