Humidity at Home Helps Reduce Viruses in Winter

Keeping your home humid helps reduce viruses that flourish in dry environments

Reduce Cold and Flu Symptoms Related to Dry Environments

Sometimes it's easy to forget that if you are experiencing more sore throats, colds, flu and allergy symptoms once the heat is on in your home, it's because the air is too dry. It has been said that many viruses actually flourish in dry environments.

You can alleviate these effects by using a humidifier. According to the Effects of Dry Air on the Body, studies have shown that dry air has four main effects on the human body:

1. Breathing dry is a potential health hazard which can cause such respiratory ailments as asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, and nosebleeds, or general dehydration since body fluids are depleted during respiration.
2. Skin moisture evaporation can cause skin irritations and eye itching.
3. Irritative effects, such as static electricity which causes mild shocks when metal is touched, are common when the air moisture is low.
4. The "apparent temperature" of the air is lower than what the thermometer indicates, and the body "feels" colder.

Maintain Wellness By Maintaining the Right Humidity in Your Home

Humidity is an important element in our wellness. Maintaining the right humidity in your home can prevent health problems. Last night I went to my local hardware store and bought two humidifiers for our home. It's hard to describe how much better I felt just breathing the air afterwards, and I noticed this morning that I'd had a better sleep too.

Read more about the negative effects on health caused by a lack of humidity.