All the medical advice everywhere says to put a cool mist humidifier in my baby's bedroom when she's congested, but on the directions for the humidifier it says not to put it in a room where children are sleeping because it could get too moist. What am I supposed to do??
Thanks for all your thoughts! I think I'll just put it in there. She really needs it, poor girl!
we use the humidifier as well, we also got a vick's vapor plug in. My litte guy's nose was so stuffed up and that helped a lot. Also use saline mist. Good luck
You could get a humidistat (or whatever they are called) to measure the relative humimdity in the room, and turn the humidifier off when it shows it's too moist. Too moist is somewhere over ~60% (This from my memory, so you may want to investigate for yourself), and the risk may be that it creates a breeding ground for bacteria when it's too moist.
I have used humidifiers in my kids rooms all night. One word of warning though. Make sure you do not let water stand in the machine when not in use, and clean them regularly to make sure no mold forms.
Sounds like the manufacturer's covering themselves for liability. Could leave the door to her room open if you are worried about it. I have one on all 12 hours at night that my boy's are asleep, as recommended by the dermotologist we went to see. She recomended all night every night the heater is on, so we have it on every night for about 4 months. We've never had a problem with too much moisture, though they sleep with their doors open, but it's really not THAT much water that is emptied from the machine to the air. It really does halp with congestion a LOT, or croup, any of those respiratory struggles common in winter. :)
my youngest daughter has asthma and our asthma specialist told us that no one should ever use portable humidifiers. He said after you use it just one time the channels are full of bacteria. He said even if you try to bleach it, it will never get all of the bacteria out of the chambers. The only humidifer you should ever use is a whole house humidifer. They are not very expensive and they work great. The best thing is the vapor plug ins and saline in the nose. Also, plenty of water. Water thins out the mucus. Stay away from milk when the kids have colds. Milk thickens the mucus. Juice and water are best things when you are congested. Rub some Vicks vapor rub on her feet and then put socks on or feety pajammas. That's another great trick!
We have one in our daughter's room all night, and the humidistat never goes above 27%. No way is it "too moist!"
It is definitely ok to have a humidifier in the baby's room!!!! Some humidifiers come with a gauge that tells you the moisture content in the air...i.e. ranges for normal breathing and what is best for congestion/colds. We have one and it is very helpful. I use the warm mist humidifier..I talked to the pediatrician and both are ok to use..Of course the warm mist you have to be more cautious of because it can get hot and risk a burn but I like them because there is less chance of mold and the bedroom becoming too cold at night.
don't use if has asthma.
get one that has adjustable settings.
we have 2 and the one with on and off sucks and everything gets wet.
the other one has like 12 settings
I never used the cool mist kind. I used the regular humidifier. It helped the kids when they were sick. My Mom did it that way and I am still here to talk about it. When my son got older and I didn't want the regular plugged in humidifier in his room I bought those vapor plug ins. They work great too. More expense, but I don't have to worry about him getting out of bed and playing with the humidifier.
Ignore the directions. Use the humidifier. Unless you have it running at maximum 24/7, I cannot imagine how a room would get too moist.
That's definitely a liability avoidance statement. Here in Chicagoland there's no such thing as "too moist" in winter. I have used humidifiers for years as my boys get nose bleeds when it's too dry. If you walk into the babby's bedroom, you'll know if it feels too moist.
We also use the plug-in vaporisers which are great for keeping noses unclogged. However, make sure your baby can't get up and touch it as some of them might be too hot.
Hi A.,
I would buy a temperature/humidity gauge (hydrometer) -- you can buy them at Target, Walgreens, and the like. It's good (in order to avoid mildew) to keep the humidity at 50% or below. So you can run the humidifier with the gauge in the room, and then adjust the settings accordingly.
Best,
R.
