If you or someone you live with suffers with the prolonged effects of asthma, you may be wondering a few things: namely what causes it, and how you can help yourself or them. Another question asked frequently is whether humidity in the home affects asthma sufferers and if so, what is the overall effect and can it be altered manually for the perfect effect?
Let’s take a look and find out the ways that humidity affects asthma, and what you can do to get the perfect humidity levels in your home.
What Does My Home’s Humidity Level Have to Do with Asthma?
Good question. The best environment for anyone who suffers from asthma (or other allergic reactions that can be worsened through dry air) is a humid one. This means that living in a humid area, or having a humid household can actually be beneficial for asthma sufferers.
That’s not to say that all levels of humidity are good for asthma. Turn the dial too much with an over the top humid atmosphere, and you’ll find the air becomes so heavy with moisture that it can make breathing more difficult. Obviously, this is a big no-no for asthma sufferers.
On the other side of the scale, too dry of an atmosphere will give that tickly or scratchy throat feeling, which can actually flair up asthma symptoms as well as other allergic reactions. So if you live in an area with dry, arid air, a humidifier may be a good choice.
So What’s the Perfect Humidity Then?
Experts say that anywhere between 30 to 50% humidity works great for asthma sufferers and other people with allergies. This is the most comfortable atmosphere for the best breathing capabilities, and you could even see a reduction in how many asthma attacks occur once you’ve got your home’s humidity levels somewhere between 30 and 50%.
There are a few factors that can push your home’s humidity levels above or below the recommended 30 to 50% level.
These can include the climate that you live in – whether you live in a dry or humid area – and also your home’s heating system. For example, through those cold winter months, you may be in the rhythm of turning up your heating system. This can actually cause the air to become drier, and you may be inadvertently causing more problems than you think for anyone suffering with asthma!
Related Post: Best Humidifiers for Asthma
Is a Humidifier Good for Asthma?
For those of you who aren’t lucky enough to live in the perfect humid atmosphere, you may want to consider investing in a humidifier to bring the air in your home into the perfect humidity range.
Humidifiers can be paramount in ensuring that you and your family stay asthma symptom free and can breathe a little easier, especially during the hotter or colder months depending on where you live.
Although this may seem like the perfect solution for asthma sufferers, you do need to heed the cautions that come with humidifiers.
For example, if you overuse your humidifier, you could end up pushing your home’s humidity levels way above the 50% cut-off point, which would create that heavy atmosphere we mentioned above.
When filling your humidifier, do take consideration about the water you’re using. Some tap water can also be home to some nasty bacteria, which will be pushed into the air as soon as you hit the ‘on’ button. This will only cause further problems.
Furthermore, you should know that you need to keep on top of cleaning and maintenance to ensure good hygiene. Dirty humidifiers can send dirt and mold spores into the air, which will irritate everyone’s lungs. Don’t get too enthusiastic with the cleaning fluids though – use too many chemicals in your cleaning regime and you may also cause further lung irritation. Always use eco-friendly, non-aggressive cleaning solutions.
Which is Better for Asthma: A Humidifier or an Air Purifier?
An air purifier purifies and sanitizes the air in a room, rather than adding or taking away any extra humidity from it, which means it has its own set of benefits for asthma suferers.
In fact, air purifiers help to eliminate any dust, dander, smoke, mold, and even pollen from the air, making it much easier for asthma or allergy sufferers to breathe easily. These airborne particles become trapped inside the air purifier’s filter, and only clean air is released in its place, which is great for alleviating symptoms.
An air purifier will also leave behind a clean, fresh, sanitized scent, which can be great for other allergy sufferers too, and will leave your home feeling that little bit fresher.
As you can see, this is relatively different from the humidifier, which only adds moisture to the air and does not get rid of any airborne particles. There’s no clean air left behind, and certainly no sanitizing features to help clean the air, which means they can still cause asthma sufferers problems in the long run.
But which is better?
Of course, if you’re living in an area that falls between that perfect humidity range of 30 and 50%, an air purifier would be the better choice, as its most likely to be the airborne bacteria and germ particles causing asthma symptoms to flare up.
On the other hand, living in too dry of an area could cause an equally bad flare up of symptoms, and for that, we’d suggest investing in a humidifier to help keep the air comfortable. Of course, you could always go for both, and have a tag team working hard to keep your air as pure as possible with the correct humidity levels.
If you have any questions or comments, please add them below in the comment section. Similarly, please let us know if you spot any mistakes or omissions. Thanks!
