To some people, dry air is a confusing concept. Surely all air is dry, right? Well, no, it isn’t. Some air contains more moisture, which is referred to as humidity. When you check the humidity levels in the air, it basically tells you how ‘wet’ or ‘dry’ the air is. You might assume that humid air is a bad thing as it can make you feel really stuffy and sweaty. That’s only the case when the humidity levels are absurdly high – like in some tropical countries during the summer months. On the contrary, it’s beneficial to have a bit of humidity in the air, particularly in your home.
The problem is that dry air can lead to a variety of health concerns. Some of these are more superficial than others, but dry air isn’t good for you. It tends to be a problem in the winter as there’s naturally less humidity in the air. The temperatures drop, creating cold dry air for us to breathe. What sort of issues will you see with dry air? Let’s take a look…
Dry and chapped skin
As you can imagine, dry air isn’t good for your skin. Most of you have been out and about in cold weather, but how did your skin feel after? Hopefully, you’ve wrapped up nice and warm, but part of your face is probably still exposed. You’ll notice that the exposed areas feel very tight and dry when you step inside. This is basically because the dry air is making your skin dry out. In turn, this can lead to more serious skin conditions – like dermatitis or eczema.
Dry air is also responsible for weakening the protective barrier on the surface of your skin. As a result, you’re more prone to react to other irritants – like allergens or chemicals. For instance, your hands may become super chapped and feel very raw after washing, purely because the dry air has made them more exposed.
Rhinitis & other sinus problems
Rhinitis is a common condition that affects millions of people all over the world. Typically, most people suffer from allergic rhinitis. This is where your nose gets blocked or runny, you sneeze a lot, and you generally feel quite run down. It happens due to allergens in the air – the most common of which is pollen (hay fever). However, there is also non-allergic rhinitis, which is largely caused by dry air.
Here, the dry air triggers your nasal passages and can dry them out. This may lead to inflammation, making it hard to breathe out of your nose. You will also be more exposed to bacteria and viruses as your nasal passage isn’t working properly to eject any bad things. Thus, you have a higher chance of getting sick during the winter months.
The bad thing is, you can’t cure rhinitis triggered by dry air. The good news is, it can be treated with some basic medication. It’s worth getting a repeat prescription for some type of nasal spray to help calm your symptoms. Nowadays, you can actually download a prescription delivery app, which makes life a lot easier for you. A couple of sprays in each nostril whenever you feel the symptoms will be enough to keep everything nice and calm.
Frequent nosebleeds
To add to the previous point, your nose gets an absolute battering by dry air. As well as causing rhinitis and other sinus issues, dry air can lead to frequent nosebleeds. Again, this is because your nasal passages get dried out, which triggers nosebleeds.
Granted, this isn’t a severe health problem, but it’s something that can annoy you. Getting nosebleeds every day will be a major inconvenience, especially if they happen at work. As well as being embarrassing, you will also start losing a fair bit of blood! If you think you get an unusually high number of nosebleeds in the winter, it’s probably due to dry air.
Respiratory problems
Next, dry air can lead to a host of troublesome problems for your respiratory system. As a quick little recap, your respiratory system refers to the system in your body that helps you breathe. In essence, it mainly focuses on your lungs. Dry air will cause havoc on your lungs because it dries out a lot of the fluid within the tubes that help lubricate your airways. In turn, this makes it harder to breathe and leaves you more prone to irritants. The fluid also helps to filter out airborne irritants, so you can imagine the impact dry air has on your lungs.
It’s common to suffer from breathing problems in the winter, purely due to the air. Indeed, asthma sufferers are likely to see increased symptoms during the colder months. The same goes for anyone suffering from bronchitis or other respiratory problems. Even healthy people will notice a difference – you may find it harder to take deep breaths, or your chest feels a bit sore when you’re out in the cold.
The effects are most noticeable when you run around in the cold air. You’ll definitely feel as though your chest is on fire, and it’s all thanks to the dry air. So, if you already suffer from respiratory problems, you should undergo protective measures to prevent your symptoms from worsening in dry air.
Dehydration
Yes, dry air could cause dehydration in a lot of people. As you can imagine, this is because the air dries out your body and gets rid of a lot of your natural fluids. Therefore, you have an increased need to replenish your fluid levels – which most people won’t be aware of. Your normal drinking levels aren’t going to cut it, hence the feeling of dehydration.
Sore throat
Lastly, dry air is associated with triggering sore throats in a lot of people. This tends to happen if you breathe a lot through your mouth. Ironically, you only have to refer back to the second problem to identify an issue. Dry air can cause sinus issues, blocking your nose. Therefore, you’re more inclined to breathe through your mouth! Perhaps this is why sore throats are so common, but dry air will trigger them.
You’ll likely feel as though your throat is very raw, and it may be hard to swallow. As of yet, there aren’t any links suggesting that dry air will cause things like tonsillitis or strep throat. It seems like it just causes throat pain because it dries the passageways.
What’s the best way to combat dry air?
Some of these problems can be combated with the relevant medication. However, your best approach is to tackle the dry air itself. Outside, there’s not a lot you can do – other than wrap up warm and protect yourself. Indoors, there are a few things you should most definitely start doing:
- Seal up any draughts coming through windows or doors – this stops cold air from entering your home and making it too dry.
- Avoid having your heating on for too long as it can dry out the air.
- Most importantly, get a humidifier for your rooms! The ideal humidity is between 40-60%, so get a device that lets you check this as well. It is the easiest way to handle dry air and keep yourself healthy.
In summary, dry air can do a lot of bad things to your body. If you constantly feel run down or sick during winter, it’s likely due to dry air. Work on adding more humidity to your home, and treat any existing health problems that can be exacerbated by the dry air.
