Health Defects of Excessive Air Conditioner Exposure

What Causes Lower Back Pain?

Lower back pain can result from muscle and tendon strain. It can also be caused by certain health conditions or diseases like arthritis, body structural problems, and various disk injuries. Also, lower back pain can range from mild to severe. Some back pain conditions can make walking, sleeping, working, or doing other daily activities completely impossible. Usually, lower back pain gets better with rest, pain relievers, and physical therapy (PT). Cortisone injections and hands-on treatments (like osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation) can relieve pain and help the healing process. Some back injuries and conditions require surgical repair.

How Common Is Lower back Pain 

Lower back pain is a common health issue. About five people have lower back problems at some point in their lives. However, the following categories of people are more likely to have back pain than others.

Age: People over 30 years of age are prone to back pain, and this is because the soft, rubber-like tissue that cushions the bones in the spine wears away and loses its grip after some years of age. Therefore, as the disk weakens and wears down, the lower back area stiffness occurs, resulting in pain.

Weight: Your spine does spectacularly carrying your upper body and helping you stand erect. Now imagine it has to deal with excessive weight all the time. Hence, people who are obese are quite prone to lower back ache- they have to carry extra weight the whole time, exposing their backs to joint and disk pressure.

Weakened Abonominal Muscles: You probably didn’t know this, but a chiseled core serves more functions than that summer body physique. It also prevents lower back ache. A strong abdominal muscle can assist/support the spine when it comes to lifting your upper body. Still, when you have an excessively large stomach, your abdominal muscles are weakened, and your spine has to bear all your upper body burden alone- this can cause it to ache. Some factors that can cause weak abdominal muscles are excessive alcohol consumption and smoking.

Occupation and Lifestyle: Jobs and activities that require heavy lifting or bending can increase the risk of a back injury.

Structural problems and Disease: Severe back pain can result from conditions like scoliosis that change spine alignment. Furthermore, people with a family history of osteoarthritis, certain types of cancer, and other diseases have a higher risk of low back pain. 

Symtoms of lower back pain

The symptoms of lower back pain can appear anytime. It may be triggered by strenuous activity or appear without knowing how it came about.

Pain may be sharp, dull, and achy, radiating to your bottom or down the back of your legs (sciatica). If you strain your back during an activity, you may hear a “pop” when it happens. Pain is often worse in certain positions (like bending over) and gets better when lying down.

Other symptoms of lower back pain: Many people with lower back issues find it difficult to stand upright because they feel an ache when they do. Hence, their posture is often bent, with their torso off to the side rather than aligned with the spine. 

Muscle spasms: Strain causes lower back issues, and when this strain happens, you’ll feel the muscles in the lower back contracting uncontrollably.  Muscle spasms can cause extreme pain and make it difficult or impossible to stand, walk or move.

Stiffness: You may experience a decreased range of motion and some stiffness on your back when you have lower back problems. In this situation, moving or straightening the back may be tough.

The Dangerous Effects Of Excessive Use Of an Air Conditioner. 

The frequent exposure to conditioned ventilation provided by an air conditioner unit is almost inevitable in our daily lives- there are garage air conditioners, as well as tent air conditioners, and these are place you least expect to find them.  It has become a normal part of our lives, so normal that we need it for every activity in an enclosed space. This necessity for an artificially conditioned environment is even more pronounced during the summer months. Air conditioning is an important tool for improving the comfort level in our home. Moreover, on a sunny day, it can be very useful to keep the interior of our car at a reasonable temperature. It is used in shopping centers, malls, and public transport systems.

Also, staying Too Much in Air Conditioning can Affect your Health: Know How

Air conditioning has become a normal part of our lives. It is available in almost every activity we undertake in an enclosed space. During the warmer summer months, we may spend most of our time in artificially controlled environments. Melbourne has been experiencing some very hot summer days.

On a sunny day, it can be very useful for keeping the interior of our car at a reasonable temperature. We anticipate that it will be used to cool the shopping centers we visit. We expect it to be air-conditioned if we use public transport, such as buses, planes, taxis, and trains. We may even put on an extra layer of clothes if we go to the cinema because the temperature is usually very cool.

Our work environment usually has a central air conditioning system that cools the whole building. We may even find that we cannot open the windows to let outside air in. It has been identified that a cool working environment can enhance performance. 

There may be several benefits experienced from the use of an air conditioner. The benefits will be treated in the next topic, but first, we will examine some of its side effects.

Lethargy

Research has shown that unexplained sluggishness can occur in people with air conditioners in their homes or offices. I think this is largely because air conditioners put one’s body in a state of comfort. Hence there is no readiness to get to work. This state worsens when the air conditioner is set to a very low temperature. The best way to solve this problem and feel more ready to work is to get out of the air conditioning regularly or set the air conditioner on a high-temperature level.

