- - -  Naturally caring for your health
                                        Naturally caring for your family

An indoor humidifier is a natural therapy for many common ailments in the daily life of adults and children alike.

Cool mist humidifiers add water vapour to the air. When this vapour from a house humidifier is inhaled or in contact with the skin, it can help to relieve certain health conditions that require increases in air moisture, which the body cannot naturally provide.

Further to being a natural therapy, mist humidifiers can be used any time and in any indoor place. However, most often, a home humidifier is placed in sleeping quarters or bedrooms, as humid air can help overcome the challenge of getting a good night’s rest experienced by persons with some of the below-described ailments.

INHALATION

Increased humidity can help to relieve the effects of asthma. Inflamed nasal and throat passages that often plague asthma sufferers can be soothed by inhaling air with higher humidity.

The coughing and congestion caused by a cold can be eased by the increased humidity in a dry indoor environment. Furthermore, dryness in the bronchial tubes and lungs can be alleviated in the same way with a personal humidifier.

Using a portable humidifier is also the best way to relieve croup, an inflammatory condition of the larynx and trachea. Croup particularly affects children and is characterised by a barking cough, vocal hoarseness and breathing problems, often lasting 5-6 days.

Headaches and inflammatory pain caused by sinus infections create discomfort for the sufferer. A humidifier can help improve sinus drainage, while assisting other therapies with quicker infection control.

In the 2007 Clinical Education Report, La Trobe University’s Voice Clinic suggested singers’ use humidifiers to keep the voice hydrated as part of their normal vocal health. However this recommendation is also widely made by professional singers and teachers of singing.

SKIN CONTACT

Childhood eczema affects up to 10 percent of children under five years old. One of the recommendations of The Eczema Association of Australasia is the use of a humidifier in dry or heated rooms to keep the air moist and comfortable for the skin of eczema sufferers.

Humidified air also helps to maintain skin moisture and alleviate the dryness of chapped skin and chapped lips, brought on by winter cold or harsh sun. Sleeping in a room with a humidifier may also relieve the discomfort of a dry mouth.

The use of a humidifier should also be considered if sleeping problems are experienced. Waking up with a sore throat, dryness in the nose or mouth, and even nosebleeds are all caused by overly dry air in sleeping environments.

Hepatitis C causes a number of health conditions such as dry eyes. Among other suggestions, the Australian Hepatitis C Organisation advises the use of a humidifier, particularly in the winter months.

For general well-being, the use of a humidifier to moisturise the skin and reduce dehydration is a well kept beauty secret. A humidifier provides moisture to keep the skin soft and supple, making the skin look and feel younger.

 
FURTHER USES

Overly dry air also affects indoor wooden furniture, wooden floors and wood in the walls, as well as plants, paintings and wallpaper. The effect of static electricity can also be reduced when humidity in the air increases with the best humidifier for you and your home.