If you have recently noticed your neighborhood has gotten much noisier at night, you are not imagining things. With summer having officially begun, millions of U.S. homes are now constantly awash in the hum of an air conditioning unit. These appliances are necessary not just for comfort, but may be absolutely essential for people living in the hottest climates. However, without the right maintenance, air conditioning units could cause health problems in certain people, including those with seasonal allergies.
"Air conditioning can cause allergy-like symptoms."
According to several physicians and allergy specialists who spoke with The New York Times, it's common for a wide range of people to experience allergy-like symptoms once the AC clicks on. The cause can be relatively innocuous in some cases – researchers noted that walking into a very cold and dry room is likely to make anyone's nose runny or stuffy. This is for the same reason that winter air can cause the same reaction, although people with allergies may have a more serious effect. The solution may be simply turning the AC down, or running a humidifier for a few minutes.
More severe and frequent reactions to an air conditioned room may indicate a maintenance issue. All air conditioning units should contain an air filter that blocks particles such as pollen, dust or mold spores from entering the indoor environment. But for maximum cooling efficiency, nearly all AC units simply cycle indoor air through the system at all times, rather than bringing in hotter outdoor air. The filter should continue to catch these particles, but like any air filter, they can become clogged and need to be cleaned or replaced regularly.
If allergic individuals experience symptoms while indoors, their first action should be to check the filter, and change it regularly. Most filters bought in a store will come with instructions on how to care for or replace them. In a window-mounted AC unit, these filters are usually removable and require cleaning every month or two. In centrally cooled systems, the filter is often replaced around every three months. This simple fix should alleviate the bulk of allergy symptoms.
Non-allergic air issues
However, there are some health concerns related to air conditioning systems that are not caused by allergens. One of the most serious is known as Legionnaires' disease, caused by bacteria that can proliferate in certain types of cooling systems. The most common culprit for Legionnaires' disease are cooling towers, which function as air conditioning systems in many large buildings, offices and hospitals, although some homes may use these systems as well.
Cooling towers work by exchanging heat from the indoors to the outside through water. Without regular maintenance, that water can become the host of Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires' disease. Legionnaires' can cause flu-like symptoms that persist much longer than a normal cold would, and need to be diagnosed with a chest x-ray. Certain individuals, including the elderly, people with chronic lung disease and people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to the disease. Treatment involves taking a regimen of antibiotics, and most people recover quickly. However, the CDC noted that 1 in 10 victims of Legionnaires may die due to the disease, making it a serious public health threat.
Here again, regular maintenance of cooling systems becomes essential to reducing health risks and indoor allergy symptoms. Homeowners may also consider professional testing for mold or other airborne contaminants that could be negatively impacting health.