Dehydration

Excessive exposure to an artificially conditioned environment may cause skin and body dehydration, which is why- An air conditioning system will dry out the surrounding air. The air in the room passes over the condenser, which will cool it down. As it cools down, the water vapor in the air also cools and forms water droplets. This water accumulates on the condenser and is allowed to flow outside the system. This is great if you live in an environment with high humidity and want to reduce the moisture level in the air. But if you spend a lot of time in dry air, it can also potentially dry you out.

Dry Or Itchy Skin

Now, because of the dehumidified air produced by an air conditioner system, there is a high possibility that one experiences symptoms like dryness of skin and itchy skin. Skin dryness can often be associated with dehydration but can also be attributed to other factors. Skin dryness and itch; the itch particularly can be caused by contaminants in the air of a building. These may not be obvious and may be caused by the air conditioning system not functioning as well as it should be or the air not being replenished regularly and allowing volatile chemicals to build up. Itchy skin problems are often attributed to this as well as chemical sensitivity.

Headaches 

Headaches can result from spending too much time in an environment where the air is conditioned. Headache felt in an air-conditioned room boils down to the fact that the air released in that air conditioner is dehumidified, releasing dry air. When the surrounding air is dry, dehydration takes place. When the fluid levels in the body are below optimal levels, the brain can temporarily contract or shrink as a consequence, triggering a pain response in the membrane surrounding the brain. The same dehydration we speak of can significantly raise the possibility of reduced blood flow to the brain. In fact, blood flow in other body parts is significantly slowed down too, and all of these can cause a catastrophic reaction.

Other impacts caused by dehydration may be impairment of the ability to concentrate and increased irritation levels. Dehydration headaches have also been shown to be a potential precursor for migraines, and it has been suggested that dehydration may prolong the period of a migraine attack. Hydrating regularly with water or herb teas will ensure you do not become dehydrated.

Is it possible to have back pain due to an air conditioner?

Generally, extreme coldness causes back pain. The scientific community has reinforced this claim by conducting several tests in colder environments, and it is established that cold temperatures can cause back pains. As noted by spine clinics, a 2012 study examined a large group of almost 135,000 construction workers who spent most of their day in the cold. It was discovered that these construction workers reported more instances of neck and back pain when compared to workers that worked indoors for the majority of the day. Furthermore, colder seasons cause swelling, while cold weather can result in tightened areas around your spine. 

By and large, to answer the question of whether or not exposure to an air-conditioning system can lead to back aches, it logically follows that the answer is in the affirmative. Let us use some deductive reasoning here: Air Conditioners create a cold temperature that can get cold. In the same progression, excessive exposure to cold weather results to back pain. This then adds that excessive use of Air Conditioners undoubtedly causes back pain. 

What to Do About Back Pain During Cold Weather

Now that it is confirmed that cold weather produced by an air conditioning system is capable of causing back pain.

• If possible, raise the temperature in your home until you’re comfortable. You could also purchase a heated blanket and keep it around the muscles that hurt when it’s cold. Wrapping up in extra layers can also help keep your back from getting cold. 
• Exercise can help improve the circulation of blood around your body which is especially important when it’s cold. Working out for 15 to 30 minutes per day is a great way to keep your circulation going, and even a simple 5-minute workout can warm up your body and get your blood going.
• You can also turn up the temperature of your air conditioner. This is an easy fix as it even helps you save the amount of watts that your appliance uses. 
• Lastly, make sure you’re covering your back whenever you go outside. Cold air can seep through the underside of your jacket or even around your neck, so make sure you’re wearing a scarf and zipping up your jacket or coat to prevent cold air from reaching your back. Even the best appliances can cause some isues but that is a way to cure its defects.

FAQs

What are the side effects of using an Air Conditioner?

Despite the numerous benefits discoverable in the use of an Air Conditioner, it is possible to find some attending disadvantages. Air conditioners, especially when they are at a low temperature, can cause the flow of blood in the body to be stiffened, resulting in headaches, especially when they can easily flow into the head. It can also cause the muscles around your spine to shrink, leading to lower back pain. Similarly, air conditioners and/or cold temperatures generally make you severely lethargic and unready for work.

What are the benefits of using Air Conditioners?

One of the numerous benefits of an Air Conditioning system is that it paralyzes insects, creating an environment difficult to operate. Not many know this, but your air conditioning reduces the number of insects and parasites. These pesky critters aren’t only annoying to deal with and can transmit diseases. Also, air conditioners reduce the risk of dehydration-You are not likely to sweat under a low temperature. Hence, air conditioners drop the temperature, making you sweat less, so the water inside your body remains.