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I'll make this a blog since it's for my own personal interest, but hopefully other people have been curious as well.
If you haven't lived under a rock the last 5 years, you've been told by at least 5 of the smarmiest people you know that 'it doesn't matter whether you go outside or not, you won't get better any quicker' regarding colds and other illnesses.
Now it's obvious that this is 3rd hand information... lifted from their friend who read a magazine article written by a journalist who may or may not have misinterpreted scientific data. That doesn't make it automatically false of course, but let me tell you why I have my doubts:
First off, in my limited knowledge of human biology, I at least know that the human body fights better when it's hotter. This is because chemical reactions in the body are sped up and because sometimes pathogens and other things can't survive at high temperatures, or at least they go into a hibernative state. Logically, if you're out in the cold, this means the human body's chemical reactions are SLOWER and thus the process of healing is slower. To me this suggests the old fashioned stay in bed and eat soup might not be as pointless as some people think, because both are raising your core temperature. When you're really, really sick, the body does this on it's own with pyrogens, causing a fever... Which ideally the body fights off the infection before it gets so hot it shuts down.
So obviously, there has to be a flaw in my reasoning if cold weather is not bad for getting better after getting sick, and if staying inside and keeping warm is not good.
That's why I humbly request someone show me the peer reviewed journal or whatever it is that started making people say this in the first place, so I can see for myself whether it's been misinterpreted, or if there is some factor alien to me, or what. I don't want a link to a magazine of what some journalist said... And if you happen to have some credentials as a doctor I'll gladly hear your word for it too... And if you have no credentials, go ahead and post what you think but just please bear in mind I'm looking for the scientific data that suggests staying in bed while sick is useless.
Thanks,
PS: I currently have a drat awful cold right now 
EDIT: A health and safety message from Bill307:
On May 18 2009 07:43 Bill307 wrote:
By the way, your OP neglects to mention that high fever temperatures don't just harm most infections: they also harm your own cells.
I wouldn't want anyone to come away thinking higher fever = better.
 
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Movies and chicken noodle soup does a sick body good.
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duct tape fixes everything
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Kind of off topic, but I think eating really hot peppers regularly is good for your body, and I base this only off the fact that I haven't gotten sick once in the five years I've made it a habit to put sereno peppers in most of my dinners.
Prior to which I usually caught a cold once month or so.
Edit: and from the limited searching I've done, it seems just about everyone agrees that staying inside is good for nursing a cold due to similar reason you stated. I figure that if there's any truth to this myth, then it'd be a little easier to find other sources claiming this =/
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On May 18 2009 06:32 Chef wrote:
If you haven't lived under a rock the last 5 years, you've been told by at least 5 of the smarmiest people you know that 'it doesn't matter whether you go outside or not, you won't get better any quicker' regarding colds and other illnesses.
either I dont understand what you are saying or I have lived under a rock for the last 5 years.
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I've heard it at least once or twice before on this site... And I've also heard it in person.
Once when I became sick while at school or something, I had a cold and the teacher was asking for people to do this volunteer 'stand outside and direct cross country skiers or something where to go' to which I said 'I can't, I have a cold and I want to get better' and then I got this speech about how it doesn't matter and a couple students agreed with her and I was like 'what the hell, that doesn't make sense,' and then they just stared at me like I was some slime that just crawled out of a rock and hadn't yet evolved into intelligent life.
Another incidence my brother was sick for a really long time, but he wasn't really staying put anywhere and he constantly complained about being sick so I said "maybe if you'd just fucking stay in bed for a day you'd feel better?" To which he started refering to his Scientific American magazine which once said something to the effect that it doesn't do anything, and so therefore I'm a dumbass.
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I didn't read your post (and the one after) completely, but the coldness does depress your immune system, which may lead to catching a cold and/or exacerbating it.
From the bed thing, I'm guessing it's because the energy towards fighting the virus will be expedited to whatever else the patient might be doing.
But then I only took AP bio >>
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Sweden33719 Posts
For something as stupid (for anyone not involved in cross country skiing) as that, you shouldn't even need an excuse to not do it lol.
