Summer has passed, yet the heat lingers well into autumn, and the air conditioning stays on. But while we enjoy the comfort of these artificial climates, our health is quietly under siege — and the threat of “air conditioning disease” is insidious, doing its damage without us even noticing.
Put simply: if you spend more than eight hours a day in an air-conditioned room, there is a 99.99% chance you will develop air conditioning disease.
The immediate symptoms may seem mild — dizziness, fatigue, sneezing, cold hands and feet, perhaps even catching a cold.
But the real danger lies in the hidden damage. These injuries don’t surface right away. After accumulating over time, they erupt in other forms — you suddenly find yourself with chronic rhinitis, asthma, joint pain, waking up groggy, or a body that feels stiff all over.
Some people experience deeper changes in their constitution: women may develop irregular periods, dysmenorrhea, or unexplained weight gain. Others develop a kind of psychological dependency — they feel physically miserable without air conditioning.
From the perspective of Chinese medicine, this is a classic presentation of intermingled cold and heat in the body.
As the veteran TCM physician Li Ke put it: air conditioning creates alternating layers of heat and cold on the body, layer upon layer — and once enough accumulates, problems arise.
Western medicine struggles to treat air conditioning disease. Chinese medicine, however, has a straightforward approach.
First, raise the body’s Yang qi. Whether through Ge Gen, Gui Zhi, and Ma Huang, or through Fu Zi, Xi Xin, and Gan Jiang — the choice depends on individual constitution.
Second, resolve the trapped heat. Air conditioning disease almost always involves stagnated heat, and clearing it requires finesse. One cannot simply use bitter-cold herbs — the key is to clear heat while maintaining flow. Using acrid-cool medicinals is the way to do this safely.
Third, reduce your reliance on air conditioning. Get outdoors during cooler parts of the day. Don’t rely solely on artificial power to fight against natural rhythms — your body will not thank you for it.
So, air conditioning disease can both be prevented and cured — if you understand the principles behind it.
中文原文 / Chinese Original
夏季已经过去，入秋以来，天气依然炎热，空调还是停不下来。然而，人类在享受舒适的人造空间的同时，健康也受到了极大地威胁，尤其是空调病的威胁，可谓是潜移默化，伤人于无形之中。
可以很简单的说，如果一天在空调房间内呆了8小时以上，有99.99%的可能性患上空调病。
空调病的直观症状可能很简单，头晕，乏力，打喷嚏，手脚发凉，甚至感冒等等。
但是，空调病会对健康做出潜在的伤害，这些损伤在当时不会显现，积累一定时间之后就会以其他方式爆发，例如：
突然发现自己得了鼻炎、哮喘、关节疼痛、早上睡不醒、浑身僵硬等等。
还有一些人群的体质会发生变化，比如说女性出现月经失调、痛经、肥胖，部分人群会出现心理障碍，不开空调就浑身难受等等。
从中医角度看，这就是人体寒热错杂的表现。
按照老中医李可的说法，空调会使人身上一层热一层寒，一层热一层寒，堆积到一定火候就出问题了。
西医治疗空调病很有难度，中医就很简单了。
首先是升发体内的阳气，无论是葛根桂枝麻黄，还是附子细辛干姜，根据个人的体质可以有不同的选择。
其次是要化热，空调病一般都有郁热，这种热的清理很讲究，不能单纯苦寒，而是要寒中有通，药用辛凉，方可无虞。
第三就是要少吹空调，在凉爽的时间去户外活动，不要单纯使用人工的力量对抗自然规律，这样对身体没有好处。
所以说，空调病既可以预防，也可以治愈。
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