Can Air Conditioning Make You Sick? Yes or No

Indeed, there is an answer to the question on whether air conditioning can make you ill or not. Most Americans make use of air conditioning almost every day whether it is in the office or living spaces. It is on record that air conditioning makes use of about 10% of worldwide electricity consumption.

When the temperature is rise most especially during the summer time, everyone would wish to keep cool in line with their capacity. While some people make use of fan to cool down them, others have the luxury of making use of air conditioning. There are ACs at different places be it hotels, offices, stores and even cars. However, when we spent a lot of time with AC, we end up having cold. The question underneath it is if truly air conditioning can make someone ill.

The answer will definitely be surprising as there are some things you need to take a look at.

Air conditioning is good for health:

You might be thinking otherwise but the simple truth is that the cold air coming out from your air conditioning can’t really make you sick. However, the device which is electronically designed can make you get ill more quickly. So, what is the process? The AC will absorb hot air inside from the outside and then blows cold air out after passing through the damper.

The warm air will be able to condense on the damper and this will enable the cool air to blow out into the room. In addition, the air conditioning will filters the hot air that penetrate through the unit and it is due to this process that pollen and other polluting substances will be kept out.

That is increasing to hear, isn’t it? Let us now talk about how air conditioning can actually get you sick more quickly.

When there is poor maintenance

Having talked about the healthy side of air conditioning whereby the units that will properly clean the air are good for health. According to a research conducted by a Yale University, there is possibility of reduction in heart problems with the use of air conditioning. However, there are also negative sides of the air conditioning and we hence talk about it.

In a situation whereby the AC units aren’t properly maintained, there would be clogged filters and from that, there exist damp surroundings around the AC which can house moulds and enable bacteria to grow. This can then lead to health risks and dangers. If the air that comes out of the air conditioning is of poor quality, it can cause you to have cold or throat ache or flu symptoms. You can even have tearing eyes and irritated airways. People that have asthma can also have breathing problem in this situation.

Warm and cold air

What you firstly need to do is by checking yourself if at all you did or didn’t carry a virus or bacteria as at the time you enter an air conditioning room according to a Dutch general practitioner Job Nievaart. It is posited that air conditioning can’t really make you sick but in a period whereby you already have a health issue such as cold or fever, it is possible to increase the virus more quickly due to the coolness.

This is the same thing when you move from a room that is very cool into hot air that is outside. You won’t have any cold unless it is inside you already. When you carry the virus with you already, the air conditioning can actually get you sick more quickly.

References:
www.tips-and-tricks.co/health/air-conditioning-ill/
www.huffpost.com/entry/is-air-conditioning-healthy_l_5d24e7d1e4b07e698c41ed94