Stay Healthy WITHOUT Airconditioning

  

How many of us can do without airconditioning?  Not possible in a dry and humid climate like Singapore.  It is no longer a luxury but a necessity in our daily life whether in our working place or home.  In fact, majority of us know that airconditioning is bad for the health, and contributes to medical problems like cough, cold, asthma, sinus, dry skin and eyes but simply cannot live without it.

(1)  Respiratory infections

When exposed suddenly to cold and dry air, the lining of the nose becomes irritated and inflamed, and starts to produce mucus.  This nasal congestion problem can extend with mucus dripping into the throat and induce a cough to expel it.  However, if the irritant is not removed, bacteria moves in to thrive on the stagnant fluid.  Excessive amount can cause an infection. People with sensitive nose or nasal allergies are prone to this problem.

Asthma patients also experience attack in such an environment.  This happens when sensitive airways react to a trigger factor like cold and dry air by tightening and becoming inflamed, causing coughing, wheezing and breathing difficulties. Those sufferers should take their medications regularly to minimise the risk of irritation and symptoms.

Not forgetting that aircondition unit itself is a fertile ground for breeding mold and bacteria, such as legionella, responsible for fatal pneumonia.  Just by inhaling the mist of water vapour emitting from the aircon is good enough to introduce harmful bacteria into the body.  This is how the ‘sick building syndrome’ comes about when harmful bacteria get trapped into an aircon unit and travel far and wide in a building sharing a common aircon system spreading its contagious effect.

Advice is to service the airconditioning unit every 3 months, and apply a chemical wash or disinfect yearly.

(2)  Skin woes

Reduced humidity in an aircon space promotes drier skin as the dry air blowing out absorbs moisture from the skin.  The external irritants worsen certain skin conditions like dry skin, eczema and ichthyosis (dry and scaly).  Hence, prolonged exposure to dry air can result in faster degeneration of body cells, causing wrinkle formation and premature aging.  Oil secreted by the sebaceous glands that lubricates the surface of the skin and protects the moisture in the cells is ‘scraped off’ exposing them to the thin air resulting in evaporation.  This results in sagging cells losing the elasticity, radiance and plump-up features.

Advice is to apply moisturiser on the skin 2-3 times a day.

(3)  Dry eyes

Constant exposure to airconditioning leads to faster evaporation of tears, resulting in eye discomfort and fatigue, and blurring of vision.

Use artificial tear eye drops if your eyes are feeling dry.

(4)  Cost savings

Huge savings if you turned off the airconditioning.  Switching to an electric fan can save as much as 90% of the utility bill.  On extremely hot weather, you can turn on the aircon but use an air humidifier to make the air less dry.

Conclusion

For the betterment of our planet, conservation of energy is a prerogative for everyone.  We should help to reduce the amount of fossil fuels burnt to produce energy and the volume of greenhouses gases generated, including carbon dioxide, which are released during the burning process.

Source:  ST Mind your Body, Mar 31, 2011

VIVA corner

Taking VIVAShield helps to strengthen and protect the skin tissue as it contains potent antioxidants that neutralises free radicals.

VIVA Omega 3 helps to replace the oil on the skin lost from the damage caused by long exposure to dry air.

VIVA Refresh detoxifying toner and Rejuvenate Mask can help to restore the healthy tone to the damaged skin by adding moisture, coenzyme 10 and collagen to the hungry and thirsty cells.