What is affected by air humidity? Relative humidity and how it affects health

Humidity is a measure that characterizes the content of water vapor in the air. It is known that a person is 80-90% water, but not everyone realizes that the level of humidity in the atmosphere plays a significant role in human life.

The moisture content in the air can affect a person's overall well-being. Deviation of this parameter from normal values can imperceptibly and gradually reduce a person’s immunity, worsen skin condition, and increase fatigue; this has a particularly negative effect on young children. We all notice how wet air good for health, and we strive to spend weekends or vacations relaxing on the seashore, river or lake. The normal level of humidity is beneficially reflected in our well-being. The optimal level is 45-65% relative humidity. Being indoors, we disrupt the natural balance of humidity that is maintained by nature. And if in summer this is practically not noticeable, then in winter the difference in relative humidity indicators outdoors and indoors becomes very significant. This happens because when the outdoor air is heated by the heating system, the level of relative humidity drops, since the amount of moisture in the air did not change when it was heated, and the ability of the air to absorb moisture increases in proportion to the temperature increase. As a result, moisture begins to evaporate at an increased rate from our body, which leads to dry throat (and in general to dry mucous membranes of the nose and respiratory tract due to constant interaction with dry air), dry skin (primarily hands and face), dry lips.

excessive dryness:

chapped skin and lips, nasal irritation, sore throat, breathing problems.

Symptoms of deteriorating health excess humidity:

Allergic reactions. Problems with asthma, rhinitis.

Repeated day after day, this unfavorable situation can lead to undesirable consequences, namely:

Fatigue

Since dry air makes it difficult for the body to receive oxygen, staying in such an atmosphere causes a deterioration in well-being and fatigue. Doesn't promote concentration.

Disease of the mucous membranes

As a result of dry air, the ear, nose, throat and bronchial areas are affected. The mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, the so-called respiratory epithelium, lose their protective function. However, after restoration of normal humidity, regeneration of the protective qualities of the epithelium is possible. The mucous membrane of the eye also loses its protective functions, opening the way for bacterial infection. Dry air also causes additional irritation for those who wear contact lenses, since accelerated drying of the lenses causes discomfort, and with prolonged exposure has an adverse effect on the condition of the eyes in general.

Deterioration of the child's health

One of the main factors in caring for a child is air humidity. Which he breathes. For healthy child humidity should be at least 50%, for a patient with a respiratory infection - at least 60%. If the air in the room is too dry, the child's mucous membranes dry out, his nose gets stuffy, and he often wakes up at night. Mucus accumulates in cavities and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. U infant The oral mucosa dries out and, as a result, pain may occur when sucking the breast.

Dry skin

Lack of moisture in the air accelerates the evaporation of water from the skin. It becomes dry. Prone to inflammation, rough and begins to flake.

Dust

Humidity “binds” dust. Dry air and, in addition, the heat generated by heaters, on the contrary, lead to dust flying throughout the room. This is especially contraindicated for asthmatics and allergy sufferers. At the same time, they increase electrostatic charges on clothing and objects.

Cracks in wooden objects

If the air in the room is constantly dry, furniture, parquet and other wooden objects gradually lose their original appearance. They begin to dry out and cracks appear over time. Upset musical instruments- also a result of insufficient air humidity.

Drying indoor plants

Lack of humidity leads to drying out of many house plants and flowers, the leaves of which are sensitive to humidity levels. Dry air can cause the edges of leaves to turn yellow and buds and flowers to drop.

Thus, information about relative humidity and air humidification during the autumn-winter season is relevant for every person, both at home and, if possible, at work. If you have children, then support optimal level humidity is your priority.

Maintaining humidity within the required range will prevent problems with your health and the condition of your home.

To control moisture levels, the Sun Decor company offers

The influence of air humidity on human health

A person's health is closely related to the quality of the air he breathes. One of the indicators of that same quality is humidity. Its effect on the body is especially noticeable during respiratory processes: entering the bronchi through the respiratory tract, the air increases its temperature by contacting the walls of the vessels of the respiratory tract. The walls themselves are closely connected to the mucous membrane. IN normal conditions it is quite humid, and passing through it, the air is moistened and heated. We see this reaction as steam in a cold room.

