Dr. Laura Ene, medical specialist diabetes, nutrition and metabolic diseases within KiloStop Nutrition Clinic and PhD student in Internal Medicine, he explained in an interview Ziare.com what are the conditions we risk developing due to air conditioning.
The specialist also told us why the use of air conditioning makes us fat, specifying what is the right temperature at which we should set it.
This conditions do we risk if we stay all day with the air conditioning on?
Air conditioning is very useful during the summer, but we must be very careful how we use it. Setting the appliance to a very low temperature or not maintaining it properly can cause us problems. health.
Thus, air conditioning can cause multiple diseases, which can range from common colds to pneumonia. It can also reactivate allergic rhinitis, if we suffer from it (manifested by frequent sneezing or coughing) or sinusitis. Ear damage can occur from otitis to vertigo (dizziness).
In some cases, setting the air conditioner to a low temperature can lead to “cold” paralysis of half of the face. Thus, the person suffering from this condition feels his “heavy face”, has the tip of the eyebrow lowered, the nose deviated towards the healthy part of the face, and the corner of the mouth is deviated and erased. The lips are lowered and the cheek is down. The affected person cannot close his eye, cannot frown, and chew food with difficulty.
Read also how sudden temperature changes affect us
Another unpleasant condition is trigeminal neuralgia, meaning o pain intense on one half of the face, which yields very hard to analgesics. It usually includes the eye, jaw, ear and mandible.
Air conditioning can reactivate various allergies skin or eye (conjunctivitis). Also, the air being dry, we can notice a dry skin.
Setting the device to a low temperature can also reactivate us muscle or bone pain (intercostal punctures or joint pain) and can lead to cystitis.
You said it affects and skin. Is it normal skin or does it refer especially to people who suffer from certain skin conditions?
Even normal skin can become prone to allergies, dehydration, flaking if environmental factors attack its lipid layer and influence hydration, as does air conditioning (cold and dry air).
Do we risk “cold” paralysis only if we are directly in the air or it doesn’t matter the place, but rather the degrees?
Staying in direct air conditioning is totally contraindicated, especially when we are heated from the outside, because it can cause muscle, nerve or thermoregulatory damage.
These two elements intertwine and neither the state in the air conditioning nor low temperatures is recommended, especially for those who are known to be sensitive to cold.
How many degrees should we keep the air conditioning to avoid problems?
In principle, there should be no more than 10 degrees Celsius difference between the outside and the inside. My recommendation is not to lower the air conditioning temperature below 24 degrees Celsius even on hot days.
Is it advisable to turn off the air conditioning at night or can we leave it on?
If it is far from the bed, we can leave it on at a reasonable temperature of 24-25 degrees, which will ensure our thermal comfort.
What conditions do we risk when the air conditioning is not cleaned properly?
It gathers in the air conditioning bacteria and fungi that can affect the ENT sphere (eyes – conjunctivitis, ears – otitis, throat – pharyngitis, laryngitis, nose – sinusitis), lower respiratory tract and lungs.
The skin can suffer because fungi and spores can be allergenic.
The most prone are children and the elderly, because they have the most unstable immunity. Be sure to clean the air conditioning.
How long does it take to clean the air conditioning to make sure everything is in order?
Mandatory at the time of restart, if it has not been used for several months. It must be cleaned of dust every 2-3 days and if you have problems with allergies, clean it more often, at least once a month.
Does this time differ depending on the degrees?
It has nothing to do with degrees, but with the pace of use. The more often it is used and for a longer daily time, the more often it must be cleaned.
What useful advice can you give us for situations where we stay at least 8-9 hours in a room with air conditioning on?
Do not stay in direct airflow, do not lower the temperature below 24 degrees Celsius, and be careful to dust it and clean it at least once a month.
A study by biostatistician David Allison also showed that air conditioning promotes fattening, because the body no longer works to cool or heat the body and no longer consumes. calories. Can it be valid in our case, of the Romanians, or can it be applied only in the warm areas where the air conditioning is used continuously?
Yes, that’s right, thermoregulation is an important part of basal metabolism, which consumes calories to adapt and maintain a constant body temperature. Because we artificially maintain a constant ambient temperature, the thermoregulatory mechanism no longer comes into play, which means lower daily calorie consumption, which leads to a reduced basal metabolism.
Overlaid over a style of life sedentary and unhealthy food choices, it leads to growth in weight observed over generations.
It seems that this is one of the causes (small in scale, but with a large impact over time) that has led to the global increase in obesity in the world. The body no longer consumes calories to maintain a constant temperature.
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