If the best friend you can have in the cold is a warm blanket, in summer that friend turns into air conditioning. There's nothing like arriving in an air-conditioned environment and being able to feel that icy air that refreshes your soul. However, we have to be careful in these environments. Many allergies and respiratory problems can be associated with overexposure to air conditioning.
While it's nearly impossible to stay in a hot, stuffy environment on an extremely hot day, relying entirely on air conditioning has its dangers. One of the negative points is that we can contract several health problems and also adversely affect the respiratory system. When breathing, the nose is responsible for filtering, humidifying and heating the air that enters your body to avoid any breathing problems. On the contrary, the air conditioner does not humidify the air, it dries out and cools down and, in some cases, can bring many impurities into the air. The consequence is that when we are exposed to air conditioning for a long time, allergies and other health problems can appear.
For example: frequent coughing, dry nose and throat, difficulty breathing, burning nose, among other symptoms that can be a consequence of excessive exposure to air conditioning. One of the problems is that in work environments or public places, we are not free to turn off the air conditioning unit that is there (besides we don't want to get too hot in a closed place) and, many times, it is without proper cleaning.
The ideal is that the maintenance of these devices is done with a frequency of every fifteen days, up to one or two months. Some types of appliances may have an even longer period of use without maintenance, but in the most common appliances, the ideal is to do this cleaning always. The most popular type of air conditioner has filters that stop dirt entering it. After a few days, the dirt accumulates in large quantities and if it is not removed during cleaning, it can end up being thrown back into the environment. In this way, some mites, fungi and bacteria can infest the environment.
The main tip we leave is to always remind the person responsible for the device to do periodic maintenance. If possible, consult the device manual or the website of companies specializing in this type of service. Another important tip is to always keep a sweater close by, as it helps to leave the body less exposed to the cold of the air when the temperature is very low. If the heat can be hard to bear, being sick and having an allergy is much worse. So take precautions and do your best to keep your air conditioner as clean as possible!
Written by Ricardo Sturk from Team Eu Sem Fronteiras.
