Probably not. “People think there is a connection between being cold and getting a cold, because colds get spread in the wintertime when people are in close quarters,” said Timothy Springer, an immunologist on sabbatical from the Harvard-affiliated CBR Biomedical Research Institute. “But the only way to get a cold is by getting the virus.”
Catching colds actually “has nothing to do with lowered immunity,” said Dr. Jack Gwaltney, a leading cold researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
Colds result from cold viruses directly entering the nose. When cold viruses are experimentally introduced into the noses of volunteers, nearly all of them get infected, even those who are happy, healthy and, presumably, immunologically strong. But only three-quarters actually get sick, and those who do get runny noses and sneezing may have an excessive immune response, not a weak one.
“So it may be backwards from what people think,” said Gwaltney. People who get sick pump out high levels of kinins, specific immune system chemicals, while people who get infected but not sick pump out low levels. Both groups get better at roughly the same rate, suggesting that the exaggerated kinin response, while causing lots of symptoms, doesn’t do much good.
The only way to be sure never to catch a cold, Gwaltney added, “is to stay away from humans, especially human children.” Failing that, wash your hands after you’ve been in contact with people with colds or objects they’ve touched.”