CLEVELAND, Ohio — Many of us tend to get sick during the winter months, but it's not for the reasons you may think.
Power of 5 Meteorologist Trent Magill visited Dr. Adam Rhodes at the Dedicated Senior Medical Center in Maple Heights to debunk winter weather health myths.
One of the most common myths is cold weather makes you sick.
"Cold weather itself doesn't actually cause illness — it just ripens the conditions for illness," said Rhodes.
"More people in more confined space allows those viruses and bacteria to transfer and that's why we've seen an uptick in illness in the cold."
Eating soup won't cure illness, but it does have health benefits.
"It keeps us hydrated which is hard to do when you're not feeling well," said Rhodes.
Another common misconception is sleeping with wet hair in the winter months increases your chances of getting sick.
"The reason where that myth comes from is sleeping with wet hair — especially in a cold environment — it's going to make you feel chilled, right? What other time do we feel chilled? We feel chilled if we have an illness," said Rhodes.
