Andrea Hernandez

Your parents probably told you not to go outside with wet hair because you’d catch a cold. Having wet hair does not cause colds, colds are caused by a virus. There is no association of the virus with wet hair.

During below freezing temperatures, going outside with wet hair might increase the risk of hypothermia. So, if you were planning to go outside in cold weather with wet hair and without a jacket, you might want to reconsider.

Even though you do not get sick from wet hair, your hair becomes more prone to breakage in cold weather. Water expands in volume during freezing temperatures, so it forces the hair shaft to expand and lifts hair cuticles. Wet hair in freezing temperatures can be exposed to environmental damage which makes it easier for hair to get split ends.

The next time you decide to go outside in freezing temperatures with wet hair, you might want to think twice!

https://www.bustle.com/p/can-going-out-with-wet-hair-make-you-sick-this-is-why-the-old-wives-tale-has-stood-the-test-of-time-7588454

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cold-wet-hair-germs_n_6739144

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/cold-weather-damages-wet-hair/

https://www.thisisinsider.com/reason-for-not-going-outside-with-wet-hair-damage-winter-2018-11

Photo from Amazon

Madison McGuire

Many of us were warned as children to not hold in a sneeze, because our “heart would stop” or our “brain would explode.” While this seems like dramatic exaggeration, there may be a kernel of truth.

It might seem appropriate to pinch your nose and quiet the sneeze in certain social situations. However, recent research suggests it’s better to just let it out– while covering your mouth of course.

The diaphragm and chest muscles contract during a sneeze to clear mucus, irritants, and germs out of our system at approximately 100 miles per hour. According to ENT specialists from NYU, “suppressing the sneeze by holding the nose or mouth increases the pressure in the the sinuses, nasal cavity, or chest about 5 to 24 times of that during a normal sneeze.” Infected mucus can be pushed into the middle ear, causing infection or a ruptured eardrum. Blocking the nostril and mouth during a sneeze can also lead to air trapped in the chest, and in rare cases, the rupture of a cerebral aneurysm, a tear in the throat, or cracked cribs.

Although sneezing might seem embarrassing or unsanitary in a crowd of people, take care of your health and let your body’s natural reflexes take control. It best to sneeze or cough into the fold of your elbow.   

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dont-hold-it-halted-sneeze-rips-hole-mans-throat-180967847/

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180116/hold-that-sneeze–maybe-not

https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19539150/can-holding-in-a-sneeze-kill-you/