What is the ideal temperature to be at home and in the office? (and keep respiratory viruses away)

The last few weeks have been marked by an increase in cases of influenza, rhinovirus, adenovirus and syncytial virus. This has been clearly stated by the Ministry of Health in its reports.

During colder periods, such as fall and winter, respiratory diseases circulate more due to physiological and external factors.

“Cold air causes a decrease in the motility of the cilia in our nose which usually help us filter particles that enter our respiratory tract, such as particles with a viral load, this constitutes an impact on our defense system first class. “. line,” says Priscilla Inostroza, academic at the Faculty of Nursing at Andrés Bello University, Concepción campus.

Low temperatures also further weaken the immune system, which at the same time favors the presence of viral infections.

According to Inostroza, another situation that influences is that during these seasons we tend to spend more hours of the day in closed environments, where ventilation is not as common, further increasing the risks of contracting a virus.

“Some viruses are resistant to cold, they can survive longer and even, sometimes, colder temperatures allow them to spread more easily than in hot weather,” adds the professional.

Today, there are no regulations that regulate the temperature that should prevail inside work spaces. However, Inostroza suggests that it is a system that allows everyone to maintain a constant body temperature and that does not drop below 37ºC.

“The ideal comfort temperature, both for an office and for a room in the house, depends a lot on the thermal sensitivity of people, but there is a consensus that the ideal temperature is around 24ºC” he argues.

Then, he adds: “The experts’ recommendation is that in spaces where there is air conditioning, it should be maintained between 21 and 23 degrees.”

According to the UNAB academic, one of the recommendations to take care of our health during this season is to dedicate moments of the day to ventilate interior spaces so that the air can actually circulate.

This way, cross ventilation could be a good option. “That is, opening windows or doors on opposite sides of an enclosed space to create drafts, allowing fresh air in from outside and stale air in or contaminated to come out the other end,” he explains.

Hand hygiene , with soap and water, is also a key action at the moment. According to Inostroza, this applies to all cases: if we have a cold, if we were near a sick person or if we passed by surfaces with a higher risk of being contaminated.

Finally, the academic emphasizes that other necessary measures are Don’t have contact with sick people, choose to do activities in well-ventilated spaces, and get vaccinated against flu and other viruses.

“Especially people belonging to risk groups (newborns, infants, pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses, health personnel,” he emphasizes.