It’s winter and respiratory illnesses are everywhere. Will going out underdressed in cold weather make me sick? | Antiviral

To develop cold symptoms, you need to be infected by a virus. There’s a reason that happens more in winter – and the answer hangs indoors, in the air

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It was inevitable that I would, as Oscar Wilde quipped, become like my mother. After decades of being told to “Put on more clothes! You’ll catch a cold!” I now, despite knowing better, insist the same for my daughter.

“Another layer!” I demand of my partner, who begrudgingly bundles up a toddler already as puffy as the Michelin Man. The scientifically literate part of my brain understands that no jacket will shield her from the onslaught of daycare viruses. And yet I cling to the conviction that underdressing or stepping out the door with wet hair in winter must be avoided at all costs.