Charlie has had recurrent respiratory viruses, and our pediatrician said that he may potentially develop asthma down the line. So I’ve been doing some research, and one of the things we can do to help is regarding the use of humidifiers:
High humidity levels can exacerbate respiratory problems and asthma in children because they encourage mold growth, bacteria, and dust mites. Some doctors even suggest forgoing the use of humidifiers in asthmatic children, so you should talk to your doctor about humidifier use if your child has allergies or asthma. You can monitor the humidity level when using a humidifier (which should be kept between 30-50%) by purchasing a hygrometer (we have this one).
We’ve been very liberal with our use of the humidifier because of Charlie’s frequent colds, but in light of this, we may forgo using a humidifier altogether, or at the very least use it sparingly in the winter.
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GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
a factor too is making sure it’s cleaned regularly. Otherwise bacteria is simply pushed out in the air.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
This makes me appreciate our humidifier’s relatively expensive filters ($7.99 a pop, has to be changed about once or twice a month). Everything that the water touches can go in the dishwasher and the water goes through the filter, so I feel good about our humidifier!
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
You guys scared me into retiring my humidifier a couple months ago! Haha. We live in a humid area so I don’t miss it!
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
There are case reports of kids developing serious chronic respiratory illnesses from humidifiers… We only use ours occasionally, but it is so dry where we live! Also, remember not to use tap water in the humidifier because the aeresolized mineral particles can cause problems.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Well lookie there…another reason NOT to buy one right this minute.
persimmon / 1255 posts
We haven’t used it since Winter but I’ll use it sparingly from now on. Thanks for the tip.
coconut / 8299 posts
@mrs.jacks: Thanks for the tip about not using tap water!
pomelo / 5866 posts
We used a humidifier a couple of times. It didn’t work at all. I noticed LO got more congested and she had to use a nebulizer a few times. Too bad! I don’t even have a clear conscience about unloading it after this info. I had no idea it could be connected but now I see how it didn’t do any good for us.
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
My husband has pretty bad asthma, so our apartment has to be allergen free. We just got a new mattress protector with allergen-free (machine washable) pillows and pillowcases.
Mattress protector-
http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Malouf-Mattress-Protector-Waterproof-Eliminates/dp/B0035E63WM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1338163069&sr=8-3
Allergy pillow-
http://www.amazon.com/Aller-Ease-Water-Washable-Allergy-Pillow/dp/B005VQ5KEE/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1338163101&sr=1-2-spell
We actually bought the pillows at a local store. It was cheaper than getting it on Amazon.
Pillow Protector-
http://www.amazon.com/SLEEP-Malouf-Pillow-Protector-Waterproof-Eliminates/dp/B004GIUCGE/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1338163234&sr=1-2-fkmr1