Low and high air humidity: manifestation

By controlling the level of humidity, you can improve indoor air quality and reduce the impact of adverse factors. It is important to understand that too high an indicator can provoke the development of fungi, viruses, bacteria and dangerous diseases. If the humidity is very high, the air in the room will be stale, bad smell. This, in turn, can lead to the development of asthma.

Too little humidity also negatively affects human health. In most cases, it causes nosebleeds, emotional irritability, and provokes itching.

You can avoid unpleasant effects by controlling the level of humidity in the room. Normally, this figure should vary from 40% to 60%. The range is quite wide, so it is not difficult to ensure that the indicator does not deviate from the norm. In addition, the human body is designed in such a way that at first it will not feel any changes. This time should be enough to correct the situation.

Means of measurement and division of indicators into groups

To measure air humidity, they were created special devices: psychrometers and hygrometers. Today these devices are available in several variants. Thus, a hygrometer can be film, ceramic, condensation, weight... However, regardless of the difference in devices, they are all aimed at displaying exact indicator humidity. That, in turn, can be classified into one of several groups:

up to 55% - dry;
from 56% to 70% - moderately dry;
from 71% to 85% - moderately humid;
from 85% - very wet.

An indicator of up to 60% is favorable for humans. Any deviations can lead to poor health, headaches, increased fatigue, as well as deterioration of memory and perception in general.

The effect of air humidity on children

Too high or low humidity can undermine the health of an adult. So what can we say about the child? Children, especially newborns, react especially sharply to an unacceptable indicator. First of all, their skin begins to suffer, and then their internal organs. To prevent this, parents should maintain optimal humidity in the baby's room.

Humidity Maintenance Methods

Support today normal indicator humidity is helped by special devices - adiabatic and isothermal humidifiers. They are used to humidify the air, and dehumidifiers, on the contrary, for drying. Often these devices are installed in bathrooms, laundries and swimming pools.

As practice shows, a huge number of people suffer from increased dry air in the apartment, especially during the heating season. They have to purchase special humidifiers and use every possible means to make the indoor air humid enough for normal living. However, many residents of lower floors and private houses are faced with the opposite problem - dampness in their homes. Let's try to discuss what high air humidity in an apartment is, what to do with it, what effect it has on a person, and how best to normalize it indoors.

Influence high humidity on the human body

The optimal air humidity in a living room is about fifty to fifty-five percent. If this figure rises, then the apartment becomes damp. Of course, excessive air humidity causes many problems for residents; it leads to noticeable and rapid deterioration of various household items that are made of natural materials - leather or wood. Natural floor coverings in such apartments often swell, and the wallpaper begins to peel away from the walls. Over time, ceilings and walls also deteriorate. The plaster covering them takes on a damp and loose structure, and may even begin to crumble when touched. In addition, excessive humidity leads to damage to books and different equipment.

Excessive humidity also has a negative impact on human health. This phenomenon can provoke allergic reactions and become the cause of a number of different ailments. So all allergy sufferers know that it is very difficult to cope with the disease if you live in conditions of excessive dampness. In very humid air, fungal organisms and microbes easily multiply, thereby provoking various ailments of the respiratory system and especially the lungs. Children especially often suffer from the harmful effects of dampness, because their immunity is not yet highly developed.

In addition to all that has been said, increased air humidity in the room leads to other negative consequences. In such houses, even the air becomes musty, it is saturated with a persistent and rather specific smell of dampness, which penetrates into clothes, eats into furniture and bed sheets. Dampness can even lead to mold on clothes in closets.

How to deal with excess humidity?

In order to normalize the level of humidity in a room, you must first determine the reasons for its increase. So, as practice shows, most often dampness develops due to insufficiently functioning ventilation or its absence. In addition, this problem can be caused by flooding of the basement in the house or unsealed inter-wall seams. Sometimes excessive moisture is a result of improper installation kitchen appliances, if new ventilation outlets block its main routes. Typically, the floors below suffer from such repairs.

Another factor that can cause excess humidity can be the closing of water pipes with special boxes, which makes it impossible to detect water leaks in a timely manner.

Many of the listed problems must be dealt with Management Company, which maintains your home.

