Fact or fiction? Experts explore 6 beliefs about colds

Fact or fiction? Experts explore 6 beliefs about colds

Colds are becoming more common again now people are mixing after lockdown restrictions are eased.

Below, experts examined the validity of six beliefs about colds to clarify what you should do when you have one.



As we return to pre-lockdown levels of social mixing, colds are starting to become all too common. A TikTok video has gone viral involving putting garlic up your nose as a cold cure, just one in a long line of claimed treatments or cures.

We asked two experts to examine some commonly held beliefs around colds.













The symptoms of colds can differ from the flu or COVID-19.





Image: Boots











1. Can you get a cold by getting cold?

Colds become more common in winter. Like other upper respiratory tract infections (in the nose, throat and windpipe) they are normally caused by a virus. There might be a little truth in the idea that getting cold can give you a cold, because as the temperature changes this can alter the lining of our throat and windpipe, which can possibly make it easier for viruses to infect cells. However, the main reason we get