Could These Wild Temperature Fluctuations Make You Sick?

BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- When we're riding a temperature roller-coaster, fluctuating between the extremes of hot and cold, are we more likely to get sick?

According to the head of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Michael Van Rooyen, it's a myth that wild temperature changes lead to more colds.

"Some people can be out more and can find themselves inappropriately dressed and catch, as it were, a chill, but it's not more likely to make them sick," he said.

He says it's just a coincidence these temperature swings happen during flu season--and it's those germs of sickness floating around that get people sick, not the temperature.

"You don't get flu from temperature fluctuations--you get it from direct, person-to-person transmission," Dr. Van Rooyen said. "But it also happens to be that there's a lot of flu and a lot of sickness during times of temperature fluctuations, so it's sort of coincidental."

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports


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