Cold weather causing pneumonia? vent

TazziRN, RN · Nov 9, 2006

NO!!! You might be more susceptible because your immune system might be down when it's cold, but that's about it. I know how frustrated you are, my mom is the exact same way. Everytime the baby gets a cold she says it's because I didn't dress her warm enough.

Note to Grandma.........."IT AIN'T THE SAME THING!!!"

tridil2000, MSN, RN · Nov 9, 2006

i'm kind of old school myself. i think lowering your body temp causes your body to use up energy that it would be better off using to fight the hundreds of germs you come in contact with.

plus, scientifically, i think that a lower temp causes a shift on the oxyhemoglobin curve to the left, causing O2 to have an affinity to rbcs and not easily releasing itself off to the needed cells that are always trying to keep those awful invaders from causing havoc, making us sick.

TazziRN, RN · Nov 9, 2006

i'm kind of old school myself. i think lowering your body temp causes your body to use up energy that it would be better off using to fight the hundreds of germs you come in contact with.
plus, scientifically, i think that a lower temp causes a shift on the oxyhemoglobin curve to the left, causing O2 to have an affinity to rbcs and not easily releasing itself off to the needed cells that are always trying to keep those awful invaders from causing havoc, making us sick.

Yes, cold weather can lower your immunity, but it doesn't give you colds or pneumonia! Those little bugs are not floating around in the air looking for scantily clad bodies to invade.

allnurses Guide · Nov 9, 2006

My grandmother told my mom that letting wind get on the baby is what caused colic. :lol2:

allnurses Guide · Nov 9, 2006

My ex-husband's grandmother chastized me for changing my son's diaper while he way laying on the carpeted floor. Said I would give him pneumonia.

I agree - while it MAY lower your immunity to get cold, you don't get pneumonia from that. And I'm not convinced it lowers your immunity - might just build it up.

steph

smk1, LPN · Nov 9, 2006

I'm vote for immunity lowering and also excess energy used when you are cold. I notice whenever I have gotten caught out in the rain and gotten soaking wet and shivering cold, I always get sick within 3 days. I fully believe that if you are shivering from being freezing cold for an extended period of time, then your body mechanisms may be working harder to keep you warm and allowing any pathogen that you may have been exposed to to flourish. I need to do some research on this during the winter break when I have time...

bethin · Nov 9, 2006

Are you sure we don't share the same family? No, it does not give you pneumonia. If that was the case no one would be going outside when it was cold. The streets would be deserted.

My grandma makes comments to me (during August - in Indiana) that I need to put long fleece pants on my nieces or they'll catch a cold. Ha! The only thing they'll catch is her ignorance. My nieces other grandma told my sil to buy fleece pj's with footies and put long sleeve fleece pants on them with socks and put them in a long sleeve onesie...........during summer.

LilRedRN1973 · Nov 9, 2006

My mother-in-law was just diagnosed with pneumonia and she's convinced it's because went and mowed the lawn without earmuffs or a jacket (it was about 50 degrees out). Then both my father-in-law and mother-in-law freaked out when they discovered I was having my son take a shower and then walk out to the car (he's got VERY short hair that dries rather quickly). They said he would catch pneumonia. Well, I go out quite a bit with wet hair, no jacket, no shoes, etc. and have had the flu ONCE in my life and never have I gotten a cold after doing any of these things. And certainly not pneumonia. But this is the woman who believes you can catch all kind of things from a toilet seat and spends 5 minutes covering the damn thing up before she'll pee. I've shown her the studies that prove a public toilet seat is cleaner than a public telephone, your work desk, an ATM machine, etc. but she refuses to believe me. Parents! :uhoh3:

Melanie = )

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2006

Our parents always said eating to much candy would give you a bellyache too. How many of us proved that theory wrong?

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2006

You are correct but this is such a big myth with the older generation that I doubt your attempts at re-education are going to work. My mother God bless her soul is 76 and I get the same thing. If you think about it , it only makes sense. Microbs grow in warm moist places. Inside in warm places gives the most ampule living enviroment. Explaining this simle logic to my oh so wise mother has been like pulling teeth...Now she had dementia and cant remember so I am still dealing with it..lol The only thing I can tell you is to is not to argue with her and do your own thing.

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Nov 9, 2006

Also, I've had things happen like this before, how do you get people to believe you when you KNOW you're right about something? I've tried showing them reliable sources where I have the info, like textbooks and drug guides, but my families convinced I don't know what I'm talking about. This has caused me to have anxiety in clinicals with doing patient teaching, because I worry my patients will think I'm giving them unreliable info, but so far the clients I've had seem to appreciate the info I provide them with..Wow, that felt good to let that all out!

When it comes to your family, you will probably not ever convince them you know what you're talking about. :uhoh21:

You will have much more success teaching people who know you as "nurse" and have not known you your entire life!

You can spend a great deal of time doing this: :banghead: when it comes to your family, or you can go "uh-huh, yeah, whatever" and spend your time and energy in more fruitful ways.

So you can :argue: :banghead: :argue:

if you want but dealing with your family and what they "know" because grandma and great-grandma and Aunt Sally and everyone else told them so years ago is like teaching a pig to sing (wastes your time and annoys the pig).

So, while I do a lot of teaching otherwise, I basically ignore things that come from family unless I'm asked specifically. Of course, my family thinks I'm a bit odd anyway!

If I were going to argue anything, it would be that grandma is the "same thing as" a nurse!

Believe me, you will have far more credibility with the general public than with your family.

Best of luck to you in school!

Cold weather causing pneumonia? *vent*

Cold weather causing pneumonia? vent