"Yo wanna stand in the cold doing nothing for X hours?"
".. No?"
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This is true. But people think I'm a nice and generous person, and sometimes that inclines them to help me. I get to keep that false persona if I thinly veil my lack of desire to waste my time with my concern for my health.
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oh, ok i did misunderstand you a bit. There shouldnt be anything wrong with being outside for a little while, but if you are outside long enough to really drop your core temp and weaken your immune system then its obviously a problem, but if you are well dressed then being in the cold shouldnt be an issue.
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Depends on what part of Canada you're from ahhaha. Sometimes it doesn't matter how well dressed you are, you're still shivering (which is definitely a sign of core temperature dropping).
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Fucking scientific studies on random shit come up all the time. People thought fats were bad for you but it turns out there are good fats too. And then people thought carbs are bad for you but it's just because most carbs are processed so much they have nothing healthy left in them. People believe these studies blindly and they don't even know the situations the studies were done under.
As for being sick. The general rule should be do something that's not stressful or lazy. I personally believe sitting in bed and being lazy won't help you get better but being outside stressing out also won't. Just go home and chill out for a few days.
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Bill307
Canada9103 Posts
I'd say part of the explanation is that Rhinoviruses (one of the viruses that can cause colds) cannot multiply very well in high temperatures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinovirus
Rhinoviruses preferentially grow at 32°C as opposed to 37°C
So it makes sense that they'd multiply faster if you're out in the cold.
And even if the temperature in your nose falls below 32°C, slowing their rate of growth, it also slows down everything else because chemical reactions proceed slower in colder temperatures (as Chef explained). In contrast, if the temperature in your nose increases to 37°C, the viruses would grow slower while your own cells can kill them faster.
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Yes, this is what I've been raised to understand, and what my own research seems to have confirmed... But haven't you been told by some smug know-it-all that this is not actually the case according to such and such a study they read about? All I want is to see that study.
Like... always when it comes up they'll be like 'more people aren't getting sick because it's cold, they're getting sick because everyone is huddled indoors and it's spreading the virus quicker.' Which the latter is perfectly logical, but it's supposed to be explaining why if cold doesn't affect sickness, that more people get cold in the winter. Everyone in this thread thus far would say it's both.
There's gotta be someone on this website that's chastised someone for thinking staying in bed is good for colds.... SHOW YOURSELF! :@
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I think I caught this cold because I was rolling around on the grass at 3am like an idiot when it was cold... Maybe not because it was cold, maybe from something on the grass but... Hey, no regrets. Everyone's gotta roll around in grass sometimes.
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Bill307
Canada9103 Posts
By the way, your OP neglects to mention that high fever temperatures don't just harm most infections: they also harm your own cells.
I wouldn't want anyone to come away thinking higher fever = better.
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Bill307
Canada9103 Posts
On May 18 2009 07:43 Chef wrote:
I think I caught this cold because I was rolling around on the grass at 3am like an idiot when it was cold... Maybe not because it was cold, maybe from something on the grass but... Hey, no regrets. Everyone's gotta roll around in grass sometimes.
I think the fact that you were awake at 3 am means you didn't get much sleep that night, which combined with exposure to a cold virus would make it more likely for you to catch a cold. 
Apparently this is supported not just by my own experience, but by Wikipedia as well: insufficient sleep = much more likely to catch a cold.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#Sleep
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I probably already had the cold and just made it worse when I did that, come to think of it. It's possible to be sick but with symptoms so mild you don't notice right?
And yeah, I was thinking like maybe 1 degree above normal temperature max... You don't want to be feeling light headed or like you're going to vomit. And if your body is going into fever mode on it's own, you don't want to be in covers either.
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My sister always use to say "I can dress as slutty as I want because you can't catch a cold from being cold WAHAHAHAHA." (not those exact words but you get the idea)
The statement "colds don't cause colds" is fine, but it should be followed by "although being cold could weaken your immune system" or something to that effect. There's too many idiots that parrot off the first fact without realising what it actually means.
