Did your mother ever tell you not to walk outside with wet hair in winter because you would catch a cold?

Well, that’s not exactly true.

Neither is the notion that fluctuating temperatures – such as those we are experiencing this week – affect your health.

The reason you get sick in the winter is not because of the weather but because of that sniffling, sneezing co-worker in the next cubicle.

The only thing weather really has to do with the common cold is that it keeps more people inside, together, with all their germs circulating in the same air. Also, some people aren’t washing their hands regularly or covering their mouths when they cough, said Bob Hallinan, a spokesman for Kansas University Hospital.

But Kansans should be prepared for anything. Temperatures have ranged from a bone-chilling minus 9 to a balmy 63 degrees just this month, said Jennifer Schack, 6News chief meteorologist. She predicts today’s high to be 35 degrees, about 10 degrees warmer than Wednesday. Highs this weekend are expected to hit the 50s.

“It’s like the motto of Kansas: If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute,” said Dr. Michael Kennedy at KU Medical Center and assistant dean for rural health education.

Vacillating temperatures can cause physiological stress, and any stress on the body can decrease your immune system, Kennedy said. “The problem isn’t that our body can’t adapt; it’s that we don’t take necessary precautions,” he said.

What are those precautions?

Stay hydrated, wash your hands and bundle up, just like your mom told you, Kennedy said.