Air conditioning causes colds?

Elessar

So I've had my new car with air conditioning for two weeks now and I am after developing a horrible cold (blocked sinuses). It's crazy because I have only had one recently and on top of that I have hayfever. Whenever I'm in the car I always have the A/c on as it's good for the system and helps the climate control do it's job. I have heard before that a/c causes colds in most people - I assume this is true?

If so, does one get used to it, or am I always likely to suffer horrible sinus problems with it?

rebel.ranter

I friend of mine suffers badly with hayfever & blocked sinuses. He was constantly sneezing & blocked up after getting out of the car for extended periods.
I recommended using one of those air conditioning cleaning canisters & then changing the pollen filters (there are 2 in a e39 5 series).
After this was done you could see a huge difference!

jhegarty

Its going from the hot outside the car, to cold inside that causes it....

crosstownk

The common cold is a virus. Air conditioning has little to do with whether or not you catch a cold. I'd say it's most likely coincidence that you caught a cold at the same time as you began using airconditioning.

However, some people, when exposed to air conditioners, can develop rhinitis or other respiratory symptoms due to relatively large changes in air temperature and humidity.

Balfa

crosstownk wrote:

The common cold is a virus. Air conditioning has little to do with whether or not you catch a cold. I'd say it's most likely coincidence that you caught a cold at the same time as you began using airconditioning.

However, some people, when exposed to air conditioners, can develop rhinitis or other respiratory symptoms due to relatively large changes in air temperature and humidity.

Very true. It could also be that the new car may not have as good a cabin air filter as the old car? Allergens could explain it, then.

The idea isn't that air conditioning causes colds... It's that it spreads colds. And generally only in the context of workplace air conditioning & ventilations systems where circulating air around the building is supposed to inevitably also circulate any bad stuff in the air around the building. I doubt that's really a problem though. People get colds by touching hands (or doorknobs etc. used by hands) of infected people and then touching their face around their eyes or nose.

But, as crosstownk pointed out, there's a whole lot of stuff out there that causes cold symptoms than just rhinovirii.

Finally, as for the a/c being "good for the system" and helping climate control... wha? If the cabin's too hot for you with the vent open and the fan blowing, turn on the a/c. If it's not, leave it off, or you're just wasting fuel.

Borzoi

crosstownk wrote:

The common cold is a virus. Air conditioning has little to do with whether or not you catch a cold. I'd say it's most likely coincidence that you caught a cold at the same time as you began using airconditioning.
.

Most likely coincidence too.

However...

All airconditioning dries the air. Which has the potential to dry the respiratory tract, making you more liable to viral infection. So drink plenty of fluids whne you're driving etc