3 Diseases You Can Get From Your Air Conditioner

One of the worst colds you can have is during the summer. Why? Because it's the time when most of us are out, enjoying the weather, traveling with family, etc. But, the main tool that is used to cool you off, air conditioning, could be making you sick. Here's a few illnesses that it may cause:

Respiratory Infection

As with colds and other respiratory ailments contracted in the wintertime, cold air itself is not the culprit — viruses are, according to Dr. Ujwala Kaza, an allergist and immunologist at New York University Langone Medical Center.

Still, researchers at Cardiff University in Wales say it’s possible air-conditioners may contribute in some small way to respiratory infection.

They extract moisture from the air, which can dry out the protective mucus that lines the nostrils, allowing viruses a better chance to become established in the nose.

Common Colds In Office Buildings

Ever wonder why colds seem to never go away at work? There have been multiple studies including one done in 2004, 2008 and 2012 that compared adult women and found that those who worked in offices with central air-conditioning had higher rates of absence due to sickness and more visits to ear, nose and throat doctors than those without it.

Occupants of office buildings with air conditioning (AC) systems (e.g. central ventilation with cooling of air) consistently report, on average, more symptoms in their buildings than do occupants of buildings with natural ventilation. This has been the finding in individual studies from over the last 20 years. The symptoms in these studies have included mucous membrane irritation, breathing difficulties, irritated skin, and constitutional/neurological symptoms such as headache and fatigue.

This set of non-specific symptoms, often referred to as building-related symptoms or sick building syndrome, has not been linked to specific known diseases.

Furthermore, surfaces in AC systems that remain constantly moist, such as the cooling coils and drip pans, are supportive environments for the growth of undesirable micro-organisms, are directly in the path of all air supplied to occupants to breathe, and are often not well-maintained.

Multiple associations were found, including increased wheezing, shortness of breath, and cough in relation to an index of moisture in the ventilation system.

MUST READ: 10 Indoor Plants For Cleaner Air

Legionnaires' Disease

The bacterium Legionella pneumophila is responsible for most cases of Legionnaires' disease, the severe form of pneumonia — lung inflammation usually caused by infection.

Outdoors, legionella bacteria survive in soil and water, but rarely cause infections. Indoors, though, legionella bacteria can multiply in all kinds of water systems — hot tubs, air conditioners and mist sprayers in grocery store produce departments.

Although it's possible to contract Legionnaires' disease from home plumbing systems, most outbreaks have occurred in large buildings. Most people become infected when they inhale microscopic water droplets containing legionella bacteria. This might be the spray from a shower, faucet, or whirlpool, or water dispersed through the ventilation system in a large building.

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