Was mom wrong … about catching a cold by going outside with wet hair?

Men's Fitness, Nov, 2004 by Nate Millado

"Whether your hair's wet or not is unimportant," says internal-medicine specialist Janet O'Mahony, M.D. "You catch a cold from someone who's infected with the cold virus." Mom was probably preaching the old school of thought that equated being cold with getting a cold. But several studies put the kibosh on this pearl of non-wisdom, including one in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In that study, subjects were exposed to the cold virus, then to extreme temperatures. Cold or warm, wet hair or dry hair, there was no effect on their infection rate. In fact, showering before heading out is a recommended defensive measure. "Hand-to-hand contact is a significant form of cold-virus transmission," notes O'Mahony "so you could be washing off the viruses you've come in contact with by simply shampooing your hair." Guess Mom was just never into the wet look.--NM