Dear Mamas,
Please can I have your opinions on this please?
My preshcooler gets frequent colds, stuffy nose etc ( you get the picture) and snores heavily in winter.
He is quiet fine in summer.
I have been reading that humidifier helps keeps the air moist and eases the symptoms.
But my concern is, our house has a humidity of 55% ( which I think is the optimum humidity).
We do get occasional condensation in the winddows.
Do you think a humidifier helps even at such humidities?
Thanks and regards,
V.,
United Kingdom.
Thanks mamas for your inputs.
Shira, the humdity level in the UK is at 55% naturally. we dont do anything additional.
Our home is close to the sea. Besides, the central heating does not blow heated air, instead heated water circulates through radiator, probably one of the reasons it doesnt get dry that much.
Yes my son also has problems in the winter. Especially when it is bone chilling cold out. I use a cool mist humidifier and it helps alot. The Dr. said he has asthma and wants him to be on medicine year round. Well he doesnt take it and he is fine. He gets a flu shot every year and is very well trained to wash his hands and cough into his sleeve. The cool mist ones work the best.....good luck
Hi V.,
Humidifiers can cause moisture to build up in the lungs leading to infections. I would not use one.
His frequent colds are most likely from classmates. Have him wash his hands frequently to stop the spread of the germs.
Hope he feels well soon,
L.
Although some humidity is good, sometimes too much can get mold and dust mites growing and they can aggravate sinuses. We only use the humidifier when someone already come down with a cold.
Get the humidifier and see if it helps. Whenever my 2 year old is stuffy, no matter what time of year it is, we put a humidifier in her room while she is sleeping and it seems to help her. The humidifier will not hurt your son or your house.
However the thing that works best for us is saline nose sprays. Here in the states that have saline nose sprays for babies and toddlers - nothing in them but the saline solution. If you do not have it in the UK, you can mix it up yourself with salt and warm water - you can find the correct mix on line. When my daughter is stuffy we spray her nose about 15 minutes before bedtime and it usually cleans out her passages before she falls asleep. When she wakes in the night all stuffy we give her some more and it opens up her passages enough to sleep again. Basically it just helps break downt he congestion.
I am a little skeptical of humidifiers. They can breed mold and cause other problems. Have you tried saline? Just squeezing some up his nose or a few drops to just moisten the nose and possibly help remove any irritants. My son snores, too, but last year it was so bad that I took him to the doctor. I thought they were going to have to remove his tonsils. They did a round of antibiotics and apparently he had a low grade infection that he must have been living with for about 4 months. His snoring got better and his tonsils, though large anyway, definitely went down to a more "normal" size. I do think that when the weather changes and people turn the heat on, the air gets so dry that our noses react. It is important to keep the nose moist.
Good luck
Z.
Wondering how it is that your home has 55% humidity.
I'm also wondering if perhaps it's too hot in his room in the winter.
Some people keep their homes too hot in the winter.
What does the pediatrician say about DS's winter symptoms?
Possibly allergies?
