Fact or Fiction

Mothers often tell their children to zip up their jackets to avoid getting the dreaded seasonal cold, but according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Web site, these moms are dishing out unfounded advice.\n"There is no evidence that you can get a cold from exposure to cold weather or from getting chilled or overheated," according to the site.\nBut while going outside underdressed isn't a cause of colds, the changing temperatures affect your immune system, as do many other things, said Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center.\nJessop said factors such as diet, sleep, regular exercise and stress all play an important role in the immune system's performance. \n"You're stretching the rubber band of your body to levels that it doesn't like when you're staying up all night, not sleeping much, not eating well and not exercising," Jessop said. \nWhen students stop taking care of themselves, they make themselves more susceptible to disease, and that is when students are more likely to catch a cold virus, Jessop said.\nJessop said colds strike in cold weather because people are in closer proximity to each other. \nJessop also said this time of year is particularly bad for students because of the increase in air travel, with many students flying home for the holidays. \nIn an article on the Medical News Today Web site, researchers found that the flu season in winter 2001-02 didn't peak until March, whereas in years before Sept. 11, 2001, the flu season peaked in February.\n"After Sept. 11, the number of travelers at Thanksgiving was way down compared to any other November in history, and we had one of the lighter flu outbreaks that year," Jessop said, "because there weren't hundreds of thousands of people flying around in these tubes, sitting two inches away from somebody else who has potentially had an illness." \nClose proximity in enclosed areas like lecture halls adds to the risk of being exposed to the virus, Jessop said.\nFreshman Melissa Somers said she feels a person can't catch a cold from inadequate clothing or wet hair, but she said living in the dorm increases her susceptibility.\n"You're in close quarters with other people, especially big lecture halls, and people aren't as healthy or clean as when their parents were watching over them," she said. \nTo prevent catching colds and other viruses, such as the flu, Jessop advises students to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid contact with sick people. Sharing cups, cigarettes and other items with other people can increase a person's risk of illness.