Contents
How to avoid dry environment at home and what are the benefits of keeping it cool
Healthy habits
Putting wet towels or rags on the heater can help us improve the atmosphere of a room
The debate is eternal: those who live in humid areas defend their climate and those who live in a driest area they do the same. Everyone highlights its benefits and omits its weaknesses, but there is one thing that cannot be argued, and that is the scientific evidence. The environment that is closest to humid is better for our health.
Although it depends on the area in which we live, the type of environment we are used to (it is not the same, of course, living in an inland area or in a coastal area) within our house we we can be responsible for the environment we breathe. Why is this drier environment not good for our health? “The inspired air requires a degree of humidity, because the bronchial tree must be humid. If the mucous membranes are dry, they begin to produce dense mucus, which adheres to the wall of the bronchi and trachea, making it difficult to expel “, says Dr. Manuel Serrano, head of the Internal Medicine Service at Hospital La Luz.
The professional continues and explains that airborne particles (such as dust) and germs from the environment “Stick to mucus.” Although normally “with expectoration they are eliminated”, if less mucus is produced the particles can become trapped in the wall of the bronchi.
How a “dry” environment affects us
Dr. Joaquín Lamela López, specialist in pulmonology at the Joaquín Lamela clinic and a member of Top Doctors, comments that the dryness of the environment at home can cause “irritation” of the respiratory tract, thus causing itchy throat and cough. “This increased dryness can also affect the skin and cause itching,” he points out.
«The higher the air humidity, the better the function of the respiratory mucosa; the cough becomes softer or even disappears ”, explains Dr. Serrano and continues by giving the example of a home in winter, where heating dries the environment up a lot, and in this situation dry rhinitis and respiratory distress through the nose are facilitated.
Even so, Dr. Lamela López points out that, in some diseases such as asthma, humidity, the frequent fogs in some places and cold can negatively affect worsening the symptoms of these.
How to keep a cool environment at home
If we live in a very dry area, or we notice that the environment in our house is very dry, there are little tricks to find a bit of humidity. “There are many methods to moisten the environment at home in cities with dry air, far from the sea or humid environments, especially in case the heating worsens the dryness “, says Dr. Serrano and recommends the following: put wet rags, towels or freshly washed clothes on the radiators, so that the evaporation of the water from the fabrics with the heat passes into the environment and moistens it. «We could also help ourselves by putting bowls with water or use a good humidifier, “adds Dr. Lamela López.
Finally, the Top Doctors professional indicates that there is no ideal environment or temperature for our home, and that each person can tolerate humidity or dry environments differently. “Keep a temperature in the home between 18 and 22 degrees It seems to be the ideal ”, he concludes.