Croup makes normal breathing difficult, and it is a respiratory infection that is common among children under the age of three. We reviewed the best humidifier for croup in this article.
Colds and viruses cause croup cough. The ailment causes children to wake up in the middle of the night. The illness usually lasts about five days, a moment every parent does not wish to experience.
It is a respiratory infection that causes the trachea to swell up. This makes breathing difficult for the sufferer, causing a barking cough and a hoarse voice. The most common causes of this ailment are flu, cold, contaminated air, and contagious atmospheric condition.
A practical solution to relieving your baby of croup cough is getting the right humidifier. It works by improving the humidity or moisture content of the surrounding air. To help your baby reduce the symptom of this ailment, keep him or her warm and install a good humidifier in your baby’s room.
The moist air created by the humidifier will help reduce the swelling in the trachea. Note that a cool mist humidifier is the best option for this purpose.
Furthermore, the cool air helps in easing the stridor. The cold air relieves stridor by freezing the microbes responsible for infection in the trachea, thus making them powerless. So, you must get the right product to achieve your aim of buying a humidifier for croup.
| Mist | Technology | Noise Level | Tank Capacity | Mist Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bionaire BUL9500-SHP | Dual(warm and cool) | Ultrasonic | Ultra Quiet | 1.5 gallon | 32hrs |
| Honeywell HWM-705B | Warm | Vaporizer | Quiet | 1 gallon | 24hrs |
| Honeywell HCM 350 | Cool | UV | Quiet | 1 gallon | 24hrs |
| Vicks Humidifier | Warm | Vaporizer | Quiet | 1 gallon | 24hrs |
How can I treat croup at home with a humidifier?
A humidifier is an electric device that increases the humidity or moisture content when used in a room. So how can you treat croup at home with this humidifier?
Our previous article discussed what a humidifier does to a baby. One of the excellent ways is by getting the shower all steamed up to a warm temperature and getting your baby into the bathroom. This is because warm, moist air tends to be an excellent way to relax and break the croup.
In cases whereby you can’t tolerate warming water, humidifiers with warm mist can serve this purpose more effectively.
For kids with croup, the parents must remain calm because panicking could cause the child to be in distress which does not help. The more the baby cries, the more the croup symptoms increase, thereby worsening.
Keeping your baby warm and calm is just the first step; you must also use a good humidifier to create a moister peaceful environment because this helps get the swellings in the trachea down during the cough treatment. A cool mist humidifier, not a vaporizer, should be used.
The cold air helps relieve stridor. How? The shallow temperature will freeze the microbes that cause infection in the trachea, rendering them powerless.
If it’s cold outside, you could take your kid out to breathe in the cold for a few minutes. If it isn’t cold outside, you can use your freezer. But a cool mist humidifier is your best option.
Qualities to consider when choosing the top best humidifier for croup
Type of humidifier:
Several types of humidifiers are based majorly on their mode of humidification. The ultrasonic produces mist by utilizing ultrasonic sound vibrations, and the impeller humidifier uses a fan or disc rotating at a very high speed to make the mist.
These two humidifiers are known to disperse materials from their water tanks into the indoor environment. The evaporative or steam humidifier uses a fan to blow air through a filter or wick, and it does not disperse materials from its water tank into the environment like the ultrasonic and impeller humidifiers.
Studies show that the evaporative or steam humidifier offers the lowest level of risk because it does not disperse its water tank materials, unlike the ultrasonic and impeller, that also releases pathogens that could cause infections if inhaled into the lungs.
The cool and warm mist humidifier helps relieve croup cough, even though the cool humidifier works best for children. Hence we have picked humidifiers with both cool and warm mist functions.
Cost of maintenance:
Before purchasing any humidifier, you must consider the hidden cost of maintenance because most humidifiers or vaporizers might need frequent changing of the wicks or filters to operate at a healthy level.
Therefore, finding out the cost of these replacements and how frequently they should be done beforehand would help choose the right product.
Noise Level:
Some humidifiers operate at a high sound production level, which could harm the child’s hearing. It implies that this could be a determining factor for hearing disabilities or sleep alterations later in the future; therefore, it is necessary to go for a humidifier with low sound production for your child’s safety.
Effectiveness:
This has to do with the water tank capacity about the size of the baby’s room. The efficiency of the humidifier also has much to do with how long you would be using it on a stretch.
I might want to ask if you are buying the humidifier for a large room. Also, are you planning to use it overnight? If your answer to the question is yes, you should opt for a humidifier with a big water tank.
Better still, you could as well go for those humidifiers with timers that either allow the humidifier to pause, then run to maximize the water inside or the kind of timer that runs until the tank is empty, then stops.
