Last Updated: February 26, 2024
A persistent cough can be a pain in the neck. It is physically and mentally draining to cough for hours on end, and it can also interfere with your daily routine.
What Is a Cough?
A Cough is a sudden, noisy, voluntary, or involuntary hacking sound that expels air from the lungs to clear out irritations. Cough can be dry or wet/ chesty, producing phlegm or mucus with a feeling of heaviness in the chest. Cough is often associated with illnesses like colds, flu, postnasal drip, sore throat, chest tightness, hoarseness, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Congestion is usually caused by inflammation in the airways and can be triggered by breathing too-dry air.
Severity of Coughs
The severity of cough can range from acute, subacute to chronic. An acute cough lasts for around three weeks and is generally associated with a virus infection. Subacute coughs typically last for 3 to 8 weeks based on the severity. Some of the common subacute cough causes include infectious cough, postnatal drip, and eosinophilic bronchitis. Chronic cough is the most severe of the coughing conditions, and it may last longer than eight weeks. Some of the common causes of chronic cough include asthma, smoking, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), COPD, heart issues, and lung cancer.
Triggers of Cough
Asthma – A common chronic condition that inflames the airways in the lungs and produces a dry, non-productive cough.
Smoking – People who smoke often develop a chesty cough as the body tries to flush out the foreign chemicals and phlegm entering the lungs through the cigarette.
Bacteria and viruses – Viral infection is one of the most common causes of cough, such as pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, sinusitis, cold, and flu.
Allergies – Some people have hypersensitivity. The immune system will overreact to environmental irritants such as particulate particles, pollen, dander, dust, and chemicals, causing a reaction and inducing cough.
Environmental factors – Coughs can be triggered due to air pollution such as wildfire, haze, traffic jams, or industrial areas.
Drugs: Certain medications can induce coughing. Drugs like Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors used to treat heart conditions can cause coughing.
How Does Humidifier Help Cough?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a humidifier can help relieve symptoms such as a cough or sore throat. Humidifiers help relieve cough and discomfort by releasing moisture into the air. These household appliances increase the air’s humidity, moisten the dry nasal passages, and remove excess mucus for easier breathing. A humidifier will also reduce inflammation and nasal congestion and prevent cough from spreading to others. In the long run, using humidifiers can help alleviate seasonal allergies, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), mainly chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends temporarily running a cool-mist humidifier to relieve cough and congestion. Humidifiers keep your throat and nasal passages hydrated, allowing you to breathe better. In addition, if you get sick, keeping your nasal passages and your throat moist could help you heal faster and may reduce symptoms like coughing and sneezing.
Types of Humidifiers for Cough
Warm mist humidifier – A warm mist humidifier uses a heating mechanism to boil water and releases the converted steam. The soothing vapor help reduce inflammation, nosebleeds, cold, sore throat, and cough. Also known as a vaporizer, you can even add aromatherapy diffusers, essential oil, or medicine to some warm mist humidifiers to better breathing. Warm mist humidifiers are ideal for cold and congestion as they require less maintenance, generate less white dust, support additives, and kill microorganisms via their heating elements.
Cool mist humidifier – Cool mist humidifiers use a fan to pull air into a soaked wick filter and diffuse cool water vapor. These machines are ideal for winter, and they are a safer option for cough as they do not generate heat that could cause a burn. If you have children or pets at home, a cool-mist humidifier would be ideal as it can help ease cough and congestion without the burning risk of boiling water spills. The downside to a cool-mist humidifier is the mineral buildup. In addition, routine cleaning is needed to prevent microorganisms’ growth in the bucket.
Ultrasonic humidifier – These humidifiers use a transducer and diaphragm to oscillate ultrasonic frequency and produce a cool mist. The high-frequency plate vibration safely creates and disperses moisture into the air. Ultrasonic humidifiers are silent and easy to maintain as they don’t use a filter. These humidifiers vary in price, depending on the size you need. On the downside, it creates a lot of white dust that could be detrimental to a cough.
