We realize a lot of people love winter. And we understand, the snow is pretty, chilly temps can sometimes be pleasantly invigorating, and we all enjoy building snow sculptures. But there are a few downsides. While your body is out in the cold for extended periods of time, it leaves your immune working hard to keep up. You begin to cough a little more often; your nose is running incessantly; and you develop some fun winter throat issues. Frequently, this turns into a full-blown cold.
So… can weather have an impact on your tonsils? It’s possible that these throat issues can be tracked back to your tonsils since they are a significant part of your immune system. You might be able to stay a little healthier this winter if you reinforce your immune system (and your tonsils).
Cold weather can affect your health
So let’s get this out of the way: cold weather doesn’t make you sick. Bacteria and viruses get you sick and you don’t catch those from going out into the cold. But cold temperatures can have an affect on your health by lowering your body’s defenses and sometimes even wreaking a little havoc on your respiratory tract. But it’s not the cold, but viruses that inevitably make you get sick.
One of the biggest culprits here is the air. Cold temperatures usually mean very dry air. Dry air can irritate your throat (as the humidity drops, the mucus lining your throat dries up, if you get a sore throat only when it’s cold, this might be the reason why). The available germ-fighting mucus is reduced by the dry air as well.
There are a couple other reasons why cold weather may affect your health:
- You could have slightly reduced body temperature. When you’re in the cold, your body may not be able to produce heat as fast as it loses it. Over time, this can result in hypothermia (this is a serious condition when your body temperature goes below 95 degrees fahrenheit). When your body has to put a lot of its energy reserves into keeping warm, it will have less available for the immune system to combat sickness.
- During the winter season, when it’s cloudy and cold, we normally spend more time inside. This means you’re likely to absorb less vitamin D from the sun. As vitamin D is crucial to an effectively working immune system, your main defenses against germs might not be functioning at their best.
- You’ll be inside the house more often. And being inside so much, with others, and inadequate airflow, can be a health issue. You could be more exposed to germs moving from person to person and consequently, you could be more likely to get ill.
How does cold weather impact your tonsils?
Your tonsils are an important component of your immune system. At the back of your throat are these two clusters of lymph cells (tonsils). They can help filter out germs (which means you suck less germs right into your lungs, and that’s good for your respiratory system). They even make antibodies. You can think of them as the rather noble gatekeepers of your respiratory system.
So how are your tonsils affected by cold weather?
Even though it’s not the cold weather itself that causes you to get sick, it does have an affect on your tonsils. It works like this:
- The more frequently you get ill, the more difficult your tonsils need to work.
- This means there’s a greater risk that your tonsils can become swollen and inflamed (inflammation is a typical immune reaction).
- A two or three day (plus) soar throat can be the outcome.
Tonsillitis is the name of this tonsil infection. Tonsillitis in the winter is no fun, but if your tonsillitis doesn’t clear up on its own, long term infections can cause even more issues:
- Airways that are clogged by swollen tonsils. This can make it difficult to breathe.
- Infectious pockets of pus.
After a while, this can reduce immunity through your whole body. Lymph cells, including your tonsils, are an important facet of your immune system. So when your tonsils aren’t working at 100%, you may become more vulnerable to specific types of infections (or recover more slowly when you do get ill).
The symptoms of tonsillitis often feel really close to what you’d get from a cold or a flu. This can make identification a little tricky.
Battling tonsillitis caused by cold temperature
It isn’t that your tonsils can’t do their job, it’s just that they need a little help. You can supply that help with the correct accessories.
Here are some tactics that might help with your winter throat issues:
- Take vitamin D supplements: Use vitamin D supplements if you’re not getting out into the sun very much. A sunlamp will also work. Or perhaps a trip to Mongolia (the Gobi Desert, located in Mongolia, is one of the sunniest places on earth).
- Gargle with salt water: You can wash away surface germs and soothe your soar throat by gargling with salt water.
- Be certain to get outdoors: It may be colder outside than inside, but that sun-generated Vitamin D is necessary to a properly working immune system. So put on your parka and go for a hike!
- Utilizing a humidifier will keep the air in your home from getting too dry, especially during cold months. Mucus helps the immune system protect your body from infection, and when the air has more moisture your immune system will have more of it to work with.
- Dress warm: If you let your body temperature get too low for too long it can be a serious problem. Over time, this makes it hard for your immune system to fend off infections, bacteria, and viruses. So bundle up and go sit near the fire.
- Drink tea: It’s packed with nutrients for you! Warm tea can increase your body temperature and refresh your mucus membranes, but after 2 pm you should stick with a tea that is caffeine free such as herbal tea.
If you can’t keep your tonsils healthy, you might need to have them removed
How long does a sore throat from cold air last? Typically, as long as you’re in the cold, dry air. Your sore throat should improve quickly when you go into a warmer more humid environment. Unless you have an infection, like tonsillitis.
Typically, tonsillitis will subside by itself within a few days. But this type of infection can, in some circumstances, become chronic. In these cases, a tonsillectomy may be required. Nowadays, a tonsillectomy isn’t as prevalent as it once was, but there are some situations where it’s still the best plan.
Whether a tonsillectomy is the right choice for your situation, or whether there’s a different solution is something that we can help you determine.