Do you use a humidifier in your kid's rooms?

[camdensmom]

Hi all,

We are less than a week from our vacation and I am frantically trying to get the family healthy. My DS(19 months) has had a cold and may be teething. We have forced hot air and for the past two weeks he has been waking up coughing and crying throughout the night. Ears checked out fine at the doctor. I'm wondering if the dry air is making him cough.

We are thinking about putting a humidifier in his room. Does anyone have any advice or experiences? Also, if you have a brand you like I would love to know about it. Thanks so much!

 

[jbmom]

I put a humidifier in my ds's rooms. They would wake up with a dry cough and had horribly dry skin. I also put a large plant in each room. Both my sons have been feeling much better in the mornings since I did it. We just bought small ones from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

 

[brymolmom]

We do. And I swear by it. It is a cool mist humidifier and it does get pretty cold in there at night tho (we're in Rochester - very cold outside here too) - but it's worth it. We used to only have it on when they were sick - but last winter I decided to keep it on all the time and they got sick a lot less. I had forgotten about it this winter until they both got sick in December - then I got it out and they've been (fingers crossed) pretty good since.

Oh - the one negative is they get pretty icky after awhile - I am going to look for a sale on a new one, come to think of it. We clean it out pretty good periodically - but from the water sitting idle in it during the day - it does get gross.

Good luck!

 

[RangerPooh]

We have 2, a hot air and a cold air. I forget which is which. But one is in DD bedroom and the other in ours. We bought them to help combat DD asthma and colds. They seem to help when we usethem regularly. As for the brands I can't help you as I bought what ever Shopko and Walmart had left (as it's the end of the winter season).

 

[mary174]

Whenever my sons' get colds or other viruses their doctor's advice always includes using a humidifier in their room. She also recommends lots of fluids and saline spray or drops for kids for my oldest son who is prone to sinus infections.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We use one (cool mist) when DS has a cold - he's prone to croup, and it helps prevent it.

They are also good if you tend to get nosebleeds from the dry air.

As another poster said, follow the cleaning instructions so it doen't get gunky, especially if your area has "hard water".

 

[MNdisneymom]

I've never used one consistently (every night) until this winter. My DS is 4, and he had a cough that just wouldn't go away (even after the cold it started with was long gone) so I decided to use the humidifier every night. We've been doing it for a month and he sleeps much better now.

We use one that looks like Thomas the Tank Engine. It even has a nightlight function, which is nice. I bought it at our local Target.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Yes we use a cool mist one. Love it!!! It does make the room a little cooler but her skin is not as dry and no more congestion!!!!!! Love it

 

[Disneyforus]

We have 2 children with asthma, and use a coolmist humifier when they get colds. I also sometimes use the vicks vapo rub ointment...they make a vicks for baby too. I have noticed that it will sometimes quiet there coughs enough to sleep.

I am already freaking out about trying to keep my 4 kids(7,5,3,18 months) healthy for our trip and it is 8 wks away. I will start airborne in about 4 wks with the three older ones as well as myself and husband. We started using it this fall because we had such a *bad* winter last year. I have to say, we didn't get sick until late January, and we hadn't done the airborne for about 3 wks. Coincidence? Who knows, but if it works and my kids will be healthy for Disney than sign me up!!!

Good luck getting your little one healthy!!

 

[PrincessPoohsMom]

We've run a humidifier regularly in DD's room since the second week we had her home, because she kept waking up stuffy (we also have forced hot air for heating). We use a Crane cool mist humidifier, you can pick them up at Target for around $30. They're shaped like all sorts of different animals (we have a frog), so they seem a little silly, but it works GREAT. Nice & quiet, no issues with leaks (unlike the first two we bought).

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

Get an ultrasonic humidifier, we bought one from vicks and it doesn´t get yucky at all but it is extremely noisy.

 

[tmarquez]

Another vote for the cool mist models. DD always gets a bad cough along with whatever happens to be going around. We use a Vicks model. For us it's a miracle worker.

 

[MSSANDRA]

When DS was little we ran a cool mist one all the time. Later ,anytime he was sick. Our Dr said be sure to use a cool mist as toddlers are at high risk for burns with warm ones. I bought our DB a new one last month and got a Sunbean. It was 40.00 at Wal-greens but you can do better at WAl-mart. Just did not want to take a sick baby anywhere else. Be sure to clean according to direction. Mold build up can be dangerous.

Hope your little one feels better soon.

 

[MALE*RN*777]

We have a humidifier in each bedroom and when the kids are really stuffy we breakout the vaporizer.