If you’re looking for a natural way to boost your child’s health, consider a humidifier. We don’t often think about the quality of the air we’re breathing in, but it has a large impact on our overall health.
While a home’s humidity level is usually between 30-50%, it’s ideal for children for it to be closer to 50%. This can be difficult to achieve depending on where you live, particularly if the climate is dry. However, a humidifier can be the solution to your problem.
Below, we discuss the benefits of humidifiers for babies and toddlers, and why you should consider investing in one for your child.
It Can Prevent Sickness
Research has found that using a humidifier can reduce the chances of getting sick. One study found that it can specifically prevent the flu. When humidity levels are above 40 percent, it quickly deactivates the virus particles in the air, making it less contagious.
While the flu is uncomfortable for everyone, it can be especially dangerous to young children whose immune systems aren’t fully developed yet. Additionally, babies and toddlers cannot take the same medication as older kids and adults can to treat a sickness, like the flu.
This makes adding a humidifier to your child’s room a good preventative measure, especially if people in your household are already sick.
Improves Cold Symptoms
Not only can a humidifier help prevent you from getting ill, but it can also improve symptoms of sickness, particularly those affecting the skin and respiratory system. As Medical News Today reports, humidifiers can help improve:
- Cough
- Dry skin
- Dry throat
- Cracked lips
- Irritated eyes
- Bloody nose
- Sinus headaches
Humidifiers can help make cough more productive. Adding moisture to the environment helps moisten the airways. This reduces the dryness of the cough and allows trapped phlegm to be released.
As Canopy points out, most over-the-counter cold remedies aren’t safe to offer children before they reach 2 years old. So, humidifiers present a safe and natural option to treat your child’s cold symptoms without turning to medication.
Can Help Manage Allergies
If your young child struggles with allergies (or anyone in your family), then a humidifier can do a world of good. Allergy and Air explains that dry air encourages the body to produce more mucus than needed, which can exacerbate allergy symptoms.
Conversely, a well-balanced level of humidity can help keep the nasal passages clear of mucus, giving the body more opportunity to filter out any allergens it was exposed to before they caused irritation.
Don’t just Introduce a humidifier into your child’s room if they’ve been diagnosed with allergies. Speak to a medical professional first. It’s also great to use as a preventative measure, especially if you have reason to believe your child is more prone to allergies (like if there’s a family history).
It Can Soothe Skin Irritation
The skin of young children is very sensitive, especially babies. Skin irritations like eczema, cradle cap, heat rash, contact dermatitis, and even acne are common in infants and toddlers, but this can be a huge discomfort to your young child.
One of the benefits of humidifiers is that it can help combat skin irritations. Dry air can exacerbate skin irritations by contributing to itchiness, flaking, and cracking, whereas adding moisture prevents as well as improves these symptoms.
When your baby or toddler is sick, they likely have difficulty falling asleep. Their various symptoms can make them irritable and fussy, leaving everyone feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.
But since humidifiers can help alleviate a variety of symptoms, they can help your young child fall asleep quicker and with more ease. Some humidifiers even come with child-friendly features (like a night light, sounds, or scents), which can further help your child wind down for bed and fall asleep.
Can Use With Essential Oils
Finally, many humidifiers feature a built-in diffuser that can allow you to use essential oils. While not every essential oil is safe, there is a variety that can offer positive health benefits to young kids.
For example, distilled lemon can promote energy and a better mood, eucalyptus can reduce congestion, and lavender has a calming effect. However, you should speak with your child’s doctor before introducing essential oils in their routine to clarify what types are okay and the dosage.
Regardless of if it has a diffuser or not, a humidifier should never be placed directly in a child’s face. It can be in the same room, but they should not be directly breathing the mist. Also ensure it’s in a safe, stable spot that cannot be a hazard for your child.
Sources: PLOS One, Medical News Today, Healthline, Healthline, Allergy and Air, Canopy, Mommy’s Memorandum,