For most parts of the country, it has been a very warm summer. In fact, many cities in the United States had warmer-than-average temperatures during the entire first half of 2018. If you are like most Americans, you have probably been running your air conditioner in order to help stay cool. While air conditioning is the best way to stay cool while spending time indoors, it's important to get it replaced when it's time to do so. If your air conditioner is not running properly, it could be detrimental to your health.

Here are three ways in which air conditioning replacement can improve your health.

1. Reduce Your Chances of Getting Respiratory Infections

If your air conditioning is old and not running properly, it's most likely not circulating the air as well as it should be. Air that's not circulated gets old and stale and often contains pollutants such as pet dander, dust, and mold. Breathing in these irritants can increase your chances of getting a respiratory infection. Watch out for the following symptoms:

• Colds
• Sinusitis
• Ear infections
• Bronchitis

If you are suddenly experiencing a runny nose, cough, fatigue, body aches, or sinus congestion, you may have a respiratory infection.

2. Lessen Your Allergy Symptoms

Running an air conditioner that is not working very well and that needs to be replaced can also increase your allergy symptoms. This is especially true if you're allergic to pet dander, pollen, dust, and mold. Some of the most common allergy symptoms that are caused by poor air quality inside the home include:

• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Itchy or watery eyes
• Postnasal drip

If you notice that you experience these allergy symptoms while inside your home, it might be time to replace your air conditioner.

3. Reduce Your Number of Headaches

If you think you've gotten an unusual number of headaches since you began running your air conditioning, you may need to get it replaced. Besides an air conditioner that's not running properly, there are other reasons air conditioners can cause headaches. Some of these reasons include:

• The cold, dry air is causing you to become dehydrated
• The cold air may be giving you a mild form of brain freeze

Try keeping yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water or getting a humidifier. You can also increase the temperature of your thermostat to keep from getting brain freeze. If neither of these works and you're still getting headaches, you may need to get an air conditioning replacement.