As a new mother, I was curious is humidifier good for babies. When I searched for the information or talked to my friends, I got contradictory opinions. So when I asked the pediatrician “Is a Humidifier Good for Baby?” This is what I learned: Yes humidifiers are good for babies especially in winter as it adds moisture to the air in baby’s room and creates optimal breathing conditions, helping the baby to sleep comfortably.
Also the comforting hum of a humidifier resembles the sounds a baby is used to hear in a mother’s womb and drowns other household noises, easing the baby to fall asleep peacefully.
Let’s take a closer look at several humidifier benefits for babies in your baby’s nursery.
Humidifier Benefits For Babies
Moistureless, dry air in a room can dry out the babies sinuses causing an uncomfortable, stuffed-up feeling. The tiny nasal passage may fill up quickly, making it very difficult for a baby to breath comfortably.
Moreover, without an optimal level of moisture, inside part of a baby’s nose can cause the skin to crack and even bleed. Humidifier adds the much-needed moisture to the air especially in the dry winter season, creating the best breathing conditions, ensuring your little one’s comfort.
Another side benefit of using humidifier is to reduce a chance flare-up of baby eczema as it helps to keep the baby skin soft. A baby’s skin is far more sensitive than an adult and it can get dry resulting in itchy, uncomfortable dry patches. Humidifier adds moisture to the air which allows the skin to retain its natural moistness.
Is Humidifier Good For Babies With Colds?
It’s very frustrating for a mother to watch her baby suffer from a nasty cold. As both the FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics warns against giving cold medication to children younger than 2 years old, it makes parent feel even more helpless when their little one is suffering from a runny nose.
But, parents often wonder is humidifier good for babies. But many parents are unaware that a humidifier can help to alleviate the baby’s suffering from cold.
The warm, moist air produced by a humidifier helps to reduce the nasal secretions, helping to keep baby’s nasal passages clear.ask your pediatrician, and if he agrees, you can add a few drops of Vick’s VapoSteam, or natural eucalyptus oil, which can assist in opening the nasal passages of your little one.
How close should humidifier be to the baby?
There is no fixed rule as such regarding where and how close should you put a humidifier. But in general, it’s recommended by professionals to keep the humidifier at least three feet away from the bed on a flat surface above the floor that does not get ruined by water droplets or spills.
If the baby is suffering from severe congestion it might be helpful to keep it near the baby’s bed temporarily.
Also, ensure that the humidifier is not exposed to sunlight constantly.
How To Test Humidity Level In A Room?
The easiest and most accurate way to check humidity in a room is to use a hygrometer. You can check both the temperature and relative humidity of a room at a glance these days with an inexpensive digital hygrometer like this one. As humidity in a way is related to temperature, being able to see both at a glance is a great feature of this digital hygrometer.
What Kind of Humidifier Is Best For Baby?
When discussing about is humidifier good for babies, both hot and cool water humidifiers add moisture into the dry air in a room equally effectively. They work equally well on your baby’s cold symptoms. However, it’s best to use cool mist humidifiers for a baby. Though the respiratory benefits to a sick baby are same for both type of humidifier, a cool-mist humidifier is much safer for a baby than steam vaporizer.
A hot water humidifier or a steam vaporizer heats water which has the potential to burn a baby, so most pediatrician nowadays recommend cool mist humidifier.
How To Choose The Best Humidifier For a Baby or Is Humidifier Good For Babies?
When purchasing a humidifier for your baby nursery, consider the following:
- Is it Cool Mist or Hot steam?
Choose cool mist for babies safety reasons mentioned above. Generally vaporizers mean they release “hot steam” and humidifier means they spray “cool mist”, but these terms are used loosely by some manufacturers, so ensure you are getting one that emits a cool mist in the air.
- How much effective area does it cover?
The effective area that a humidifier covers varies. If you want to exclusively use it for a baby’s room or nursery those humidifiers that cover 100 square feet should be good enough. But you are sleeping with your baby in a bigger bedroom, you may need machines that covers a larger area.
- Does it come with a built-in Filter?
Some of the models available come with a built-in filter that keeps potential nuisances out of the air. But it can be a source of bad health if filters are not cleaned regularly. So make your choice according to your time and ability to clean the filters
- Does it come with a built-in Diffuser?
Some brands and models have a built-in diffuser so that a scent or oil can be added to release a pleasing aroma, or as a help to ease congestion in a baby. If you just want a simple humidifier, skip those with this particular feature.
What are the Best Humidifiers For a Baby’s Nasal Congestion?
Here are the best baby humidifier models currently on the market.
It can hold 1.5 liters of water inside its tank and can run up to 16 hours, so can be used throughout the night.
There are options to choose from high or low-speed settings and adjust mist direction and intensity.
It comes with an inbuilt night light which can be turned on with a press of a button. Learn more about it here.
It can hold up to 4.5 liter of water which works straight for 30 hours.
This humidifier model comes with an inbuilt diffuser through which you can add Vicks Scent Pads to ease your baby’s nasal congestion.
But first get the advice of your pediatrician whether that is suitable for your baby’s age
There is no filter to replace, easy to clean and easy most control with dial design. Check it out here.
When your baby comes down with a cold, using a humidifier is the best option to give relief to the little one. A humidifier not only moist the air to make your baby more comfortable, it can also help it to heal faster. That’s well worth the upfront investment of a humidifier for most parents. What about You? Are you wondering is humidifier good for babies or are you considering getting a humidifier? Also please share any tips on how you deal with a baby suffering from cold!
