Sometimes air conditioning can compromise your respiratory health, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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For many people air conditioning is important for alleviating symptoms of chronic respiratory disease, but Johns Hopkins lung health expert William Checkley says it’s still necessary to be aware of how AC can impact on the function of your respiratory system.

Checkley: Excess use of air conditioning can lead to irritation of the respiratory tract and then it also affects the way that the respiratory tract protects us by drying up mucus. It can also lead to problems in the way that the respiratory tract holds on to air allergens and particles that are being breathed in. It is great for cooling systems but you also need to condition our air conditioning. We need to make sure that there's a proper maintenance of your air conditioning systems. That means using filters and if you can you can use HEPA filters and you need to replace them regularly.   :32

Checkley says once yearly replacement of filters is the minimum but twice a year, after the heating season is over and after the air conditioning season concludes is a better interval. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.