Finding and Using a Baby Humidifier Safely

When it comes to a parent and their child there are many rites of passage and installing a baby humidifier is something that every parent will consider and go through. As soon as your child gets sick the first thing that comes to mind is how my child can be made more comfortable. One of the best ways to do that is actually by making the air that he or she is breathing moist through the use of a humidifier. What moist air does for your child is to keep the mucus that builds up more liquid. Through this your child will not get as stuffy with the bottom line being they’ll be able to breathe much easier.

Now the issue is what should you use, a warm air/steam or a cool air/mist humidifier?

The answer to this is that both are going to be just as effective in terms of putting moisture into the air. A big consideration though is that the cool air/mist option is going to be recommended by most pediatricians due to the fact that there is a very real burn peril from not just the spillage of the boiling water but also from the steam. With that said though there is a drawback to the cool air/mist machines. Due to the fact that the water isn’t boiled they are made into a perfect mold and bacteria breeding ground. Since the breathing of either would be an extreme irritant to your child’s lungs. This is even made to be more troublesome if your child has asthma or another type of a chronic respiratory problem. When using any humidifier and especially the cool air/mist humidifier you have to be extremely diligent about cleaning the humidifier and doing so through the manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines.

It’s important to note that if you are using a warm air/steam humidifier you still have to make sure that you clean it and follow instructions on cleaning. Even though the water is boiling and produces the hot steam the reservoir is still a warm moist breeding ground for bacteria.

When and if possible you want to try to make sure the machine is filled with water that has a low mineral content. This would either be distilled water or filtered water. You could use something like a Brita filter. You can get those as sink attachments or have the jug that you can put the water through that filters it though the sink attachment would have the benefit of being much less labor intensive and they do come with an on/off ability.

The reason for this is that the minerals have the probability of building up on the machine and then dispersing into the air and potentially causing or fostering lung irritation. The humidifier should be placed by the crib but not so close that your child could reach out and touch or knock it down. The recommendation is to place the humidifier about three feet away from the crib.

Finally the humidifier isn’t something that only should be used when your child is sick in many cases. If you’re in a very cold part of the country where you’re constantly running your heat and the air is also very naturally dry during the winter months you should consider running a humidifier for your child at night even if he/she isn’t sick. What this does is will keep the nasal passages from getting dry.

The one note is that you want to be sure that his/her room doesn’t get so humid to the point that the water is condensing on the windows/pictures/walls. Through the use of a baby humidifier you can keep your child happy and healthy and the air under control.