Sometimes, allergies get triggered by a humidifier, so it might confuse you if a humidifier will help with the cough or make it worse. So, does a humidifier help with a cough?
Our children often get severe respiratory conditions where it gets hard to sleep at night. But how can you save your child from these suffering with a humidifier? You may read further on What Does A Humidifier Do For Babies? (myfinestair.com) A humidifier will moisturize the nasal cavity, throat, and bronchi to ease air passage.
This article has elaborated on how you can use a humidifier efficiently to cure cough and other issues.
You can Also Check Our Guide: How Long Does Humidifier Lung Last?
How Does A Humidifier Help With Cough
A humidifier often helps relieve cough, but there is no proper clarification on its extent. Confusion usually arises due to varying coughs and the compatible humidifier for treatment.
- The humidifier releases water vapors in the surroundings to increase the moisture in the air.
- Most humidifiers are centralized in the HVAC system of homes, where humidity is delivered to all areas. These settings allow equal distribution of moisture in the entire home. These humidifiers are a great option for dry regions but can cost extra money.
- Some evaporative humidifiers have a fan installed, blowing moist air into the environment. In contrast, a steam vaporizer is also effective in adding enough moisture.
- While other humidifiers, such as impeller and ultrasonic, work via high rotation and ultrasonic sounds, respectively.
The air quality of your living area improves with a humidifier by loosening mucous, reducing throat irritation, and giving a feeling of minimum congestion.
You can Also Check Our Guide: Does Humidifier Help With Dry Eyes?
Can Humidifier Make Cough Worse?
Winters aren’t always pleasing due to the arrival of several health illnesses caused by less immunity and weather stress.
At extremely low temperatures, we all invest in heating devices to keep the body temperature at an optimum level to avoid flu, fever, and cold. But these heating appliances also cause excessive dryness in the air, which directly impacts the lungs leading to dry cough.
It has been medically proven that a humidifier assists best in relieving dry cough instead of worsening it.
The mists released from the device will ease the airways, but a dirty and poorly maintained humidifier will make coughing worse and trigger asthma and other allergies.
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Which Type of Humidifier Is Best to Cure Cough?
There are two types of humidifiers, cool-mist & warm-mist humidifiers which are further divided into other types such as evaporative, impeller, ultrasonic, and whole-house humidifiers. Cool mist, warm mist, ultrasonic, and whole house humidifiers are the most used to relieve cough.
- A cool-mist humidifier with a functional fan adds moisture to the air by evaporation. This is the most used device for safety reasons, as no heat is required to run it. You can use it around children to help with chest congestion, cold, and dry cough in dry winters.
- Warm-mist humidifiers produce steam to generate vapors to moisturize the air. The steam helps reduce irritation in the throat, skin inflammations, colds, and coughs. Vicks and some essential oils are also safe to add in these units to improve breathing.
- Whole-house humidifiers are good for adding humidity to the house but can prove costly and require extra installation and maintenance care.
- Ultrasonic humidifiers are cheap, and you can easily keep them in good condition. Still, the white dust they produce is the major reason they are not popular for relieving cough.
How to Use A Humidifier Effectively For Cough & Congestion?
You can run your humidifier all day to keep the humidity levels balanced, but most recommend running it overnight to provide undisturbed sleep. Usually, coughing gets worse at night, making it difficult to sleep. Here are some effective tips to make the right use of a humidifier to relieve cough:
- Keep the humidifier in the room where the coughing person is sleeping. The distance should be at least three feet from the infected person.
- Always use your unit after thoroughly cleaning and," empty the tank before or after every use. Your humidifier can trigger many allergies if bacteria, mold, and other pathogens build up.
- The device's position matters a lot to ensure enough moisture reaches the relevant individual. Keeping it too far or close will only waste energy and lead to accidents.
- Keep changing the intensity settings on the cool mist humidifier by maintaining them low when there’s a mild cough and high when it is chronic.
- In a humidifier, aromatherapy diffusers, essential oils, and Vicks can also relieve severe coughs in the best ways.
What Health Benefits You Get From A Humidifier?
The following benefits are 99.9% ensured by a properly functioning and well-maintained humidifier.
- If you are the victim of sleeping problems, a warm or cool mist humidifier will improve your sleep quality.
- Skin dryness in winter can promote several infections, irritations, and allergies, which you can control with a humidifier.
- A good-quality humidifier can treat runny nose, chest congestion, shortened breath, and severe cough due to respiratory issues.
- A humidifier reduces the chance of spreading airborne diseases caused by viruses and germs by keeping the humidity level at 40% to 50%
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What Preventive Measures Should You Take When Using Humidifier For Cough?
Turning on a humidifier’s switch doesn’t guarantee alleviating respiratory or other health concerns. You need to take special precautionary measures to ensure the moisture you get through the device is safe and beneficial. Follow these tips to get the most out of your unit.
- Ensure the cleanliness of your device to avoid the proliferation of bacteria, viruses, mold, and mildews.
- Add only distilled or demineralized water before running the humidifier. Using tap water or unfiltered water will only make the situation worse.
- Whenever the humidity level falls below 30%, turn on the humidifier instead of exceeding the moisture to provide favorable conditions for fungal growth.
- Always use the recommended and right type of humidifier.
- Take extra care when you use humidifiers specifically for babies.
You can also check our guide: Why Does My Humidifier Water Turn Black?
How to Treat Cough If You Do Not Have A Humidifier?
You only need to rely on a humidifier to ease breathing issues. Several other possible ways are also out there which you can prefer according to your needs.
- You can take proper medications and suppressants after the doctor’s recommendation.
- Most cough syrups contain antihistamines which make sleep better.
- If you prefer natural ways, add a spoonful of honey to warm water to drink.
- Warm fluids are best to soothe throat soreness and irritation.
- HEPA air purifier also assists in relieving severe coughs.
Final Thoughts
So, does a humidifier help with a cough? Of course, they are the best treatment for nasty dry coughs.
After running a humidifier in your room, you can improve your lifestyle with several other health perks. Humidifiers pose no harm except for people with asthma, and you shouldn’t worry about worsening your cough.
You must visit a doctor if coughing persists any longer than three weeks.
