why do we get sick in the winter?

I am patting myself on the back as I write this in great excitement! My intuition is turning out to be right! There seems to be a *better* reason for why the flu is more prevalent in the winter season, than what doctors and scientists have been telling us for some time now: the cold weather makes us stay indoors more, and so we pass on germs among ourselves a lot more... and, it's the school season (unlike in the summer), and kids are unbeatable when it comes to spreading bugs.

Whenever I heard this, I said, "Mmm seems to make sense. But is that it? Something seems to be missing from the equation..."

Now, a study by NIH (National Institutes of Health) scientists is pointing to something new and interesting.

In cooler weather, the flu virus's outer covering hardens to a rubbery gel that could shield the virus as it passes from person to person. Thanks to this protection, the virus spreads successfully. "Like an M&M in your mouth, the protective covering melts when it enters the respiratory tract," Dr. Zimmerberg said. "It's only in this liquid phase that the virus is capable of entering a cell to infect it."

If the weather is warmer than 60 degrees F (16 degrees C), the virus' fatty, protein-studded coating stays melted while it travels through the air, weakening it and exposing it to drying out, and so the virus loses its ability to spread from person to person.

More here.

I am pretty sure something similar applies to the common cold virus as well. Look out for that announcement soon!

The other day when I was talking to my mom on the phone, I mentioned how all of us here are down with cold. She immediately said, "it should be the climate change". "Wow", I thought, "global warming can do this?!" Then I realized she had meant, "weather change" :)

Ironically, this age-old misbelief (that going out in the cold will cause you to catch a cold), seems to have been a bit right - though it's proponents didn't have a clue how.