(I meant to write "indefinitely" rather than "infinitely".)
My guess would be that our ancestors described certain illnesses as "colds" because they noticed that people often got sick with them following a chill (which physiologically would be a drop in body temperature).
Given that hyperthermia (fever) is supportive of the immune response, it's reasonable to assume that hypothermia, even mild and transient, would be immunosuppressive and may allow dormant or inactive viruses that are already present to multiply and cause illness.
(I finally got covid last year two days after an alternating hot spring soak/cold plunge that I'm sure was messing with my body temperature...)
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branchandroot
Re: Looking Back on Covid
Date: 2023-02-10 06:01 pm (UTC)My guess would be that our ancestors described certain illnesses as "colds" because they noticed that people often got sick with them following a chill (which physiologically would be a drop in body temperature).
Given that hyperthermia (fever) is supportive of the immune response, it's reasonable to assume that hypothermia, even mild and transient, would be immunosuppressive and may allow dormant or inactive viruses that are already present to multiply and cause illness.
(I finally got covid last year two days after an alternating hot spring soak/cold plunge that I'm sure was messing with my body temperature...)