Cold days are regarded to be a hindrance to a child's health. For centuries, mothers have been asking their kids to stay indoors during the winters, warning them not to go outside after showers with uncovered heads. Cold wind and its effects on the body were always perceived as dangerous and conducive to sickness until today.
New researchers conducted around the world show that the reality of staying outdoors in winters is quite on the contrary. Tree Hugger asks parents to stop worrying about letting their children play outside this winter. The common cold is a viral upper respiratory tract infection that spreads through human contact. Getting a cold doesn't make someone else prone to catching the virus in contrast to the notion that human contact with an infected person increases chances of catching the flu. Well, by this logic, staying indoors with an infected person increases the chances tenfolds for anyone getting infected by flu. This, however, isn't the case because it comes to notice that parents are apparently immune to someone in the family having the flu; not always, but most of the time yes.
Although low body temperatures allow the viral infection to reproduce more efficiently which is why more people get caught up in flu in winters, that doesn't imply that going outside is causal to one catching flu. Mom's usually don't allow their children to go outside in winters when they're inflicted with fever. At the other end of the spectrum, scientific research is not suggesting that when a child has a fever, he must not be disallowed from going outside, get some fresh air and exercise the body, until he is unable to get out of bed voluntarily.
Pediatrician Andrew Adesman called fever a "friend" in his book babyfacts. He wrote that heat helps in fighting infection and children with fever as high as 105 degrees are not exposed to a serious risk. Children can play outside if they please. It may be observed when one is experiencing a state of fever, even though they may not feel up to going outside and involve themselves in any activity but if they do, their fever dies down because of the perspiration that occurs in the process of the physical activity.
Ear infections are also linked with a bare head in cold weather. Dr. William Mesibov negates the argument by saying that ear infections are caused when germs invade the middle ear cavity and not by going out without a hat or scarf in cold weather.
The Popka Voice also wants to help parents this winter season by educating them about the misleading myths associated with cold weather. Dr. Calapi has shared his research to enlighten parents about how can they save their children from getting sick and what are the things they should not ask their children to do.
