DR JEFF FOSTER is HOAR on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
Dr Jeff Foster is HOAR on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help you
See h3health.co.uk and email at [email protected].
Q) IS it a myth that getting cold can cause colds?
I’m a mum to school-age children and they are terrible at keeping warm clothes on at this time of year.
Zoe Bramwell, Leeds
A) Strictly speaking, feeling cold cannot give you an infection as you have to be exposed to a virus or bacteria to get sick.
Therefore going out in winter in summer clothes won’t give you a chest infection if there are no bugs there.
However, certain viruses, such as the common cold virus, do replicate better in cooler temperatures.
So if a common cold virus was to catch hold at the tip of your nose, it is optimal for the virus at temperatures of 33C, than normal body temperature, which is 34-37C.
People who are consistently exposed to cold temperatures, can have an impaired immune response, as being in the cold can cause a stress response which makes our immune systems have to work harder.
This is particularly applicable to the elderly, who may struggle to keep warm as temperatures drop due to an inability to regulate their body temperatures as easily.
We also see an increased number of people getting sick in winter due to the fact we all congregate inside, allowing air to flow and bugs to disperse.
Central heating also dries out airways so bugs can latch on more easily.
Overall, being cold in itself will not give you a cold, but it is more likely that you’ll catch one.
Send your questions to: [email protected]
Q) MY partner is pregnant with our first baby and continues to vape.
She is 32 years old and keeps telling me vaping isn’t a danger to the baby.
Is she right?
Jordan Wells, Orpington, Kent
A) Vaping is relatively new so we do not have all the data or research to show what it can do in the long term.
Even in the latter half of the 20th century, it was not uncommon for some doctors to smoke cigarettes between clinics – and prior to that, smoking was even advertised as having health benefits.
Of course, that is not the case and we now know just how damaging smoking is.
In terms of vaping, there is evidence to show there are adverse health risks and, when it comes to pregnancy, vaping contains nicotine which has been proven to permanently damage a baby’s developing brain as well as other organs.
In addition, e-cigarettes also contain various flavours and additives that we have no data about, but which could additionally cause harm.
In general it is accepted that vaping is damaging to a growing baby and not advised in pregnancy.
- Send your questions to: [email protected]
