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More study needed on humidifiers for colds
Daftary AS. Pediatrics. 2011;doi:10.1542/peds.2010-1312.
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Further study may be needed into the proper technique of using humidifiers to eliminate cold symptoms in young children and babies, according to the results of a case report published online.
Ameet S. Daftary, MBBS, who is an assistant professor of pulmonology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, published the case report, which detailed an incident involving a 6-month-old boy who had developed an upper respiratory infection. He was subsequently exposed to a humidifier to alleviate his symptoms, and shortly afterward, the boy developed serious inhalational lung injury related to mineral dust from the humidifier.
Daftary said the boy developed tachypnea, failure to thrive and hypoxemia, and radiography showed a nonreversible obstructive defect. The boy was successfully treated with high-dose pulse steroid therapy.
He said the case report sheds light on the practice of humidifiers for treating cold symptoms.
“Instructions on humidifiers recommend the use of distilled water to avoid white mineral-dust aerosolization,” and although these directions were followed in this particular case, “many young families with children may not read the fine print to understand how to avoid white dust, thus, these instructions and warnings are not effective,” Daftary said.
Disclosure: Dr. Daftary reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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