How it feels good to be in a cool office or shop, apartment or house with air conditioning, when it's hot and stuffy outside. But how many dangers await in the room where this device is used to cool the air. If these indoor climate regulators are used incorrectly, you cannot do without constant colds, the development of pneumonia, spinal problems and other related diseases. Today, scientists have not yet created such a variant of an air conditioner that would clean itself, change its filters and not harm the body. Therefore, you should carefully read the instructions for use if an air conditioner is installed at home, and ask for information about the technical condition of the device if you work in an office. Let's consider what is the harm of the air conditioner for health and how to use it correctly.
Air conditioner damage: where is the danger?
In many cases, air conditioning is indispensable. For example, in a huge store or restaurant, in an office or house, air conditioning will save you from hot air accumulation and save people from overheating. This is a huge plus of using this device for indoor air cooling. But basically, air conditioning poses a lot of dangers to health and well-being.
With a sharp temperature drop, when the heat readings go off scale + 30-35 in the street, and only +18 in the room, the body may not be able to withstand it. Internal organs come to the fore in normalizing heat. Nasopharynx, limbs, eyes remain unprotected. A cold will not keep you waiting, already after 8 hours of freezing at the workplace you will feel all the signs of a cold, incipient bronchitis, pneumonia. The mucous membranes dry up, immunity decreases, the body works at the stage of saving energy reserves – All this provokes the active reproduction of viruses. Therefore, very often, when the air conditioner is turned on, it tickles in the throat, stuffy nose, cough, swelling of the throat, runny nose, headache, tearing.
Doctors warn that the difference between the temperature outside and in an air-conditioned room should be 5 degrees. If the difference is greater than – the chances of getting sick increase.
The operation of the air conditioner is aimed at cooling and in some models (expensive) – for air purification. But the same air in the room is cleaned and cooled. Due to the lack of necessary circulation in the air, carbon dioxide exhaled by people, pathogenic viruses, and other suspensions that enter from the street during airing accumulate. If the cleaning filters in the air conditioner are not replaced in time, infections and viruses multiply rapidly in the beneficial environment of the climate system.
It is especially unsafe to turn on the air conditioner after the weekend and be indoors. All the dust and viruses that have accumulated since the weekend and quietly lived on surfaces rise with the air flow from the air conditioner and enter the human lungs, where they settle. Such harm to the health of the air conditioner puts before a choice: use it to cool the air or is it better to get by with a fan?
Diseases caused by air conditioning
Cold airflow in the air conditioner can cause SARS, as well as bronchitis, inflammation in the lymph nodes. Further, allergies can be connected and, as a result, bronchial asthma, laryngeal edema, pneumonia. Especially dangerous are pneumonias that develop against the background of exposure to pathogenic microorganisms multiplying in the air conditioner – legionella. These pathogens attack the respiratory system very quickly, causing pneumonia, which is very difficult to cure. Legionella pneumonia is the most common cause of death. To clean the filters from dirt, pathogenic viruses, including legionella, it is necessary to clean them once every three months with constant use.
Because air conditioners actually circulate stale air in the room – this is the first cause of dryness in the eye, sore throat, discharge from the nose, sharp coughing and sneezing. No one is immune from allergic reactions. Therefore, before turning on the air conditioner, ventilate the room for 15-20 minutes, it is better to arrange a draft to drive the air away.
Read also: Why does my throat hurt: the main causes of malaise
Illnesses caused by air conditioning:
- SARS;
- swollen and inflamed lymph nodes;
- allergy;
- bronchitis;
- asthma;
- laryngeal edema;
- dry eye syndrome;
- pneumonia.
Read also: Disease of the civilized world: dry eye syndrome
How to use the air conditioner correctly without risk to life
To ensure your safety in a room with a climate system and to minimize the health risks of an air conditioner, use these devices correctly:
- ventilate the room before turning on the air conditioner;
- dry the room twice a day;
- do not stay indoors when you turn on the air conditioner for the first time after the holidays;
- Clean the filters once every three months;
- Rinse the air conditioner under running water;
- clean cavities from dust with a cloth.
How to behave properly when the air conditioner is on:
- do not sit in direct cold air;
- choose clothing made from natural fabrics that absorb moisture well and protect the muscles of the back and neck from drafts;
- drink enough water;
- moisturize the air around you so as not to overdry the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and eyes.
Following the recommendations for the use of climate systems will minimize the harm to the air conditioner, leaving only the positive aspects of this device. In addition to relief after a hot street, air conditioning can also give you good health with the right behavior in the room.
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