air conditioning

[fishing81]

while we were on holiday in Turkey we both got nasty coughs,the only thing we did that we dont normally do was use the air con in the hotel.Do they have to be serviced and could that be the cause of our coughs if it wasn't

[bednobs]

i am not sure about health and safety laws in turkey, sorry. I would say it's more likely to be the recycled air you're breathing on the plane

[rojash]

Here in Greece, it's pretty much accepted that Aircon can cause you to cough, but it's usually caused by the fact that you are breathing super-dry air, rather than infection. Self contained air conditioners, are just fan-assisted heat-exchangers.

[owdhamer]

A lot of air con units double up as heaters, and poorly fitted and maintained units will cause ill health

[hc4361]

Could be, the dry air could certainly aggravate your chest and throat.
Just as likely to be bednobs suggestion, or you could even have caught a bug before you went on holiday

[237SJ]

The only illness I`ve heard of that`s caused by air con is Legionnaires and it`s probably not that! If you are going down with a bug anyway, it can be really exacerbated by dry air. There is a really chesty cold going around at the moment.

[rojash]

"The only illness I`ve heard of that`s caused by air con is Legionnaires "
That's caused by an entirely different form of air conditioning which involves large quantities of water (which can become contaminated). The type found in most hotels and apartments is pretty similar to the heat exchanger found in your fridge.

[237SJ]

I agree but I still don`t think air conditioning will give you any infections. It will just exacerbate an infection that one is harbouring.

[fishing81]

thanks everyone for your input,still having coughing fits but getting less frequent