Be careful when using air conditioner

In recent days, the weather in many provinces and cities across the country has been hot and dry, causing many people to suffer from respiratory diseases... Using air conditioners incorrectly can easily lead to respiratory diseases.

Mr. VH (35 years old, living in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City) went to the hospital for examination with symptoms of headache, sinus pain, runny nose, and continuous sneezing.

The results of the nasopharyngeal endoscopy showed that his nasal mucosa was swollen and there was little mucus in his nasal passages. The doctor diagnosed him with acute sinusitis, and he was treated with internal medicine and returned for follow-up.

Mr. H. said he has had sinusitis for two years now and often sits in the air-conditioned office for 8 hours straight at a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius. At night, he also sleeps in an air-conditioned room at around 25 degrees Celsius.

Doctor Ho Ton Phuong Nga - Deputy Head of the Department of Pediatric Health Care, Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital - said that the use of air conditioners is very necessary in the current extreme weather.

When using air conditioning, keep the temperature moderate. The temperature difference between the outside environment and the room should not exceed 10 degrees Celsius.

For example, the outside temperature is about 37 - 38 degrees Celsius, the room temperature should be set at 26 - 27 degrees Celsius, for children the temperature should not be below 20 degrees Celsius.

“If the temperature difference between the environment and the room is too large, the respiratory system will be disrupted, creating favorable conditions for diseases, flu, and pneumonia to recur…”, said Dr. Nga.

Doctor Truong Quang Anh Vu - Head of the Examination Department, Thong Nhat Hospital (HCMC) - said that in the hot season, the elderly and children are the group of people who suffer from many diseases and are more likely to become seriously ill when the weather changes to be too hot or too cold.

Some common diseases that easily get worse in the elderly during hot weather include: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial ischemia, high blood pressure, stroke, myocardial infarction, etc.

Especially note that in hot season every family has a steam fan, air conditioner, however, be careful if suddenly going out when the room temperature and the ambient temperature are too different, it can lead to heat shock or dizziness.

Therefore, before going from a low temperature environment, you should sit in a cool area first to let your body adapt, then go outside.

Note that sinusitis can easily recur when using air conditioner incorrectly.

Doctor Truong Tri Tuong - ENT center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - said that when the air conditioner is turned on, the air in the room will lose its natural humidity, become too dry, body temperature will decrease, causing an imbalance in the body's adaptive thermogenesis.

This is an ideal condition for bacteria and viruses to attack, causing respiratory diseases, especially sinusitis, and worsening the symptoms of the disease.

Too dry air also dries out the nasal mucosa, affecting the ability of the sinuses to clean, increasing the risk of sinusitis recurrence.

Doctor Tuong noted that people with sinusitis who use air conditioning in hot weather should not set the temperature low (15 - 16 degrees Celsius), should only set the room temperature at about 26 - 27 degrees Celsius, should not change the air conditioning temperature suddenly, should not enter the air-conditioned room immediately after being outside in the sun, and should clean the air conditioner regularly.

Patients can increase humidity or add moisture to rooms using air conditioning by placing a basin of water or using a humidifier...

To feel more comfortable when using air conditioning regularly, patients should drink enough water (2 liters/day) to help the body avoid dehydration, this also helps thin mucus, making it easier to clear the airways.