Usenet Newsgroups Re: Winter coughing From: steve@kbnj.com (Steve Freides) AndyHancock wrote: I've always had itchy throat, but when winter comes, the cold air drys up and every little thing causes spasms of coughing.  I walk around like a freak and annoy my colleagues with it.  It is growing worse through the years.  Mostly a dry cough, but exclusively. I recently started to humidify my apartment, keeping the relative humidity (RH) between the recommended 30-50%.  The condition is better when RH is near the 50% end, but the problem seems to persists.  Now I'm beginning to wonder about the cause and effect.  I have been running a HEPA filter air purifier at home during the night, but this also coincides with the time that I stared to humidify the air, so I'm not sure if it has any effect. Two allergy tests over the past 7 years or so show that I'm sensitive to common things (horses, dust mites, cats).  There are no cats or horses around me, and I vacuum and launder regularly (including vacuuming the mattress). Family doctor can't hear anything through the stethoscope, and was in a hurry (as always). Any idea of a next step to sleuth down the problem, or another measure to take to ameliorate the problem? Unless you spend 24/7 in your apartment, whatever time you spend outside it can be enough to cause a persistent cough - it certainly is for me. I got my family doctor to order a home nebulizer for me, and I use it as needed with just plain saline and no other medicine.  It makes a big difference for me.  In this part of the world (metro NYC), I haven't needed it yet this winter, but I almost never make it through the winter without using it a few times.  I am fortunate to work mostly from home and this helps a great deal. Another good solution, albeit much more low-tech, is simply to take a long, hot shower or bath, long enough that the room's humidity gets very high, and long enough with you in it once the humidity is high to constitute a treatment for you.  And if not that, then simply take a big bowl of hot water and hold your face close to it for a while - some folks like to put a towel over their heads and the bowl to make the air you're breathing as moist as possible. NB #1 -  Ideal _indoor_ relative humidity indoor varies somewhat on the temperature of the _outdoor_ air - if it's really cold out, you ought to lower the indoor relative humidity.  If you don't, you risk creating mold indoors, and that is _not_ a good thing.  There is only so much you can do for yourself as regards indoor humidity in a cold winter environment, unfortunately.  Read this article, please, and pay attention to the chart: Of course, if you live in apartment with relatively few or no outside walls, this might not apply - the logic and recommendations in that article are basically for homeowners.  But this problem is another reason why a nebulizer or frequent long, hot showers or baths are great therapy.  Mold in your bathroom is at least confined to a relatively small space, the humidity is high for a relatively short period of time, and you just do what you need, e.g., clean the walls and ceiling as well as the floor regularly.  If new construction, be sure to specify a mold-resistant or otherwise appropriate type of wallboard in the bathroom. NB #2 - Run your humidifier 24/7 as well, unless you are out for long stretches _and_ your humidifier has the ability to change the indoor relatively humdity fairly quickly.  We have a whole-house humidifier and it takes a while for the air to move from the one vent around to the rest of the house - it actually is more humid on the first floor, where the vent is, at least in my opinion. NB #3 - Your HEPA filter will do its job much better if you let it run 24/7, and if you don't open your windows except to air out your house periodically.  Ideally, you pick a high capacity HEPA filter that you can run on a relatively low setting so that it's fairly quiet.  Do the math - how many hours it takes to completely change the air in the space you're got with the machine on a low or medium setting, and then you'll realize why only running it at night might not be the best solution. Hope that helps you some. -S- Subject  Winter coughing  Re: Winter coughing  Re: Winter coughing