Why does air-conditioning disease occur?

The hot summer has arrived, and air conditioning has become a standard feature of many families. As the saying goes, "air conditioning, wifi, watermelon, the same sofa as Ge You, when the sun sets, I just lie down on it." Having an air conditioner seems to be a great happiness in life.

However, the impact of air conditioning on health is often easily overlooked. Especially those who stay in air-conditioned rooms for a long time, they probably feel it deeply. After all, backache, dizziness and fatigue will treat everyone fairly, and this is the symptom called "air conditioning disease". Why does air conditioning disease exist, and what are the reasons behind it?

01. Microbial problems that are easily overlooked

Air conditioners also have microorganisms? Many people may have doubts, but if I tell you about this path, you may get it.

First, let’s talk about the source: Airborne microorganisms are something that is easily overlooked by many people, but they do exist. If you think about diseases that are transmitted through the air, you will have a general idea of ​​what they are. In fact, there are a large number of microbial species in the air that are resistant to drier environments and ultraviolet rays, which have become an important source of infection [1].

The air conditioner must rely on the outdoor unit during the cooling process, so the outdoor unit of the air conditioner becomes a huge microorganism collection container. A large number of microorganisms will gather on the air conditioner.

The second is enrichment: air conditioners are also good microbial "petri dishes". The temperature of air conditioners is generally around 24-30℃, and the humidity is not low. This kind of environment with suitable temperature and humidity is a good condition for microbial reproduction. As a result, air conditioners have become a major breeding ground for microorganisms.

For example, the following figure shows the microscopic structure of bacteria in an air conditioning system. We can see that they include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Neisseria [2]

In addition, there are fungi

Just imagine, if you breathe in so many microorganisms, it would be disastrous.

It is especially noteworthy that if the air conditioner has not been turned on for a long time, the microorganisms in the air conditioner cannot be ignored. After all, they have accumulated for a long time, and many families do not have the habit of cleaning the air conditioner. As a result, the pollutants in the air conditioner increase, and once they are blown out and inhaled, people with weak constitutions are easily infected.

Because of this, many air conditioners are currently working on sterilization. However, air conditioners are constantly improving. For example, when I saw one last year, there was an air conditioner with an automatic cleaning function. I demonstrated it on site and it was really good.

02. Cold wind blowing directly

When it comes to air conditioning, the most commonly used action must be "blowing the air conditioner". Yes, the air conditioner pushes the air flow through the compressor to lower the temperature. The basic adjustments on the remote control are temperature and wind speed. When the temperature is set, the higher the wind speed, the better the cooling effect is.

Especially at noon or after get off work in the afternoon, I really want to turn the air conditioner to the lowest temperature. However, this drastic temperature change is not so wonderful for some people with weaker bodies. In fact, the air conditioning wind directly causes the change of our body's temperature. If the temperature drops sharply in a short period of time, it may cause the body's temperature maintenance system to fail to respond in time, and the autonomic nervous system will be disordered, which will cause people to begin to experience corresponding discomfort symptoms, such as headaches, dizziness, nasal congestion and sneezing.

It is worth mentioning that rapid temperature changes may also cause more serious conditions, namely facial paralysis. I believe many people have heard that "facial paralysis is easy to occur when using air conditioning", and this phenomenon is acute idiopathic peripheral facial nerve paralysis, also known as Bell's palsy. Currently, there are many studies describing the association between using air conditioning and Bell's palsy [3]. Although there is no definite mechanism research at present, it is generally believed that this may be caused by the large temperature changes during the air conditioning process. Therefore, although air conditioning is good, you can't use it arbitrarily. Blowing cold air directly is also the second common cause of air conditioning disease.

Therefore, how to make the air conditioning wind softer and "like a spring breeze" is also very technical. At present, many manufacturers have been committed to this aspect, and some have been launched on the market.

Perhaps friends see that air conditioners are becoming more and more advanced in design, with more and more functions and more and more humanized. Will the power consumption increase dramatically? Hey, don't worry, now air conditioners are really very cost-effective, first-class energy saving, and can fully meet your needs.

Good air conditioners can not only improve the comfort of air conditioning, but also be more energy-efficient, support low-carbon actions through practical actions, and make a contribution to ecological restoration in distant places.

[1]Zhai, Yunbo, et al. "A review on airborne microorganisms in particulate matters: composition, characteristics and influence factors." Environment international 113 (2018): 74-90.

[2] Pan Pingping, Deng Kaiye, Guan Fuhua, Ding Lixing. Analysis of microbial species and temperature and humidity control in air conditioning systems[J]. Environmental Science and Technology, 2014, 37(04): 85-89.

[3] Zhang W, Xu L, Luo T, et al. The etiology of Bell's palsy: a review[J]. Journal of Neurology, 2019.