air conditioner causes pneumonia or rsv?

[sophiesgrandma]

My grandson is 2 months and has a stuffy nose. My dil took him to the ped and he said the baby should not be sleeping in an air-conditioned room and this is what caused the stuffy nose. He also said he could possibly get pneumonia or rsv cause the air-conditioned air will dry out his lungs and make him suceptable (sp). Is this true?
Also he said the home environment should only be cooled 10 degrees cooler than the outside so if it's 100 degrees outside the inside should be no less than 90. Could this be right? It seems awfully warm.

[ProtoLawyer]

That sounds totally off to me (not that I am a doctor or anything, but still)...I would imagine overheating would be a much bigger risk than (reasonably) air-conditioning a room. Yeah, if they're keeping the room at 52 degrees, or blowing the a/c right on the baby, or the air conditioner itself was contaminated with mold or something, that could be a problem..

[2boyzmama]

Well, like usual, the dr only gave a partial picture.

Heat and/or AC (or fire places) can dry the air, which can dry the mucus membranes, which can make them more susceptible to overgrowth of viruses/bacteria. Viruses and bacteria enter the body through the mucus membranes, that's the body's first line of defense. If the nose and/or throat is dry, then it doesn't function exactly the way it should, and could more easily harbor viruses/bacteria.

And about keeping the house only 10 degrees cooler...I can see that only if the baby is going to be continually going in and out over and over. Does he think the same in the winter? So when it's negative degrees outside, should I only keep my house in the single digits? It can be a shock to a body to go from hot to cold and back to hot, but that's easily managed with layering clothing.

[sophiesgrandma]

Thanks so much for your answers. I will share these with my son and dil as the baby sleeps in the same air-conditioned room as they do and even in their bed. My dil was worried about having to move the baby to another room as the heat would be unbearable from no ac.

[texaspeach]

that makes no sense.

[TortelliniMama]

Originally Posted by sophiesgrandma

My dil was worried about having to move the baby to another room as the heat would be unbearable from no ac.

I would really have a problem with leaving a baby to sleep alone in a room that I would find unbearable to sleep in. Not that I would be hunky-dory with unbearable heat for the baby if I were in there, too, but it would be less weird and less dangerous.

I agree with the PPs that the dehumidified air of A/C can make it easier to catch something, but the answer to that would be to get a humidifier, not make the poor baby sweat to death. Also, if the ped's theory were correct, then in the areas of the world that are hot in the summer and also tend to have A/C, the RSV rate would spike in the summer. Instead, as far as I know, the RSV "season" goes from fall to spring.

Sounds like your son and dil are getting to practice smiling, nodding, and then making their own choices when faced with ped opinions.

[boogieboo]

I don't know how cold the indoor air is programmed to be, but I have heard that it is preferable to let your baby develop their sweat glands, and a babe that is in cold air conditioning all the time is not normal. Being able to tolerate some hot weather is an important function of the human body.

[sophiesgrandma]

update

My son and dil decided to switch sides so that he is closer to the ac and the baby's bed and my dil are as far away as possible. The baby sleeps in his bed and with his mom. They also set the temp higher so as not to chill the baby.
And actually my dil did say she would use the humidifier but the ped said that was even worse so this is the way they are doing it. The temps here in the ne are in the high 80s right now and they are bound to get much worse so they do need some ac.
Thanks for all your answers. You all have helped alot.

[elmh23]

That is really weird advice. There is no way I'd be happy with my kids in no ac (or swamp cooler where we live) during the summer, it just gets way to hot!

[octobermom]

Thats nt advice I'm following for sure.. By this weekend were sosposed to reach the 110's and it will jsut get hotter I'm not making my LO sleep in a 100+ degree home and since I sleep in the same room she does I'm deffiently not. Also overheating could increase chances of SIDS.

[Mama Khi]

I was really paranoid that DD would get too hot when she was that young. I think that the room is supposed to be around 68 degrees F to help prevent SIDS. I know that it is supposed to be pretty cool because overheating a baby is a risk factor for SIDS. Your DIL and DS need to just make sure the room is comfortable and the baby is dressed appropriately and he should be fine.