The Danger of Popsicle Toes

Maybe your mother was right: wrapping up warm could help stave off colds. A recent study suggests that people with cold feet are more likely to develop sniffles and sneezes.

Researchers at the Common Cold Centre in Wales persuaded 90 students to sit with bare feet immersed in a bowl of 50-degree water for 20 minutes. Thirteen of them reported cold symptoms within five days, compared with just five students from a control group who had placed their feet in empty bowls. The results contradict medical textbooks, which say there’s no link between exposure to low temperature and catching cold.

The British researchers think that cold viruses often lurk inside us in such low numbers that they don’t cause symptoms. But chilling the body causes constriction of blood vessels in the nose, where colds develop, and that cuts the supply of disease-fighting white blood cells to the area. As a result, loitering cold viruses are more likely to multiply and cause stuffed-up noses and sneezes.

So the next time you go out on a chilly day, wear warm socks—just in case.

—Mike Faden

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