We all know it: sometimes it has to be quick in the morning after the shower and there is no time to blow-dry your hair. So quickly put on a braid and off you go outside - and that in cold temperatures in autumn and winter. For many, at the latest, the mother's warning will ring in their ears: "Child, if you go out in the cold with wet hair, you'll catch a cold." But is that really true?

The link between colds and cooling the body is controversial, a 2014 review shows. But what is certain is that wet hair cannot cause a cold. Viruses are what make us catch cold. Without the pathogen, an infection is simply impossible. And you get infected via a droplet infection – for example, if a colleague who has a cold coughs on you.

But what influence could wet hair have on the development of a cold? "Wet hair makes the cold even worse because the water evaporates and the scalp cools down even more. This can cause the mucous membranes to contract," general practitioner Johannes Wimmer told "DocCheck". The viruses attack the mucous membranes. One consideration: The body's defense mechanism no longer works as well as the mucous membranes have contracted. This is one possible explanation.

That means: Wet hair can possibly promote a cold. However, it is just a myth that you almost automatically get sick if you go out in the cold with wet hair.

Sources: DocCheck, overview study

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