Fungi
Lurking in Your Car Can Irritate Allergies
You
could very well be driving around in a sick building on wheels.
Robert
Simmons, a microbiologist at Georgia State University, says that cool
blast of your car's air conditioner is loaded with invisible bits of
irritating fungus - the same ones that can cause what's known as
"sick building syndrome."
It
starts with the pollens and molds that are sucked into the AC. They
breed in the wet, warm and dark coils in a matter of days.
Simmons
did his own study and found seven species of fungi that can aggravate
asthmatics and allergy sufferers.
He
has some advice for those with a sensitive nose. He suggests turning
off the AC and keeping the blowers on for a few minutes before and
after driving. He says it helps dry out the systems.
