It started with the spring season coming upon us and temperatures rising a bit. Closed were the windows and on was the air conditioner (a/c). Just a few days later, I started discovering a painful sore in my nose but I didn’t think much of it. I did notice, however, that it got especially painful in the morning and I woke up with blocked sinus. This went on for two weeks until I hit the beach where there was no a/c and I noticed my sinus and sore getting far better. The first night back home it was back to stuffed noses and painful sore again.

Finally, and this realization should have happened a while back, I put two and two together and realized it was actually the a/c that’s giving me the allergies and sores. I started noticing that the minute I get into the car and turn the a/c on the symptoms are aggravated. Now because I feel a certain solidarity with any fellow allergy-sufferer, and because a/cs are crucial in our dear Cairo — it isn’t exactly comfortable to sleep in a puddle of your own sweat — this is what you can do to minimize allergic effects of the a/c for the summer season.

1. Clean the filters: If you have pets this is especially important. Your filter needs cleaning every year, before the a/c season starts you need to clean the filter, you can do so yourself or call in the maintenance people. It is a simple procedure that will ensure that there are no bacteria, pollens, chemicals from perfumes or dog hair stuck in the filter that the air you breathe passes through.

2. Keep temperatures at 23 degrees celsius: If the temperature is too cold it will irritate your mucus and sinus and might cause sores or allergies. It is also important not to turn the a/c on immediately as you come home from the blistering heat, allow your body to cool down for 10 minutes first before you stick your head inside your a/c.

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