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I am convinced that I will come down with cold/flu if I breath too much cold air. When I walk in the cold, I always wrap a scarf around my mouth and nose. If I don't, the cold air will give me a sore throat. That sore throat will act as a Petri dish for illness to develop and spread into my lungs or nose.
I know plenty of medical professionals and all of them tell me that that is not how it works, but I have a datum of proof. In my first year of university, I had a nasty, persistent respiratory infection during the late fall/early winter. To keep my throat warm while it was recovering, I started wearing a scarf and my illness went away quickly. After that, I started wrapping up whenever I was walking to class in the cold and never got sick again.
I am now used to wrapping my face in the cold and feel wrong without it. When I don't, it seems like I am more likely to come home with a scratchy throat. I can definitely say that many of my flus start in the throat (though it could just be that the first flu symptom I tend to notice is the sore throat).
Cold air tends to be very dry, which can most definitely irritate your nose and throat (among other body parts). That irritation and drying out can make the thin skin and mucous membranes more vulnerable to attack from bacteria and viruses.
The only really unscientific part of your post is that the cold air itself is not the direct cause of illness.
People with a strong immune system might not see a big difference, but if you are already more susceptible to getting sick, then the link to cold air may be more obvious to you.
same thing with being exposed to the cold generally. it reduces your immune response. hence why when you are sick, staying warm is important and if you have the flu, you can develop pneumonia from cold exposure.
Wrapping your face up is a good way to block the germs that cause illness. You're basically just masking up.
Except that I am using a very porous knit scarf as a mask and only masking up outdoors (the opposite of proper masking).