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It ’s a vernacular misconception that being physically cold think of you ’ll get a insensate , perhaps because respiratory infectionsusually hang glide during the winter months . While frostier weathercan make us more susceptible to infection — for example , by loweringimmune defensesagainst respiratory viruses — the frozen conditions do n’t actuallycausethe malady in the first place .

But there are various other term that are triggered by parky temperatures . One model is hypothermia , which is caused bya dangerous drop in core body temperature .

A young woman is shown trying to warm up her hands as she stands in a snowy forest. She is wearing a winter jacket, gloves and a hat.

Going out in the cold for long periods of time can put you at risk of developing various ailments.

ordinarily , the temperature of the human physical structure is tightly regulated at around 98.6 degree Fahrenheit ( 37 degree Celsius),give or take a degree or so . This keeps all of the normal physiological processes in the dead body ticking along .

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However , if someone is exposed to super stale temperature , the bodymay not be able to produce heat as fast as it fall back it , causing a person ’s core consistency temperature to plummet . If an someone ’s body temperaturefalls below 95 F ( 35 C ) , they can develop hypothermia .

A close-up image of chilblains on a person’s fingers.

The fingers of a patient with chilblains, one of many conditions that are caused by cold weather.

Hypothermia causes an regalia of symptoms , let in shudder ; wan , cold and dry cutis ; slurred speech ; and dull external respiration . If left untreated , hypothermia can leave in organ malfunction and nonstarter , which may finally lead to end . Each year , between 700 and 1,500 hoi polloi die from hypothermia in the U.S.

Exposure to temperatures below 32 F ( 0 C),especially for prolong menses , can also trigger a skin condition known as frostbite . Children , unhoused mass and older adultsare particularly at danger from this term . Frostbite typically occurs in the extremity of the body , such as the finger’s breadth , toes , nozzle and ears . Intense coldcauses the water within tissue paper to freeze , curtail the flow of pedigree and potentially resulting in tissue paper death . accordingly , a patient ’s skin may turn purple or sorry , and in severe cases , the dead tissue paper may have to beremoved via surgical process or amputation .

Another condition that is because of cold weather condition and dissemble rip menses is Reynaud ’s syndrome , Dr. Rachel Amdur , an assistant professor of medicinal drug at Northwestern University , tell Live Science .

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Reynaud ’s disease causesblood vesselsto constrict — particularly those in the extremities , such as the finger and toes , turning them whitened or blue . The precondition is triggered by the cold in people who are predisposed to have the syndrome , Amdur say . This includes individualswith a fellowship history of the condition , people with certain other disease , such as arthritic arthritis and lupus , or those who are film certain medications , including some used to treathigh roue pressureor sick headache .

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Further instance of illnesses that are driven by cold weather include oceanic abyss understructure — a eccentric of pes damage caused byprolonged exposure to cold , damp conditions ; chilblains , in whichitchy swellings come out on the skin ; and inhuman urticaria , in which the skin forms hives .

stale weather condition can also aggravate other illnesses , such aseczemaand respiratory conditions likeasthmaorchronic obstructive pulmonary disorder(COPD ) , Amdur say . what is more , heart attacks are more plebeian in the winter — probable because people ’s blood vessels constrict , raising their profligate insistence andforcing the heart to work firmly than usual .

Sick woman blowing her nose while covered with a blanket.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not mean to offer aesculapian advice .

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