Humidifiers add moisture to air to prevent dryness, which may cause irritation in a lot of parts of the body. These may be effective for treating the dryness of lips, throat, nose, and skin. Moreover, they ease some symptoms that are caused by common cold or flu.
Humidity serves as a natural moisturizing agent, which may relieve dryness. Due to this, humidifiers are frequently used for relieving cracked lips, dry cough, irritated vocal cords, bloody noses, nose irritation, dry throat, sinus congestion or headache, and dry skin. You may be prone to such discomforts when air in your house is dry. It’s especially common during winter months or when air conditioners are used during summer.
Controlling Levels of Humidity
Adding humidity to indoor air can be advantageous, but high levels of humidity may cause health problems. High levels of humidity may worsen respiratory issues and make uncomfortable dampness in air. It may encourage the buildup of harmful bacteria, mildew, mold, and dust mites. Experts recommend that humidity stay between thirty and fifty percent. Hygrometer may determine how much humidity is in your house. Several central humidifiers come equipped with a hygrometer, but also you can find them at some hardware stores. Test humidity every day, particularly if somebody in your house has asthma or allergies.
Using Humidifiers to Reduce the Effects of Low Humidity on Your Overall Health Condition
Maintaining humidity in a house within a particular range can help reduce respiratory symptoms during summer when weather is hot and during winter when air is frequently dry. If relative humidity in your house is below 40%, you might experience itchy eyes, dry skin, and irritated nasal and throat passages. It may also increase your risks of contracting cold.
If the high humidity of your house is higher than sixty percent, it may increase the risk of fungal and mold growth and might make your house feel a bit stuffy. You could notice condensation on the floors, windows, and walls, which increase the risk of triggering growth of dust mites and bacteria. Such allergens can increase your respiratory issues and provoke asthma and flare-ups of allergies.
Dry air in your house can cause moisture in your respiratory tract and skin to evaporate quickly. Adding moisture can help with the symptoms including sinus headaches, bloody noses, frequent coughs, irritated eyes, and dry skin.
Keeping humidity in your house within a range of 40% to 50% RH can help the following:
- Moisten the Membranes
Dry air can irritate eyes, throat, and sinuses. In the long run, it may trigger inflammation in mucus membranes lining your respiratory tract, which is the natural barrier to viruses that cause colds and some infections. If the humidity level is low, particular viruses can survive longer, which can increase your risk to contract an infection. In a study, nasal congestion is related to both humidity and temperature of inhaled air more than any variable. Interaction between humidity and temperature influences nasal cooling as the air moves through nasal cavity. It can be detected by the sensors in the nose that stimulate the airflow perception being moved obstructed or easily.
- Prevent Influenza
In some studies, researchers found incidence of respiratory infections and absenteeism was low in those who lived or worked in environments with midrange relative humidity. In another study, it was found that prolonged exposure to low or high relative humidity was associated with increased risk of some respiratory symptoms. Authors of a study also found that humidifiers can reduce the risk of having flu. With low RH, influenza virus retained maximal infectivity, yet experienced rapid inactivation at indoor RH greater than 40%.
- Prevent Dry Skin
Reduced humidity can deplete your skin moisture, combined with cold temperatures, which triggers what’s frequently referred to as the winter itch. It can also cause some small cracks in your skin surface, which increase your risks of getting sick through providing an entryway for dangerous pathogens. This is true during winter as well as dry climates where the levels of humidity often drop below 10%.
- Minimize Dry Eye
Once you suffer with low tear production or dry irritated eyes, low level of humidity can increase tear’s evaporation and disrupt the balance of moisture for comfortable and healthy eye surface.
- Reduce Snoring
Increased amount of moisture in air can help minimize snoring as dry airways aren’t lubricated sufficiently, which makes snoring worse. There are times that adding humidity to air through running humidifiers at night can be good for relieving symptoms. This is true once your snoring is due to the nasal congestion that is triggered by the allergies.
- Reduce Asthma and Allergy Symptoms
You might be able to lessen symptoms of asthma and allergies through using a humidifier properly. Dry airways and sinuses increase your risks to allergic reactions. But, it’s also crucial to maintain humidifiers to lessen your risks the unit generates mold and bacteria, which increases your symptoms.
- Improve Your Hair
Low humidity levels don’t just draw moisture and water from your eyes and skin, but from your scalp and hair. During dry season, it’s crucial to keep relative humidity as well as use proper hydration to keep scalp moisturized.
Are Humidifiers Good for Your Health?
Humidity is the suspended water droplets in the air and an essential variable for your health. Generally, it’s recommended to keep relative indoor humidity between 40% and 50%. Relative humidity is the water vapor in the air. When air temperature is warmer, high amount of water vapor might be present when air is cold.
While majority of people find relative humidity in this range comfortable, mite population is minimized when relative humidity is below fifty percent and many fungi species can’t grow unless relative humidity exceeds sixty percent.
In addition to that, keeping your indoor humidity above sixty percent during winter months can result in condensation on windows and ice formation in your home.
On contrary, when indoor humidity is very low, it may affect your eyes, respiratory system, and skin. In short, both low humidity and high humidity might have detrimental effects on your wellness and health.
