Does humidifiers help with allergies? YES, It does, by making the environment non-condusive for allergens.
For someone that is pretty sensitive to the presence of allergens in a low humid environment, you might likely always shy away from outdoor trips, since the next logical step to limit allergic reaction is to reduce exposure. But you should know that allergens are also present in the house too.
A humidifier is one of the best instrument to combat allergens today, and due to this, people that suffer from allergies often ask the question “does a humidifier help with allergy” as been advertised or is it just all a sham.
Well, the best humidifiers are always a way out of any condition associated with low humidity. However, humidifiers have their down and upsides, and their impact on the environment would be discussed as we progress, let’s get to it.
What are allergies like today
Due to scientific advancements, more sources of allergies and their peculiar causes are being discovered, hence raising a higher level of consciousness than there was in the olden days, while there are also more effective and efficient ways of combating these problems than there was.
One of the characteristics of allergens is that they are swift and there are sensitive reactions from the immune system in the body that is triggered with respect to the type of substance it receives.
Most allergy causing substances today can be found in the home and they includes pollen, pet dander and even some regular good stuff you would typically see around if your peculiar immune system has an adverse reaction to it. Causative agents like the pollen and dander are rather more universal since they trigger a response from most human’s body systems today.
If a person is allergic to a substance, as soon as it gets into their body system, what happens is that the immune system immediately tries to destroy it and while in the process of this, a physical manifestation most times can be seen due to the internal actions going on.
Signs like this varies depending on the person and the allergen causing agent, but a few examples we are familiar with are like sneezing, seizure, nose bleeds, or even vomiting. Allergy statistics have proven that at least 30% of adults, as well as 40% of kids, suffers from allergies in the United States.
Although an allergy can be treated with drugs from doctor’s recommendation, however, the presence of allergy itself as a causative agent would have to be dealt with as well in order to avoid future reactions.
This is the surest way of eradicating future reactions as well as keeping your environment clean and habitable for these allergens; therefore it is a preventive mechanism rather than having to deal with the aftermath effect on the body.
Also Read: Best Humidifier for dry air
Relationships between allergens and humidity level in the house
You should know that the presence of allergens (allergy-causing agents) in your home is as a result of the environment being conducive enough for their breeding, survival, and multiplication.
As a result of that, we are going to look into the most important climatic condition to consider, that solely comes into play for the survival of allergens in the home. This condition is called humidity, and yes, there is a relationship between allergens and humidity levels in the house.
Humidity levels in the home could be tricky, as there are consequences for both being on the high side as well as the low.
As touching the control of the indoor environment in your home, precisely the humidity level is a significant factor and step to ensuring the reduction of allergen to a minimum level.
Allergens and humidity level are linked, as a result of that, too humid conditions or not moist enough can significantly contribute to an increased level of allergens and hence allergic reactions in the home.
Under high humidity levels, most allergen agents like dust mites and insects, are able to absorb the required moisture they need to survive, as they don’t really depend on regular respiration like us, but instead absorbs through their body surface directly.
It is why you would have noticed that in a high moist environment, there is a good chance that molds start appearing out of nowhere, and that is another proof they that flourish under such conditions.
Taking dust mites, for example, they feed on the shed skin residue from our body, and the humid environment further softens this skin pieces, hence making it more readily absorbable by them and therefore giving them a good meal schedule as well as the already existing conducive environment.
On the flip side of things, when the air in the environment is too low, hence a deficient humidity level, it is also capable of aggravating already existing allergies, asthma, and eczema symptoms.
Low humid conditions are always accompanied by dry air which could in itself cause an excellent level of irritations to the nasal passages and mucous membranes in the respiratory system, leading to problems like sinuses.
The impact of dry nasal passage is the fact that the mucus present in your nose is normally able to trap allergens, viruses, and bacteria, effectively reducing their numbers and stopping them from getting into the body system.
When they are dried up by the non-humid air, its role in the immune system drops drastically, therefore leaving allergens to pass through more freely than they normally would, and making the body more susceptible to cold, flu and even allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Itchy skin, sore throat, bleeding nose, and chapped lips are also some of the impacts of low humid conditions on the body.
Though there are medical ways to combat the effects of both high and low humid conditions on the body, examples are allergy-friendly moisturizers, allergy relief bedding, and microfiber; they do not account for the underlying problem of extraordinarily high or deficient humidity conditions.
Dehumidifier or humidifier for allergies: which one to go for
A humidifier is a device that brakes water down into fine mists through different mechanisms based on their type, and release them into the environment in order to increase the water vapor content of the air, and as a result, raise the humidity levels.
A dehumidifier, on the other hand, does the exact opposite. They instead extract air from the environment and passes it through a condenser, which condenses every water vapor content in the air into water, therefore making the air free from moist as a result and releases it into the environment.
Now the question of which one to go for among the two should be answered by the type and peculiarity of your environment.
In environments with high moisture content, it is quite apparent that you need to reduce the level of moisture, hence pointing that you go for a dehumidifier, and if your battles are against really low humid conditions and dry air, then you should walk the part of a humidifier.
In all, they are both equally important and of high value, when it comes to maintaining a safe environment and good health conditions.
Chosing between Dehumidifier or humidifer for allergy, Read more Here
What does humidifier do for allergies: explaining how humidifier works
A humidifier as earlier said, works by adding a right amount of moisture to the atmosphere, hence increasing the overall moisture content and hence humidity level.
The device adjusts the levels of humidity to a good standard (health levels is between 40 to 50% relative humidity), which is the primary way by which they combat allergens in the home, especially against low moist thriving allergens.
Some humidifiers also come with filters, which is another mechanism of allergen eradication, filtering the water used for making mist, passing it through a screen or some sort of purification system that removes allergens directly from the source before releasing fine mist into the environment.
What type of humidifier is best for allergies?
There are several types of humidifier out there that differ by the method in which they produce mist, and it is essential you pick the one that is especially suitable for dealing with allergy problems.
Humidifiers generally are either the warm or cool mist type, and when choosing from the best for you, it is essential you put into consideration all they offer, as well as your specific allergy needs.
The warm mist humidifiers are quieter than the cool mists and are also good for combating sinuses as well as mucus and other respiration allergies. They cannot serve vast spaces, as they are specially built for confined areas, and they also offer some sort of warm relief due to their reasonably high temperature, that brings more comfort to your breathing while ensuring a high enough temperature for bacterial to never survive in the unit. For this reason, they would require a lesser cleaning frequency.
Cool mist humidifiers are able to cover more grounds than the warm mist type, making them suitable for larger environments, but they more easily gather up molds that could breed bacteria. Hence they should be cleaned more regularly. They are also safer to use than the warm mist type due to the lack of a heating element that heats up the water and could lead to burns if tipped and the water touches the skin.
In dealing with allergens, we would recommend a cool-mist humidifier due to their excellent coverage ability, and also the presence of filters used in removing contaminants from the water, that could lead to more triggers if they are released and inhaled into the body system.
Final Answer to the question : Does Humidifiers helps with allergies?
YES, Humidifiers helps with allergies.
Rounding up, you should know that the presence of allergens poses a real danger today, therefore if you have been experiencing some sort of reactions in relation to low or high moisture levels, then you should quickly get yourself the best humidifier for allergies and asthma.
They are able to reduce these reactions significantly by merely eradicating the source, which is a habitat in which the causative agents can thrive in, and depending on the type of allergic problems, purchase a suitable dehumidifier or humidifier for your home.
Should it be a case of low humidity, do ensure you get a good cool mist unit, appropriate enough to serve your purposes and size of the home.
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