If you find strange dampness in your home, be sure to check the pipes. A small leak may not make itself felt, but can cause an increase in humidity levels. And if you don't detect it in time, it can cause a major flood.

To get rid of high humidity in the apartment, you can use a small axial fan. You can easily install it in the area of the inlet to the ventilation duct or inside it, or inside a special opening in the outer wall.

But it is worth considering that installing an axial fan is only possible in those houses that do not have heating equipment with an open flame, including gas water heaters, having a natural outlet for combustion products.

To eliminate high levels of humidity, you can also resort to systematic ventilation, especially in the bathroom, where steam accumulates, as well as in the kitchen, where food is prepared. In addition, it is not recommended to dry clothes indoors and do not allow the temperature in the home to drop below fifteen degrees.

You also need to be sure to prevent the flow of warm air from the heating radiators from blocking towards the glass - avoid dense curtains, as this will disrupt the convection of air near the glass.

An excellent find for people whose homes are damp is a special device - a dehumidifier. It can be easily purchased in specialized stores or ordered online. He may have different level power and process different areas. It is best to give preference to a design that can turn on automatically when the humidity level rises again.

Experts also advise from time to time to heat the room where dampness occurs. This will help dry out the apartment. IN summer time year, as an alternative to heating, ventilation for several hours is suitable, which should be repeated daily.

Thus, high humidity in the home can be dealt with using different methods.

Ekaterina, www.site

P.S. The text uses some forms characteristic of oral speech.

But with high humidity, an ideal environment is created for the development of airborne infections. If there is excessive moisture content in the air, the balance of fluid exchange in the air is disrupted. As a result, you feel unwell. And at high humidity, but low temperatures, the cold is felt more strongly.

The most comfortable conditions for a person: air humidity within 50% 18-20°C. At the same time, we often forget to monitor these indicators in. But we spend most of our lives indoors. Therefore, it is not always worth complaining about weather for further ailments.

However, saturated humid air is very... This is why a person feels good on the shore of a lake or river. This air saturates the human body, relieving headaches and other ailments. It is no coincidence that during the holidays of many sea coasts.

When optimal humidity parameters change, immunity decreases. A person’s health deteriorates, a feeling of fatigue and lethargy appears. In areas where the climate is changed, the natural balance of humidity is disrupted. This is especially felt in winter period. It is at this time that the humidity drop is most significant. The air entering the room is dried due to the general heating in the rooms.

Lack of moisture causes a feeling of dry mouth. To avoid this phenomenon, you should adjust the indoor climate. Today on store shelves there is a wide range of different air humidifiers. In addition, many of them are equipped with additional functions: ionization, cleaning, etc.

Lack of humidity in the room also threatens the skin of the face and body to dry out. The development of many diseases is possible: irritation of the nasal mucosa. With excess dryness, a person loses concentration and fatigue increases.

Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The weather and climate of the area depend on it. When the humidity changes, a person begins to feel different.

Instructions

Each day, the forecast reports report the percentage humidity value. This is an indicator of relative air humidity. Its value may affect. It will feel comfortable at 40-60% humidity. This parameter also depends on the air temperature and affects the evaporation of moisture. It is measured using an instrument called a hygrometer. It is called relative because it is measured relative to saturated steam, i.e. such steam that begins to turn back into water.

If the air is too humid, it will condense when cooled, i.e. dew, droplets will appear on the surface of objects. In this case, it is difficult for excess moisture to evaporate. Therefore, in cold basements, for example, it is always damp. A person with high humidity, as a rule, feels colder than with the same temperature but dry air. That's why winters are postponed

Every day, every person's skin is affected by different negative factors such as weather conditions, environment, ecological situation in the region of residence. The most negative effect on the skin is caused by ultraviolet rays when exposed to the open sun or during normal tanning. But the effect of air humidity on the skin is also important, since there are many subtleties here.

Humidity and skin

Of course, every person has noticed that on hot days and dry weather, as well as when exposed to dry wind for a long time, one becomes very thirsty. The body at this time requires a large amount of fluid, as it loses water due to external natural factors and needs to replenish these losses.

However, even when drinking large volumes of liquid in the presence of dry air, skin cells do not have enough moisture to function normally, since it evaporates in large quantities through the skin.

