how could i have gotten a cold while following covid rules?

i have a sore throat. the covid-19 test is negative. i wash my hands. i keep my distance. how did this happen?

by monika warzecha

published oct 05, 2020

4 minute read

join the conversation

4 minute read

join the conversation

common cold virus during coronavirus pandemic

the common cold isn't as dangerous as that other virus going around, but it sure is infectious. getty

i don’t mean to brag, but my hands are really dry. i wash them a lot. i keep my distance. i have the luxury of working from home.one morning in early september, i woke up feeling exhausted. my throat was very sore and my nose was stuffed up. i had had a reasonably busy two weeks before: a dentist appointment, a (distanced) park hangout with friends, a trip to the mall. while i didn’t really think it was covid-19, i was feeling a bit nervous for the people i had been around. just in case.i lined up for the brain-poking test, and a little over two days later, i had my results: negative. after a day of relief and elation, i had a new feeling: irritation. sulking on the couch with cough candies and kleenex, i wondered how, exactly, i could have possibly caught a cold, given that i had been doing what i needed to do — washing hands, distancing, wearing a mask — to avoid the much, much scarier coronavirus.because a full-scale forensic investigation was impossible, i asked dr. raywat deonandan, an epidemiologist and professor at the university of ottawa to weigh in.mw: i regularly wash my hands and i work at home. i haven’t dined inside restaurants. my bubble is two people. i wear a mask while grocery shopping. how did cold germs get past all of this? rd: i haven’t got a clear answer for you, but i have some possibilities. for one thing, a lot of my doctor friends are reporting there’s a common cold epidemic going through their offices. in fact, it’s quite prevalent in a lot of places, and it’s very contagious.[b.c.’s public health officer] bonnie henry recently said that the common cold right now is more contagious than covid. maybe. we measure contagiousness based on the reproduction number. wikipedia says the reproduction number for the common cold is between 2 and 3. and right now, the reproduction number for covid is about 1.2, 1.3 across the country because of the endeavours we put into place [such as hand washing, face coverings and distancing]. it is arguable that the common cold right now is more contagious.the common cold is transmissible via surfaces, more so than covid is. we have diminished our efforts to control via cleaning surfaces because it’s not that big a deal, and in doing so, that might be allowing the common cold to thrive. but in your case, if you’re a frequent hand washer, that doesn’t really explain why you would develop a cold.

dr. raywat deonandan is an epidemiologist and science communicator. supplied

it might be that the other person you live with was infected asymptomatically and gave it to you. or what’s more likely, is that you actually have allergies. i live in ottawa and it’s a frickin’ dustbowl here. every morning i wake up with these symptoms — i know i don’t have covid or the common cold — and they goes away in a couple hours.mw: if i had children, could i blame them?rd: (laughs) you could totally blame your kids for the common cold because they touch a lot more surfaces, which makes it difficult to control infection via children. it’s also one of the reasons cold-like symptoms have been taken off of the list of things that compel covid testing. and, frankly, if you look at the actual probability of symptoms of the virus, it’s the dry cough and the fever that seems to be most prevalent, for children, at least. it’s better to focus on the high probability things like a fever.mw:is there anything about the way we’re living now — staying indoors and staying away from other people — that might be changing how our bodies deal with germs? that is, are we more susceptible if we’re sealed off from the outside world?rd: i get that question a lot. my feeling, not being a microbiologist, is that you get plenty of challenges to your immune system every day, especially if you don’t live alone. if you live with people, if you live with kids, if you have a pet that’s licking your face all the time— you get a massive dose of germs on a daily basis. if your window is open, you’re breathing fresh air, but you are also getting all kinds of stuff from outside that’s challenging your immune system. hence, the allergies.if [the pandemic] went on for years, then maybe we could have a conversation about changing gut biome, and other kinds of intestinal flora. but a matter of weeks? i don’t see it being that big of a deal in terms of changing our immune responses.mw: i haven’t really unclenched my jaw since about march. i recently chipped a tooth. in other words, i’m a bit stressed. what role does stress play in getting a cold?rd: a lot. stress is a great predicator of immune response. i’m not a virologist or an immunologist, so i’m not speaking authoritatively about this, but there’s a common understanding that stress levels will effect your hormonal balances, which then makes you more susceptible to infection. good sleep, good nutrition, a low-stress environment — all this contributes to being overall healthy and resilient. it’s not a panacea — it’s not going to make you invulnerable to infection — but it does lower your risk of infection and increases your likelihood of recovering from infection quickly.mw: any last words?rd: get your flu shot.this interview has been edited and condensed. don’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s daily newsletter coming out of covid.