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it makes sense to me that when you rest and not waste energy, your body can use all it has to fight for health.
that's how I always looked at it.
If you look at it from whatever angle, there must be at least a small benefit of laying in bed and resting when compared to working, playing sports or w/e.
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Man, this is unreal. Every other time this comes up when I'm sick and I say I just want to stay in bed I get the third degree from someone who read some article. Now when I get my thoughts into words, and do a little bit of research suddenly no one is telling me it's wrong anymore... My conclusion is that anyone who thinks this and read this thread couldn't find the article or remember it's details... or I somehow misunderstood what people were telling me when I said 'I want to stay warm and get over this cold.' Oh well.
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Bill307
Canada9103 Posts
On May 18 2009 07:47 Chef wrote:
I probably already had the cold and just made it worse when I did that, come to think of it. It's possible to be sick but with symptoms so mild you don't notice right?
It's very common for any infection in general to have an "incubation period" where you don't have any symptoms. Sometimes the infection can be contagious during this period as well.
I think the incubation period for a cold is a few hours. Should be easy enough to look it up if you're curious. 
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Bill307
Canada9103 Posts
On May 18 2009 08:01 niteReloaded wrote:
it makes sense to me that when you rest and not waste energy, your body can use all it has to fight for health.
that's how I always looked at it.
If you look at it from whatever angle, there must be at least a small benefit of laying in bed and resting when compared to working, playing sports or w/e.
On that note, I've found that sometimes the worst thing I can do when I'm sick is to take Tylenol or anything to treat the symptoms. Because once the medication wears off, I'm almost guaranteed to end up feeling a lot worse than before.
I think there are two reasons for this:
1. some of the symptoms it relieves are actually part of the body's mechanism for fighitng the infections, and
2. once the symptoms are gone I become much more active instead of just resting and taking it easy.
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similarly, i notice i get a massive case of the sniffles when the temperature changes drastically, sometimes with the weather, but most typically when i am in and out of highly air conditioned rooms frequently when it is 90+ outside.
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On May 18 2009 08:22 Bill307 wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2009 08:01 niteReloaded wrote:
it makes sense to me that when you rest and not waste energy, your body can use all it has to fight for health.
that's how I always looked at it.
If you look at it from whatever angle, there must be at least a small benefit of laying in bed and resting when compared to working, playing sports or w/e. On that note, I've found that sometimes the worst thing I can do when I'm sick is to take Tylenol or anything to treat the symptoms. Because once the medication wears off, I'm almost guaranteed to end up feeling a lot worse than before. I think there are two reasons for this: 1. some of the symptoms it relieves are actually part of the body's mechanism for fighitng the infections, and 2. once the symptoms are gone I become much more active instead of just resting and taking it easy.
Well I think idealing you're only taking medication if you can't sleep. Even then, medication in general always has adverse effects. Speaking of which, my brother offered me the last dose of his liquid codine which he had for his wisdom teeth or something (long since recovered, obviously). I refused it but then he just left it on my table and now I'm tempted.
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Bill Nye the Science Guy to the rescue!
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It's better to stay in and rest...your body is stressed as it is bringing to bear its immune system and from the strain of the disease's symptoms. Going out and working, walking around, etc, will only add to the stress.
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I must have lived under a rock for the past 5 years. Maybe I just don't associate with smarmy enough people.
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I have a cold now too, and my dad always tells me that it's good to stay active because sweating releases the toxins in your body or something. That's also why he doesn't let me eat pork (note: we're not even Jewish, he's just a little crazy) because he believes since pigs can't sweat, they are filled with harmful toxins.
What I am doing right now, is sleeping nonstop and drinking warm milk, which btw is totally disgusting, and watching movies that I always watch when I am sick (Kill Bill -- don't judge).
But I totally understand what you mean about being warm too, because that's pretty much why cold season is in the winter. I don't think you'll come across any legit study saying staying inside at home while sick is useless. I mean, colds have been around for ages, and no one has come up with any good theory on how to get rid of it other than waiting it out, right?
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EPT
