Do Americans get sick because of AC often?

40 comments

1. …no man. What are you talking about?

2. Nope, I literally sleep with it every night and no issues, my god you foreigners……

3. Why would AC make you sick?

4. What? No. Dumb question. Why would you get sick from AC?

   I guess it makes sense that Europe is in the dark ages about AC with questions like this.

   Of course we don’t get sick from AC, we all have bottles of gypsy tears around our neck and eat potions made of crow blood to fend of disease.

5. People don’t get sick because of air conditioning.

   Not having air conditioning on very hot and humid days may be hazardous to people’s health, however.

6. Like Legionnaires disease? Not many at all. It’s extremely rare. There’s only [25,000 cases per year](https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/legionellosis/fact_sheet.htm#:~:text=How%20widespread%20is%20Legionnaires'%20disease,occur%20sporadically%20and%20in%20outbreaks.), and you can’t attribute all of that to improperly cleaned AC since thats only one of several ways to get Legionnaires. There’s no other disease that is directly linked to air conditioning.

7. What’s up with these questions today?

8. Why would AC make Americans sick?

9. I’m curious why you think that would even be a thing. Please elaborate.

10. Why would I get sick from it? Also it is 97 degrees today (36C) so you better believe I’ve been running it today lol.

11. I feel like significantly more Americans would get sick or even die from lack of air conditioning compared to the inverse.

12. What does AC have to do with getting sick?

13. No? It is currently 30 C outside and it’s almost 6 p.m. My AC broke one summer and those 2 weeks were hell

14. Not that I know of. If anything, in some parts of the country the unrelenting heat/humidity has a much greater chance of making you ill.

    I noticed your flair – my Polish coworker is a strong believer in AC leading to sickness. Is this a belief commonly held by Poles?

15. No. Air conditioning doesn’t promote disease as long as the units are properly maintained.

16. Colds are caused by viruses, not AC. If people are getting sick on vacation the more likely cause is exposure to viruses while traveling. They may also stay up later, drink more alcohol or do other things that impact the immune system and make it harder to resist a cold virus.

    It isn’t the AC.

17. With all due respect, what the fuck lol

18. never. In my own home, I set it to 73 or 74. Hotels and some stores have it down at 70 but never in there long enough.

19. AC doesn’t cause sickness.

    Wash your hands.

20. No, our country is absolutely boiling in the summer. We’d see a lot die without it lol.

21. AC has no effect on my health. It keeps my home comfortable in the summer.

22. I saw a TikTok about this-American living in France, she said they don’t use AC much because they all believe it makes you sick. I think it’s related to the AC drying the air out. She said some people will use an AC unit, but also a humidifier. Not sure if this is the same for central air (which most Americans have, few French have,) or window or wall units.

23. No. AC does not cause illness.

24. My favorite part of this is remembering all the shit i took once in the past when I said that I find it funny that Europeans think air conditioning makes you sick…

25. > often get colds and fevers on vacations **because they excessively use AC in hotels**

    Complete nonsense.

26. If you live in central NC around this time of year, it is pretty much essential to HAVE AC and at least a fan or two going whenever you’re inside. The humidity is horrific

27. Living in the southwest, I only have to use it for a few months. So no it, although I have overheated and passed out because I didn’t have it!

28. in many parts of the country, there would be mass amounts of health issues and death if there was no AC. it helps us stay safe. it doesn’t make you sick.

29. I feel like the people that get sick from AC, don’t clean/change their filters often enough. The same people that likely would set their house on fire with lint buildup in the dryer.

30. This is interesting. I don’t get sick but if I leave it on at night I sometimes wake up feeling congested.

31. No, just like [fan death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death) – the idea of getting sick from being ‘cold rooms’ is 100% bullshit.

    The reason you’re more likely to get sick in the winter is because people produce more ‘snot’ when it’s cold, then touch their face and other *things*.

    If you want to reduce your risk of getting sick, you wash your hands. Simple as that.

32. That isn’t real.

33. There’s no evidence that cold air increases your risk of getting a cold. That’s an urban myth. Cold’s are a virus that is commonly spread in situations where you are encountering a lot of strangers in close quarters (aka, air travel). It isn’t the AC making people sick, it’s the traveling. It helps that people traveling are often drinking a lot of alcohol and not getting a lot of sleep, which increases vulnerability to viruses.

    The kind of health risk that you see from over use of AC is hypothermia, but at the temperatures that typical indoor AC is held to, that isn’t a problem. You might see some buildings run into it if their heat is not powerful enough in the winter, but not with AC in the summer. I actually sometimes have trouble sleeping when hotel AC can’t get cold enough.

34. The only time I have ever heard of people getting sick from air conditioning is due to mold growing in the A/C. I was told that this is more of a problem with old portable or window units.

35. Who in the world told you that garbage?

36. AC use should actually improve indoor air quality due to filtration (assuming you put a decent filter in your AC system). It does make the air drier, but this is normally fine and desired in humid climates. In drier climates, or if you’re sensitive to dry air, it may be a good idea to get a humidifier.

37. Is this like South Koreans believing fans being on overnight will kill you? Air conditioning doesn’t make you sick, unless the filter’s full of mildew or something. That’s an old wives tale. Being around a bunch of other people in a new environment can, though, very easily.

38. Colds are caused by a virus not by temperature. It doesn’t matter where you are from.

39. This is not directed at OP at all, but why do Europeans act like they’re so scientifically enlightened but then reject basic germ theory in place of thinking cold air causes infections

40. Doc here.

    Just FYI: Being in a cold place generally doesn’t make you sick. There are some who believe that spending a long time in cold weather (not just cooler room temperature) can knock down your immune system a bit. But we’re talking much colder here than what people set their indoors at (21-24°C).

    Usually the reason people get sick in the “cold” is because, during that time of year, people are more likely to be inside where it’s more crowded and viruses are more likely to spread from one person to another. Cold weather can also trigger sneezing and coughing, which will spread whatever you have much more readily. Again here, not talking AC-level cold. I’m talking winter-level cold.

    Air conditioners ***can*** harbor mold and mildew and potentially other fungi. This can cause allergies in some people and, without a really good filter, it can be harmful for people who have bad immune systems. But otherwise it’s harmless and only noticed by that mildly musty smell we associate with the beginning of summer (the first time you turn your AC on it can be rife with mildew).