Winter is a time for staying indoors with a hot cup of cocoa or staying under the covers, but it also signals the return of the dreaded cold.
Kiwis catch a cold between two to four times a year on average, but what if there was a proven way to avoid them?
New research out of the US suggests there's a simple reason we catch more colds during the winter months — and it's all to do with the temperature of our nasal passages.
General Practice New Zealand chairman Dr Bryan Betty told Seven Sharp the study's findings are "quite revolutionary".
"Our nasal passages in our nose protects us against viruses. We basically have cells, they've discovered, that essentially kill the virus," he explained.
"Now what's been found is if the temperature drops by about 5C, about 50 per cent of that virus-fighting capacity is knocked off so we've got more chance of the virus entering the body and causing a cold or a flu."
So how does it affect the way we think about the spread of cold viruses?
Betty said while the virus tends to be spread through the air by people stuck indoors during the summer, there "may be another factor at play — that is, the temperature that we have".
"So if we go outside and the temperature of our nose drops, we're less likely to be able to protect ourselves against a virus.
"So the old wives' tale that if you go out in the cold, you may get a cold could in fact be true — that outside in the cold, we're more susceptible to catching colds and flus."
Low temperatures "puts us at risk", he said.
But before you turn off the air conditioning, Betty said there "tends to be less viruses flowing around the community, so less colds and flus".
"That means we're less likely to get a cold or a flu over summer so perhaps it is and isn't important during the summer months, as opposed to the winter months when we have a lot of colds and flus flowing around the community."
So what can we do to protect ourselves?
"It may be that wearing masks not only protect the inhalation of viruses but it may actually keep our noses slightly warmer."
He said while there "may be some implications down the track", he warns "this is very, very early research".
"We've got to see how this plays out, but it could be having a scarf around our face to keep our nose warm actually gives us added protection to catching a cold or a flu."
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