Easy to use/control:
Since you might not have the luxury of time to keep reading manuals about control of your newly bought humidifier, you might want to opt for the simple ones that offer just the same function as the complicated ones. Most of the humidifiers we picked are simple for anyone. Some are even automated for shutting off and on
Best humidifiers for croup in children
1) Bionaier Ultrasonic Warm Cool Humidifier
Overall best special features: No filter needed, Big water tank and quiet.
Comparing this humidifier with the Avalon premium humidifiers, I would pick pioneer any time, any day. Why? So far, it has been running for 9 hours every night, and it’s easier to clean than even the Vicks unit and Avalon unit. This ultrasonic humidifier is all-round excellent, even to the extent of saving space.
Unlike other units, it remains solid and doesn’t produce a bad sound. It is straightforward to fill with water. I recommend this Ultrasonic humidifier because it is easy to use and clean for parents. As for the running time, it runs for 5 days when set on the low.
The water tank has a paired nozzle that combines two independent nested pieces, allowing you to have two vapor shoots coming in any direction you choose. I must confess that I like this versatility very much.
Pros
- you can switch between warm and cool mist
- no filters needed due to the presence of demineralization cartridge
- it emits little or no noise
- presence of vaporizers
- it can serve medium to large rooms
Cons
- it is a bit expensive
- It could leak after some period of use
2) Honeywell HWM-705B Filter-free Warm Moisture Humidifier
Special Feature: with water distiller, dual settings and energy saving
The Honeywell is a filter-free humidifier that releases vapor to change the humidity level of the room it is placed in. It works very significantly, and it is easy to use.
It has excellent value and a decent energy cost. If run on 8hrs a day for a month, the price per kWh ranges from $3.74 – $7.49 on a high setting (260 watts), but the cost dropped down to $0.12- $0.25 if the humidifier was run on a low setting (130 watts).
In this humidifier, I especially like the option of you being able to add essential oils and set it to a moderate level for perfect sleep. It gives a pleasant subtle smell. Honeywell also makes white noise, which helps keep the baby at ease of sleeping.
Pros
- extremely budget friendly
- Easy to assemble
- Dual settings
- White noise
Cons
- holds only about a gallon of water
- lesser automated when compared to the BONECO and Bionaier
- Mineral in water can build up like mud to surround the heating element
3) Honeywell HCM 350
Special feature: Filtered cool moisture, durability, ultraviolet and evaporative technology
This reasonably sized evaporative humidifier features curves all around, giving it a slick and attractive look. The Honeywell HCM350W Cool Mist Humidifier is built with a relatively large tank of about 4L that comes with a handle that makes it very easy to remove for refills.
The device is built to be extremely quiet, even when running at the highest speed, which I found to be the case during the three weeks of testing the unit.
The humidifier has a filter to prevent white dust from being released with the mist when non-distilled water is used. Filters for this device lasted me about 4-6 weeks.
In cold weather, running at high speed, the Honeywell HCM350W can raise a 625-square-foot apartment to 25% and peak at 35% in warm weather. For the most effective performance, I recommend using it in rooms less than 400 square feet.
Pros
- Quiet operation
- Easy to clean
- Large tank
- Accurate filter
Cons
- Doesn’t support essential oil usage
- Doesn’t have an automatic shut-off
4) Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier – best budget friendly
Special feature: Auto shut off, dual settings and value for the price
The Vicks humidifier adds moisture to the air, relieving coughs, colds, or comfort from dry air. It boils water to a pure steam vapor up to 96% bacteria-free and mixes with dry air in the cooling chamber to release warm, moist air into the room.
This humidifier can run for 8-9 hours on the high setting and about 10-20 hours on the low setting, and I also didn’t have to turn it off when the water runs out because it has an auto-off location.
It is straightforward to assemble and disassemble, and the material quality is very durable, which is its advantage over other humidifiers in the market.
It has a dual setting that allows you to run it intermittently. You can run it on high settings for 8-9 hours at night, then change the settings to low grounds during the day, which will help you run it for about 19-20hrs.
Pros
- filter free operation
- whisper quiet operation
- Auto shut tanks empty
- 3 years’ warranty
- budget friendly
Cons
- only warm mist humidifier mode is present
- noisy at startup but gets quieter with time
Bottom line : Best humidifier for croup Treatment
Of all the products discussed above, the most efficient and easy to use is the Bionaier Humidifier because it can cover a large room and switch between warm and cool mist. It also has a delicate handy design alongside Antimicrobacterial protection and a vaporizer. It is a perfect croup humidifier.
The best product is the BONECO humidifier because it has almost the same qualities as the Bionaier except that it tends to release mineral particles from the water tank. It also has a digital display, automatic adjusting of humidity release level according to the room temperature, and operates quietly.
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