They are without a doubt the most sought after item in the summer, especially lately when the heat is wreaking havoc. During the summer, air conditioners sell like hot cakes. until they run out or have to wait more than a month for the installer to install it in the house and go from “hell” to being able to sleep at night. We cannot live without them and go to restaurants or shops. seeking to alleviate the suffocating temperature of the street. However, not all that glitters is gold. air conditioning can cause some discomfort associatedas experts warn.
Speech therapist at Vinalopo University Hospital in Elche, Elena Gras, Turning on the air conditioner status alert “Timbre, volume and voice quality”because “breathing the dry air that produces air conditioning, mucous membranes of the pharynx and larynx are resected“.
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These discomforts are due to the fact that dryness in the throat causes excessive throat coughing and coughing and it causes a sudden shock of the vocal cords, it can annoy them and change their voiceespecially the timbre and volume, as the speech therapist explained.
drastic changes
Gra also warns of sudden changes in temperature and its condition by voice. “The transition from high temperatures outside to the cool environment of an air-conditioned room can lead to inflammation of the pharynx which in turn creates voice quality change“, Explain. A sudden change in temperature outside and in the heated interior can lead to cold.
Similarly, the neurospeech therapist of the Ribera group, Martha Romero, Hospital Virgen de la Caridad in Cartagena. “The body has a natural system that regulates temperature and depends on the balance between heat production and heat transfer“, he assures. For this reason, it is important to be in places with adequate temperature “so that the throat does not suffer.”
These ailments in the pharynx and larynx are added to the fact that the air conditioner every fifth viral process occurs in summerAccording to the doctor Roberto ValdesHead of the Otorhinolaryngology Service at the Ribera Powis Hospital in Vigo, who notes that up to 20% of colds, laryngitis, pharyngitis and bronchitis at this time of the year are caused by air conditioning.
Doctor Lorraine Sanshead of the otorhinolaryngology service of the Torrejon Hospital, monitors that temperature fluctuations in closed rooms and high temperatures outside, as well as the abuse of air conditioning “Throat problems are worse during the hottest months of the year.”
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rhinitis and pneumonia
The neurologist of the Department of Traumatic Brain Injury of the Ribera Virgen de la Caridad Hospital (Cartagena) Marta Romero adds problems such as rhinitis, tonsillitis, cough and pneumonia associated with air conditioners. “Conditioning reduces the humidity of the environment and dries the throat, and improper use causes health problems,” says Romero, while Dr. Valdez recalls that “the hotter the air, the more moisture it passes through and the more dust, microbes or other types of organic matter accumulate in the filters.”
For this reason, they insist on the need clean the filters periodically because otherwise it favors irritation, inflammation or infection of the respiratory tract.
“Cold affects the body’s defenses and its ability to fight disease,” says a neurologist, who explains that viruses like the common cold spread more easily when the temperature in the nasal cavity is lower than in the lungs, i.e. about 36.5 degrees Celsiusnormal body temperature.
Dr. Valdez is of the same opinion. “On the one side, virus they can more easily survive and reproduce in dry and cold air, and on the other hand, in hot conditions, the cold at this time of the year makes people spend more time indoors, which makes it easier for viruses to spread indoors,” he added.
However, the head of otolaryngology reminds that although some laboratory studies show that low temperatures can reduce the effectiveness of immune cells, “It’s the viruses that cause disease, not the air temperature.”
So it is better to follow the advice of experts who recommend keeping the air temperature at least 24 degrees and avoiding sudden changes in temperature inside and out.
Tips on how to avoid trouble when installing a refrigerator: air at a temperature of 24 degrees.
Experts in the field of otorhinolaryngology and speech therapy of the Ribera Group, which manages the Vinalopo Hospital, recommend Adjust the air temperature according to the environment (about 24°), avoid sleep with air conditioning (or never below 25-26°C) and maintain a good humidity in the environment (from 40% to 60%).
In addition, they advise clean the filters regularly to avoid the accumulation of pollen and mites, moisturize properly, drink 2 to 3 liters of water, avoid throat lolling (if dryness in the throat is noted, it is advisable to drink water), perform nasal lavage avoid mouth breathing and limit direct exposure to air conditioners, especially vents.
The heated room should not be a freezer.