Air humidity is a certain indicator of the amount of water contained in it. This indicator is of particular importance for general condition a person and his skin, and also affects the degree of comfort of being indoors or outdoors.

For example, in the summer, on the hottest days, most people find it very uncomfortable to be outside because it is difficult to breathe. This is explained by the fact that when heated, the air is saturated with moisture (its evaporation from the surface of reservoirs and soil), and the higher the air temperature, the greater the volume of water it can absorb. As a result, on hot days, especially if it has rained before, people experience serious discomfort and breathing problems. Of course, this condition also affects the skin, since the heat causes increased sweating, which can lead to serious fluid loss.

Almost the same thing happens in winter time when there is severe frost outside. During this period, air humidity usually decreases, since due to the low temperature water does not evaporate, but at the same time the air is also ready to accept moisture and absorb it. As a result, in the cold it is very difficult to breathe due to the dry air. With breathing, a lot of steam comes out, the molecules of which are immediately absorbed into the air. As a result, the body loses large volumes of water. The air takes water away from the skin of the face, as well as from other open areas of the body. That is why, after a long stay in the cold, as well as in the heat, the skin becomes dry and dehydrated.

As a rule, if the air temperature is high, but the air humidity is low, people tolerate it much more easily and have less impact on the condition of the skin. At low temperatures accompanied by high levels of air humidity, rapid hypothermia can occur.

What are the dangers of violating the humidity level?

The most comfortable indicators of air humidity for a person’s condition, his health and maintaining the correct water balance in the body and skin cells is a value from 30% to 60%. If the indicators deviate in any direction, this can lead to various negative consequences.

At low air humidity, due to strong evaporation of moisture, the skin very quickly dries out, becomes dehydrated, and begins to peel and crack. The result is damage skin, which are not always visible to the eye, but, nevertheless, provide free access to the body for a variety of pathogenic microorganisms that can provoke the formation of an inflammatory process and acne, as well as infection with serious diseases.

In addition, when the humidity is too high in the hot season, the body sweats intensely, trying to cool the skin and protect it from overheating, not only losing water, but also forming a sticky film on the surface of the skin, to which dust and other contaminants stick. As a result, not only dehydration of the skin may occur, but also a large number of acne caused by blockage of pores and sebaceous ducts.

If the air humidity is high, the body begins to lose heat simultaneously with intense sweating, resulting in a serious risk of overheating. In this case, not only the human skin suffers, but the entire body. When staying in rooms with high air humidity for a long time, a person may experience a general decrease in immunity, which results in not only skin diseases, but also various diseases. internal organs, and there is also an exacerbation of existing diseases.

Of course, it is impossible to say unequivocally that when the level of air humidity increases or decreases, a person will definitely develop skin problems, since each organism is individual and its reaction to certain changes environment, it is simply impossible to predict. Skin reaction different people changes in the environment will be different, and if a certain level of air humidity affects the skin of one person positive influence, then in relation to the skin of another person it may turn out to be negative.

For example, with dry skin, a high level of air humidity will be useful, since the water in the air will become an additional source of hydration of the epidermis. A low level of humidity with dry skin will provoke the appearance of peeling and dehydration. In addition, humidity helps smooth out wrinkles. However, if you have oily skin, high humidity levels can be a factor in causing acne. Therefore, quite often the condition of the skin depends on the air humidity in the apartment or other room.

In most cases, in winter, the air in apartments and houses has a low level of humidity, which is facilitated by the work of various heating devices. As a result, the skin becomes drier, thinner, and may show signs of aging. Therefore, in winter, the skin needs additional care, hydration and nutrition. It is also recommended to humidify the air in the apartment, using special air humidifiers or simply placing containers with clean water, the evaporation of which will provide additional humidity.

As a rule, in order to avoid undesirable consequences and complications, cosmetologists recommend adjusting to a certain level of air humidity, providing the skin the necessary conditions. At low humidity levels, the skin must be treated with creams and other products for deep intensive hydration and nutrition. Such products have a fairly dense structure, and their use helps prevent dehydration. However, when high level humidity should also not be forgotten about hydration, especially in summer period. But creams with a dense structure are not suitable here. In summer, it is best to use moisturizing gels that quickly penetrate the skin and do not create unnecessary heaviness.