Colds from air conditioning

Cold from the air conditioner is often enough, especially in the summer, when you want at least somehow to escape from the heat on the street.

The course of such a cold is very similar to the usual viral cold disease, but it has its own peculiarities. We can not argue that air conditioning is very harmful and can not be used, but here the main thing is to be aware of how to properly use the air conditioner so as not to damage your health and well-being.

Causes of a cold from the conditioner

Cold from the conditioner arises more often because of a hypothermia of an organism, first of all this kind of catarrhal disease people with the weakened immunity or people with chronic diseases are ill. Subcooling occurs due to a sharp temperature drop in the room and the environment. Also, the cause of a cold may be caused by an incorrect place of installation of the air conditioner in the room, when the air conditioner is near a person. In addition, the jet of air can not be directed directly to yourself, since this would be tantamount to staying in a draft.

No less common is the cold from the car air conditioner, because in the summer the car usually heats up to very high temperatures, thereby causing huge discomfort for the driver. Therefore drivers very often include automobile conditioners in all power, directing a stream of cold air directly on themselves, thereby they risk to receive catarrhal disease in connection with sharp overcooling of an organism.

Separately, I would also like to recall such a disease as legionellosis (or "Legionnaires' disease"). The cause of this disease are also air conditioners, but in most cases these are not modern air conditioners, condensate from which is output immediately to the outside, and systems of branched air conditioning, where the water condensate constantly accumulates and the Legionella bacteria can develop. All modern air conditioners have bactericidal filters that do not allow bacteria and microorganisms to develop inside the device. Only in very rare cases, when the filters and air conditioning system is very heavily polluted from the inside, then there is a risk of the appearance of legionella in the air conditioner.

Symptoms of a cold from the conditioner

Symptoms of a cold from the conditioner are very similar to those of a common cold. Everything can begin with the appearance of a headache, aches in muscles and in the body, a slight increase in body temperature, a runny nose, sneezing, a burning sensation in the throat and pain when swallowing food or saliva. In addition, there may also be a worsening of appetite, drowsiness, a feeling of fatigue, pain in the ears.

If these symptoms do not go away for more than 1-2 weeks, the patient's condition is constantly worsening, new symptoms appear, that is, the suspicion that the common cold has become complicated, and a chronic lung and upper respiratory disease has occurred, which should be treated only in a specialized medical institution under the supervision of a doctor.

Diagnosis of a cold from the conditioner

When there is a cold from the conditioner, its primary diagnosis is not particularly difficult. If you constantly sneeze, liquid watery discharge appears from the nose, breathing through the nose becomes difficult, the body temperature rises slightly and malaise appears, it means that you have rhinitis, i.e. Runny nose. If you have a perspiration in your throat, a constant, painful dry cough, a slight increase in body temperature is pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa). But more often there is a rhinopharyngitis - this is a simultaneous inflammation of the nasal mucosa and pharynx.

In the case when you have a sore throat when swallowing, the submandibular lymph nodes and tonsils increase, then these symptoms indicate angina. Angina in almost all cases is accompanied by an increase in body temperature, most often the temperature is high (38.5-41.0), but there may be a very slight increase (37.0 - 38.5). Proceeding from some natural pattern, if the temperature is low in angina, then the damage to the tonsils will be more pronounced, and vice versa - at a high body temperature the inflammation of the tonsils will not be so pronounced and sharp.

If the cold from the conditioner is first observed dry cough (which after a while goes into the wet), an increase in body temperature, the voice becomes hoarse and coarse - it is laryngitis (inflammation of the mucous membranes of the larynx). If the cold does not heal, it can be complicated by tracheitis (inflammation of the trachea) and bronchitis (inflammation of the bronchi). This complicated condition is accompanied by more complex symptoms and it can be diagnosed only by a doctor.

In cases where the patient has a disease of legionnaires, then her symptoms are also somewhat similar to the symptoms of colds. There is a dry cough first, then a cough with sputum, mild headache, general malaise, fatigue. Further the condition sharply worsens, high fever, chills and fever appear, pains in muscles and joints, and pain in the chest can also appear with deep inspiration and cough. It is a sign of pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura - the lungs and the inner surface of the chest). Other characteristic signs of the disease are the defeat of other organs and systems due to general intoxication of the body. Patients often have disorders in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, the liver is enlarged, kidney work worsens, and respiratory failure may gradually develop.

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Treatment of a cold from the conditioner

At the first stages of a cold, the conditioner is well treated. When the first symptoms of the disease appear, it is necessary to take anti-cold medications or alternatively use medicine - hot tea with lemon, a warm bath, when the temperature rises, the body can be rubbed with alcohol.

If the symptoms of a cold are more complex and accompanied by a significant increase in body temperature, in this case, treatment should be strictly controlled by a doctor, as self-medication in this situation can only aggravate the patient's condition and provoke complications. In any case, if the symptoms of a cold do not respond well to treatment and last more than 7-10 days, then a doctor's consultation is necessary.

Regarding the treatment of legionnaires' disease, a slightly different approach is implied here. In this case, the patient is urgently hospitalized and active anti-poisoning therapy and antibiotic therapy are conducted for two weeks.

Preventing colds from the conditioner

In order that the cold does not appear in the summer from the air conditioner, one must always remember about its prevention. In this case, you need to remember how to properly and efficiently use the air conditioner. First, the temperature of the air in the street and in the room should not have a sharp difference, the optimal temperature difference of 5-8 degrees. Otherwise, if you come from a hot street and enter the room much cooler, then you risk getting hypothermia and eventually - a cold. Also, you can not direct the cold air jet of the air conditioner directly to yourself, preferably when the air is evenly distributed over the walls or ceiling. The same applies to the use of car air conditioning. In cases where the car is very much overheated, you must first open all the doors or windows for a few minutes, ventilate the interior, and then close them and turn on the air conditioner. It is also necessary to monitor the condition of the air conditioner, regularly change the filters in it and prevent contamination from inside. In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen its immunity, so that the immune system can actively protect the body from pathogenic microorganisms and viruses and effectively combat the already obvious diseases.

Thus, we can easily conclude from the above information - the air conditioner is not capable of itself having a direct harmful effect on human health, harm can only occur if the household appliance is incorrectly and irrationally used. Therefore, a cold from the air conditioner is very easy to prevent simply adhering to the elementary rules of using the air conditioner during the summer heat.