Oh you stupid woman!

[SueG]

Jill Franks (trying to sell turbans) was talking about children after they've been swimming. "They've got wet hair, they can pick up a cold from it" You do not get a cold from having wet hair! How can she think that? Surely everyone knows it's a virus!

Grrr and tsk, with a "for goodness' sake" on top.

I'm peeved now.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

My granny used to say that if I went out just after washing my hair. (And if my skirt was too short)

 

[Brissles]

He ! He ! my granny wouldn't let me wash my hair OR take a bath at THAT time of the month !!!!! but then, in those days we had neither proper deodorant, or toothpaste- it was a pink substance in a tin !

 

[donna255]

Yes, I was told not to go out with wet hair as you can catch a cold. And yes about the bath and hair washing at that time of the month. So women were meant to stay sweaty and dirty for a week.

Oh and sitting on a cold step can cause kidney infections.

 

[Bettyboo]

Sitting on a step gives you Piles lol and you can't go out without putting your vest on or you will get a cold.

 

[Weathergirl]

Suppose you could say it's natures way of ensuring you continue the human race.

Woman stinks during "that time" of the month. A week later she can bath, wash her hair and ensure it is nice and dry so she does not catch a nasty cold. A week later she can go out, meet a nice young man because she is all clean, beautiful and fragrant. A few months of this and she is at her most fertile to conceive a child, just at the moment she is looking and smelling the height of gorgeousness.

just a stupid theory of mine for the old wives tale. I love them!

 

[louise66]

I wondered if the OP was being sarcastic. My mum always told me, if I went out with wet hair, I could catch a cold. Call me naive, but I believe that to be the case today. Surely, it is common sense? The bit about the time of the month, never heard it, and must be an old wives' tale.

 

[shopping jenny]

I do believe that going out with wet hair ( unless the weather's warm ) can lower one's resistance to viral infections . Therefore it makes it easier to catch a cold , as I proved for myself quite often .
That's why I always use the hairdryer at the swimming baths after swimming , unless it's a heatwave.

 

[Scout]

You can't catch a cold by going out with wet hair. A common cold is caused by a virus - of which there are many - and you can only catch one of them from another person who is infected. You can breathe in the virus if someone has sneezed into the air you breathe or you can contract it by touching a surface (worktop, eating utensil) which has been contaminated by someone with the virus, and then touching your own nose or mouth.

I believe that the "you'll catch a cold if you go out with wet hair" warning has evolved from the earlier "you'll catch your death of cold". In the days before central heating and warm water on tap, if a person got wet and went out into cold temperatures their body temperature could drop dramatically and it would then be very hard to warm up again. In the "olden days" many people would literally "catch their death of cold" and die of hypothermia. It was the cold temperature that killed them, not the common cold virus. Somewhere along the line catching an actual viral cold and becoming hypothermic and pegging out have blended together.

 

[donna255]

You can't catch a cold by going out with wet hair. A common cold is caused by a virus - of which there are many - and you can only catch one of them from another person who is infected. You can breathe in the virus if someone has sneezed into the air you breathe or you can contract it by touching a surface (worktop, eating utensil) which has been contaminated by someone with the virus, and then touching your own nose or mouth.

I believe that the "you'll catch a cold if you go out with wet hair" warning has evolved from the earlier "you'll catch your death of cold". In the days before central heating and warm water on tap, if a person got wet and went out into cold temperatures their body temperature could drop dramatically and it would then be very hard to warm up again. In the "olden days" many people would literally "catch their death of cold" and die of hypothermia. It was the cold temperature that killed them, not the common cold virus. Somewhere along the line catching an actual viral cold and becoming hypothermic and pegging out have blended together.

I have said this to a friend who still insists if you get wet when out and about if rains, you will catch a cold. I keep pointing out the its a virus thing to no avail.

 

[Akimbo]

That's where medical science is going wrong!

The cure for the common cold has been the turbi towel all along!

Thank you QVC now you can work on a cure for AIDS and world poverty with a face cream!

Nobel prize in the post (2nd class could take a while).

 

[iloveshopping]

I won't go out with wet hair because I feel cold and I get a headache. Also my hair looks terrible if I haven't blow dried it and used the wonderful steampod

 

[Ellaaa]

I'm a nurse in a GP surgery, we hear this rubbish all day long, along with a request for antibiotics :mysmilie_51:

 

[Ballerina]

I'm a nurse in a GP surgery, we hear this rubbish all day long, along with a request for antibiotics :mysmilie_51:

I am a nurse also and we do hear some utter rubbish don't we? I work in a burns unit and one of the most common and awful things is the complete belief that you should put butter on a burn. It is crazy but so many folk believe it works!

Inge

 

[Ellaaa]

I am a nurse also and we do hear some utter rubbish don't we? I work in a burns unit and one of the most common and awful things is the complete belief that you should put butter on a burn. It is crazy but so many folk believe it works!

Inge

Ahh yes! It's amazing what people still believe isn't it! I always remind myself that the general public don't have the level of clinical knowledge that we do, but some of the nonsense people spout leaves me with my head in my hands sometimes. And don't get me started on the internet, if I hear "I read on the internet..." one more time!! :headbang:

Anyway, I digress.

 

[donna255]

My great aunt Peggy(my mother's aunt), used to own this massive ancient medical book. She used to read it every night looking for ailments some of which she could not pronounce and then get the doctor out and tell him she had them.:mysmilie_17:

She once was convinced she had Dropsy(sp), and told the doctor she had adopted:mysmilie_19: The family nearly wet themselves over that one.

 

[Julius]

A lot of the time I will go out on my bike in the rain and I don't think I have caught a cold from it. But if I am ill already then I don't like getting damp :-( Recently I had a sore throat and a horrible mouth ulcer for almost 2 weeks. I couldn't swallow anything without first using Chloraseptic spray. During that time I just didn't feel like going out in the rain.

 

[thatu]

I never go out with wet hair because I look like a drowned rat and feel miserable. I think if you're susceptible to colds like me, then keeping your body and scalp warm (ie dry your hair before you go out) is one way to help keep your resistance up.
Grumpy old woman signing off.

 

[srhgts]

My understanding of it is that being cold does (or at least can) make you more susceptible, but there does need to be a virus about to catch in the first place.

 

[China Girl]

I like hearing about old wives tales and superstitions, often wondering how and why they started.

If I spill salt, I have to throw a bit over my left shoulder, I've tried not to do it but I just have to.

I don't like going out with wet hair, only because it feels uncomfortable and looks awful.