Many of us spend a lot of time in air conditioned rooms or workspaces. Often, your air conditioner can be the culprit that is making you sick. Here is how to find out and what to do about it.
1.Breathing problems.
When air conditioners are not cleaned thoroughly and filters changed, a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria and fungi is created. These systems especially can be home to black mold, as moisture can build up in the coils and ducts from condensation that forms when the cool air passes through. When these microorganisms go air-borne, they can lead to a multitude of breathing problems, including a potentially fatal infectious pneumonia, Legionnaire’s disease, caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila.
Remedy: Make sure your air conditioning systems are cleaned regularly and the filter changed every few months.
2.You experience muscle and joint pains
Another fallout of having an air conditioner going full blast in a room, is muscle and joint pains. If you are experiencing aggravated rheumatism, arthritis or chronic joint pain for no apparent reason, the cause could be the air conditioning at your home or office. It is likely that the temperature of the air conditioner is being set too low, and should be set at a slightly higher temperature.
3. Your nose bleeds regularly
Air conditioners without a humidification function can produce very dry air that results in frequent nose bleeds. This is aggravated in times of hot weather, where the skin in your nasal cavity will tend to be dry to begin with.
The best remedy for this is to consider getting an air conditioner/humidifier combo unit. If not, you can also get a separate humidifier or add a few drops of saline nasal drops whenever you feel dryness in the nasal cavity.
4. Fatigue, headaches and generally feeling ill.
Many individuals find that after a day of work, they often feel more tired than usual, headachy and a general sense of malaise. They also find that once they leave the building, the symptoms often resolve. Sometimes termed “sick building syndrome,” it may be that air conditioning may be the cause.According to some studies, people working in office buildings with central air conditioning had more symptoms of illness than those who did not work in buildings with central air.
Remedy: Raise the temperature slightly so that you are not shivering and take regular breaks to step outside for fresh air and for your body temperature to equilibrate.
5. You get sick when someone else in the office gets sick
As a result of the continual circulation of stale air within the confines of a building, any viruses, mold, dust or pet dander brought in by residents of the building tend to be circulated and spread to different people. Some buildings have a built-in ‘leak’ whereby a small quantity of external air gets leaked into the air conditioned space regularly. One remedy to prevent this is to open windows at least once a day to let some fresh air in.
Whether you’re at home or at the office, there is likely more than one person in the room. The body’s metabolism works in such a way that pure, dry air is inhaled and moist air with carbon dioxide is exhaled.This results in an increase in humidity in the room, which can result in the proliferation of bacteria. The best remedy for this is to get the best dehumidifier, which will make the air within the room more breathable.
source:positivemed.com