South Louisiana is on a weather roller coaster, with temperatures going from near freezing last week back to the 70s on Monday and Tuesday and back to near freezing late Tuesday night.
Can these constant changes in the weather make you sick? One doctor says they can, but only indirectly.
"The weather can certainly impact the various respiratory bacteria and viruses that are around," Dr. Brobson Lutz of the Orleans Parish Medical Society said.
According to Lutz, drier air can cause viruses and bacteria to hang around longer, allowing them to spread further. On top of that, Lutz says colder conditions cause the body to produce more and thicker mucus.
"This can cause blockages that can increase your chances of catching a respiratory virus," Dr. Lutz said. "Anything that causes inflammation in a person's respiratory tract causing that thicker mucus to be produced increases the chance of a virus sticking there if you encounter one."
Lutz says staying indoors with other people during cold and wet days also can increase your chances of getting sick.
"We have more shared air. People are inside all the time. The heater may be on recirculating air. So we have more shared air," Lutz said. "People are inside more, and you're just not breathing air that's circulating in the environment as much."
Dr. Lutz says constant swings in temperatures like we've seen over the last couple of weeks puts stress on the respiratory system and can lead to illness in some people.
