The Bad Side of "Too Dry Air" To The Health

It may be surprising how the degree moisture in the atmosphere can affect the health of an individual. Studies show that humidity has a direct impact on the amount of allergens in your immediate environment. Normally when a foreign substance (allergens) is introduced in the atmosphere, your immune system will react to maintain the state of your body. Depending on the amount of these substances in the air and your body's sensitivity, the response could either be severe or mild. How does humidity affect the amount of these chemical substances in the atmosphere? What is meant by 'too' dry air? And what danger can we perceive when the moisture content of the air depletes significantly?...Before we are ready to answer these questions, let us quickly look at what humidity is.


What is humidity?
Humidity is a measure of the amount of water(moisture) in the surrounding air. When the water content of the air is low, we say that the air is dry or the humidity is low. The extent of this dryness can vary with different atmospheric conditions. However, it is possible that the moisture content can reduce to a very minimal value. Under this condition, we can say that the air is too dry. Since most foreign substances are carried by the surrounding air, we expect that their nature and population will be determined by the degree of water in the surrounding air. Although it is argued that only allergic individuals suffer from these atmospheric changes but experience show that even individuals who are non-allergic also react to low humidity.


When the air is 'too' dry
Basically when the air is 'too' dry, your body looses heat in some certain ways that can affect your health negatively. Think about it; there are certain days you urinate more often or tend to breathe more heavily. Such days are usually periods of extremely low humidity. Because of the relative low amount of water in the atmosphere, your body will tend to lose moisture easily. How can this help or endanger your health? Well the truth is that anything less than a moderate humid air will definitely affect your health negatively. Let us quickly consider the consequence of a 'too' dry air on the health.


Consequence of low humidity
The effects of a very low humidity is usually more pronounced in two major areas of our health; respiratory and skin health. Just as earlier indicated, a low humid air can strongly retard the process of breathing. This is because during winter or cool periods of the year, the moisture in the skin tends to evaporate more readily and in response, the body system will attempt to maintain a balance by taking in more water. This leads to an accelerated breathing. The major consequences of a very dry atmosphere are highlighted below:

1. Low humidity leads to a dry nasal passage with bleeding of sinuses. It is also responsible for a sore throat.
2. Extremely dry air lowers the body defenses making you susceptible to diseases. This arises because of the inability of the dry nasal passages to effectively filter out allergens and microbes from the surrounding air.
3. It leads to a dry itching skin with more complications for those with a sensitive skin or diseases such as eczema, lice or ringworm around the head.
4. It can also lead to the 'tearing' of the lips. This is usually a more noticeable but doesn't necessarily have a dangerous effect on your health because the wound naturally heal by itself after sometime.
5. Low humidity can also lead to problems with the eyes, usually a watery eye which can itch at times.

In conclusion, the best way to be safe from this health problems is to maintain an environment with moderate humidity, neither low nor high. This can only be achieved by using using humidifiers for your homes and staying hydrated especially when you are outdoor.