Flu, Colds, Winter, Humidity
If I can save you some money and help prevent you from
suffering with a cold, or worse yet, the flu is it worth a few minutes of your
reading time? I hope so and I’m betting
you will too. Okay, I’m in Las Vegas and
occasionally I’m willing to place a bet.
The first three items in this title go together and so does
the fourth, in a very big way. So now it’s
time for me to connect the dots.
Cold winter weather keeps people indoors more and in close
proximity. So once a person gets a cold
it’s much more easily spread. A simple
sneeze, a handshake, and other contact can rush a cold or the flu through a
building like flood waters over a dam.
There are the obvious preventive measures that you hear
like, get a flu shot, wash your hands, etc.
Now here’s the one that gets overlooked and can make a big difference…..regulate
the humidity in your home and if possible your work environment.
The biggest compound in the human body is water. Humidity is water in the form of a vapor and
our bodies should be exposed to humidity in the 30 to 50 percent range. Have you ever got up from an 8 hour sleep
with cracked lips or a nose bleed from simply blowing your nose in the
winter? If so the reason is most often
being exposed to low humidity. For this
example let’s say the outside temperature is 25 F with a relative humidity (RH)
of 22%. That would make the dew point
-9F. Inside your home or office let’s
bump the temperature up to 72F. You
would have to add humidity to change the dew point from what it is outside, but
for now we’re not going to do that. Here’s
the result. The RH drops down to an
amazingly low 4%. Above I gave you the
range your body needs so now you understand why your nose bleeds and your lips
crack on those very cold winter days and nights. Also that static electricity spark you get
from walking on carpet is a sign of low humidity.
Breaks in the lip surface and the nose lining are a flu or
cold germs best friend. That can be the equivalent
of getting an infection from an open cut.
Those nasty germs can settle in, make camp, and involve your entire body
in a battle which will send you to the doctor with a fever, headache, body
aches, and….oh, you get the picture.
The solution to all of this does not need to be expensive or
complicated. Here, at the very least, is
what you need to do. Humidity the area
where you sleep and, if possible, the area where you work. Humidity in your work area may be out of your
control, but some is better than none so let’s concentrate on your home.
A whole house humidifier is ideal but can be expensive. Since you are only using this for a few
months in the winter let’s drop this down to a single room humidifier. The cost can range from as low as $20 for a
drug store steam humidifier to a couple of hundred bucks for an
ultrasonic/steam unit with an automatic humidistat. You will also need a hygrometer for measuring
RH, especially with the cheap solution. Fortunately those are inexpensive and readily available at your drugstore,
Target, or Wally World. The total cost
for humidifying your bedroom can be as low as $30. That may be less than you would spend on a
trip to the doctor. Remember your goal is to raise the humidity to right around 45%.
There is no ultimate weapon in cold or flu prevention. The question is does this help? I can tout you my personal statistics. In the past 30 years I’ve had 1 major run in
with the flu that put me down for a couple of days. I’ve had 3 major colds (5 to 7 day events)
and a couple of minor ones (less than 5 days).
You could say I’m exceptionally lucky and/or healthier than most people but
based on other factors I think not. When
I even think I feel a cold coming on I drink lots of green tea with honey and I
bulk up on vitamin C.
I do know that with proper humidity winter nose bleeds and cracked
lips will drop. If regulating the
humidity in your sleep environment helps keep you from getting a severe cold or
the flu, isn’t it worth it?
No comments:
Post a Comment