Whole-house humidifier – Whole-house humidifiers are built directly into your home’s air conditioning or heating unit to humidify your whole house. While a whole-house humidifier is a space-saving way to add moisture to every room, they are expensive to install and a hassle to maintain. These are the most expensive humidifier types, but they’re the best choice if you want to add humidity throughout the entire house.
Top Humidifiers for Cough (We can add links to our top humidifiers)
- Vicks Mini filter cool mist ultrasonic humidifier.
- Elechomes UC5501 Ultrasonic humidifiers.
- Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic cool mist humidifier.
- Levoit cool mist Ultrasonic humidifier.
- Vicks Mini filter cool mist ultrasonic humidifier
Here’s a detailed blog on these humidifiers – Best Humidifiers For Cough
Maintaining Humidifiers
To use a humidifier effectively and get the expected benefits, follow some of the guidelines highlighted below:
Clean Regularly: If your humidifier is not correctly cleaned and maintained, it can spread mold, bacteria, or minerals into the air. An uncleaned humidifier can lead to microbial growth in the unit, which may get dispersed into your home’s air. In addition, inhaling allergens can lead to health issues and further aggravate a cough.
Clean the water tank thoroughly every one to three days, and replace the filter every week. Use a disinfectant and clean cloth to thoroughly clean the whole unit, especially the parts exposed to water. Rinse the tank thoroughly before the subsequent use. Please do not use bleach or other strong chemicals to clean the humidifier, as their residue may get released into the air through the humidifier, worsening respiratory symptoms. Instead, use natural ingredients like vinegar to remove the residues.
Use Distilled Water: Use distilled or demineralized water instead of tap water in a humidifier. This helps prevent the formation of mineral deposits in the water tank or other parts in contact with water.
Monitor Moisture Content: When the humidity inside your home exceeds 50%, it can promote mold growth, mildew fungi, microbes, bacteria, etc. If you notice condensation on windows and walls, the room’s air is probably too wet. Some humidifiers are equipped with a built-in hygrometer that you can automatically adjust to the desired humidity level. You can also separately purchase a hygrometer to help monitor the humidity in your home.
Use when necessary: You should ideally use humidifiers if the indoor humidity falls below 30%. Consisted use of a humidifier in an environment exceeding 50% moisture can worsen asthma and promote micro bacterial growth. Most new humidifiers are equipped with a hygrometer, so check the moisture level before using the appliance. You can also purchase a hygrometer to monitor the home humidity level to determine optimal usage.
Regularly change filters: If your humidifier has filters, it is ideal to change filters per the manufacturer’s recommendation.
Keep it clean: Some humidifiers may leak water; hence if the area around a humidifier becomes damp or wet or if you notice condensation on windows, carpeting, drapes, or tablecloths, turn down the humidifier or reduce how often you use it.
Store Properly: Drain and clean the humidifier before storing them. When you take them out for reuse, clean them thoroughly and throw away all used cartridges, cassettes, or filters.
Use Professionals Help: If you have a whole-house humidifier built into your central heating and cooling system, read the instructions manual carefully or hire an HVAC professional for maintenance.
Replace Old humidifiers: Over time, humidifiers can build up deposits that are difficult to remove and encourage the growth of bacteria. Moreover, their efficiency also reduces after prolonged usage. You may consider replacing the unit with a new one instead of costly repairs and maintenance.
When Not to Use a Humidifier
As per the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), if you have indoor allergies, a humidifier can do more harm than good, as common indoor allergens such as mold, mildew, and mold spores thrive in moist air that can trigger allergies and asthma.
Also, if you leave water inside the humidifier tank, it can leave mineral deposits that may get dispersed through the humidifier.
A poorly-maintained, dirty humidifier may lead to a risk of “humidifier fever,” a condition when you inhale vapors contaminated with mold, fungi, bacteria, viruses that aggravate cough and other illness symptoms.