to wonder WTAF is a "chill"? and other things like it

[meladeso]

my grandmother always said that - "you'll catch a chill."
if you - don't wear a coat, sit on a stone step (!), stay outside too long in a frost... and so on.
you still hear people say it from time to time.
is it an actual thing? a medical thing? or, as i suspect, absolute tosh.

anyone got any other old sayings or beliefs of this ilk they'd care to share?

Keep your haun on y'er hape-nay (you'll not get this if your not Scottish, )

here you go.

It's just another word for a cold 😂
My big bug bear is "you'll catch a cold if you go out with wet hair" I'll catch a cold if I touch or breathe someone's germs FFS!!!

She means that your core temp will be lowered, making your body more vulnerable to infection. Yes, colds are viruses, but the body is either effective in Letting them in or not , and a lowering income temp has been shown to be one of the main factors in reducing resistance. Thanks s mechanism is much more pronounced in some people than others, and One indicator of whether you Need to keep warm is if you sneeze when you are chilly.
Colds are not called a colds for nothing! So for a large proportion of the population it’s bad news to go out with wet hair etc, and this proportion increases hugely with age.
So old wives tales are true for some, not for others.

interesting! i always thought like Tea does above, but Ohyes that sounds like some actual science

Ohyes I can see how that makes sense. But it is so annoying to hear when you haven't got time to dry your hair.

It’s not as severe as catching your death, but up there with getting a cold in your kidneys.

No sitting on cold steps/stone gives you piles.

Being cold lowers your immune response. Student DD spent St Patrick's night flitting round Liverpool bars in a blizzard, wearing basically not much more than underwear.

She is currently holed up here at home with a shocking case of Scarlett Fever.

Not quite the same as Beth March going out in the rain to take food to that impoverished family. Thank goodness for antibiotics though.

My gran:

Sleeping with wet hair causes rheumatism and arthritis, and stiff necks.

Cold toilet causes piles.

Best contraception is holding a pill between your knees.

Sex isn't a good thing, it's for reproduction only and not for any other purpose.

Spots are caused by eating oil and grease.

Dog and cat poo is toxic to all humans.

A chill is when you have a fever so you feel freezing cold and shake

What about "I've got a head cold"? Where else can a cold be, but in your head?!

My lovely Grandma believed that kidneys get cold if you don't tuck your top in. And getting a cold midriff would lead to Consumption (TB).