Sick? Your Air Conditioning Could be the Cause

Is your air conditioning making you and your family sick? 

For many, air conditioning is the embodiment of comfort living, particularly in the summer months when the heat index can be unbearable.  But could your air conditioning be causing more harm than good? 

According to the Director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University in Wales, Professor Rob Eccles, exposing the body to extreme temperatures could actually make you sick. 

 Here's Why: 

As warm blooded animals, the human body's optimal temperature is around 98 degrees Fahrenheit. In extreme cold environments the body will fight to maintain this body temperature.

Cold temperatures cause blood vessels
 to  constrict and diminish number 
of white blood cells.

One of the body's defense mechanisms against the cold is the thermal regulator in the brain. As soon as it receives a message from the temperature sensors in the skin, the blood vessels are alerted to constrict. This immediately causes a person's skin to become ashen or mottle, which is quickly followed by shivering in order to generate heat to raise the body temperature. 

As a result, the blood vessels in the nose and throat, both of which are favorite locations for bacteria and viruses to hide, will constrict therefore limiting blood flow. 

As the blood flow diminishes, the white blood cells that typically fight bacteria and viruses do too. This allows these dormant risks to develop in to colds. Low blood flow to the throat means that there isn't enough white blood cells to ward off infection. 

Sweating exacerbates the problem because it keeps the body colder. This makes it more of a challenge for the body to maintain its optimal temperature. 

Going from hot to cold environments could put
you at risk for a cold. 

Professor Eccles emphasizes that a cold will only develop if the bacteria or virus is already present in the body.  

This phenomenon occurs when going from a hot environment to a cold atmosphere not the other way around. Though, Professor Eccles recommends limiting the number of times you go from a cold environment to the hot outside as when your body acclimates to the heat and steps back inside the chilling cycle will begin again. 

This article was derived from the headline "Does Going from Hot to Cold Cause Colds?" which appeared on August 20, 2013, in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal.