Getting a cold after diving

[Akimbo]

Interesting that rhinovirus incubates better when cooler however, I think it is quite a stretch from saying that because mouse cells show a reduced immune response when cooler, a mouse would actually catch a cold…

Agreed. The study “might” say more about the rhinovirus than the immune system though. It may be a case where the mouse immune response is inhibited by cold but is above the temperature threshold where the rhinovirus suffers the same fate. The other question is does a significant temperature drop in the nose have that much effect on the immune system in the rest of the human body that is not hypothermic.

…If I got a cold because I was just on this side of hypothermia, I'd have to quit diving…

This brings up an interesting question. Does the rhinovirus survive or make it into Scuba tanks? It would be a double whammy if it did since we are breathing trough the mouth where there is less immune system protection.

…May be they should repeat the studies using people and a virus again and see if it changed over the years, better than relying on mouse parts and speculation, although I suspect the chaps doing the study were not coming to the same conclusion as the article…

The article is on the Yale Web site so I imagine it was reviewed. However, studies are usually designed as a means for getting follow-on grants that culminate in much more expensive human studies.

It will probably never get funded but a study of the spread of colds in chamber complexes full of saturation divers would be interesting. I don’t recall a case where that happened.

 

[AfterDark]

The OP has probably sorted it out by now, since her problem presented itself in 2007. I just got on to answer Texasguy who gave the thread zombie status.


Just clearing the waters.
Bob

Ok thanks for pointing that out, ignorance was bliss