# Vaporizor/Humidifier CAUSING bronchitis?



## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

Can anyone enlighten me on this? dd has had bacterial pneumonia a number of times in the past (thankfully none recentally) and its always been within 1 day of my running our ultrasonic humidifier. My mom suggested the thing had bacteria in it and it was causing the problem. We haven't used it in a couple years and its been sitting in the back of my closet since. We've had a really rough 2 weeks with a bacterial sinus infection that looked to be clearing up then it rebounded with a vengeance so we did another round of abx and this time doubled the dose. The cough is bad enough but at night its really bad and its interfering with her breathing and sleeping. I've been keeping a close eye on her lungs and they have stayed clear as can be despite all the mucus draining from her sinuses. We've tried everything to stop the coughing at night from xopenex to Sudafed to antihistamines to phenergan with codeine (and we even doubled the dang dose to no avail!) She managed to cover herself in mucus puke from head to toe the other night so I threw her in the tub and the cough slowed to something more acceptable. Tried it again the next day and again the cough slowed down so I figured we needed more humidity but didn't want to pull out the humidifier for fear of pneumonia again so I shelled out some money and bought a simple vaporizer from Rite-Aid that promised no bacteria problems. The thing worked great and we got some sleep last night! Only one little problem... dd woke up with a wet cough, her lungs are now filling with crap, she's wheezing and crackling, had a temp when she woke up but that seems gone now (temp from the sinus infection had broken 24 hours before) but I can tell by her behavior something bad is brewing. The pedi is on vacation the rest of the week so I'm waiting to hear back from the pulmo but can anyone tell me why the heck my kid gets lungs full of crap every time we turn up the humidity!? This is the 1st time we've intentionally upped the humidity this house, its normally about 30% and I can't find my gauge but I'm guessing it was up to 80%+ last night in the bedroom. Why is it the one thing that seems to work for the cough makes her sicker?


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## Shiloh (Apr 15, 2005)

did you sterlize it between uses?
check the water you are using?
have your water tested....

has her mucous been tested it might be fungal/mold?


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## tm2840 (Feb 23, 2005)

IMO and from what I've read, a clean warm mist vaporizer shouldn't harbor bacteria or mold.

Ultrasonic humidifiers are often disliked because the ultrasonic action that breaks up the water into vapor can also break up any impurities and fill the air with them (hence the white dust they sometimes produce).

I've used the expensive germ-free humidifiers (they have a UV light that kills bacteria and mold) in the past, but they are very expensive and our hard water kills them.

So I now buy the $15 warm mist vaporizors at Rite Aid and use them til they die.

Just one thought... is it possible that she has congestion but that until she's in a concentrated, humid environment it doesn't begin to break up and move the mucus around, leading to coughing (and perhaps better areas in the body, like the lungs) for bacteria to breed? I'm certainly NO expert on this, but it seems odd that something as good as a clean humidity (which yours must be as you JUST bought the vaporizer) could cause something like this.

I always have a hard time as a mom deciding what is "cause and effect" versus coincidence. Sending healing vibes to your daughter.

I've bought the


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## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shiloh*
did you sterlize it between uses?
check the water you are using?
have your water tested....

has her mucous been tested it might be fungal/mold?

the old humidifier? no, just washed it out like it said to do. Used distilled water if I remember right. The machine I used last night is brand new out of the box bought yesterday used in a different house then the old one.


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## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tm2840*

Just one thought... is it possible that she has congestion but that until she's in a concentrated, humid environment it doesn't begin to break up and move the mucus around, leading to coughing (and perhaps better areas in the body, like the lungs) for bacteria to breed? I'm certainly NO expert on this, but it seems odd that something as good as a clean humidity (which yours must be as you JUST bought the vaporizer) could cause something like this.

I always have a hard time as a mom deciding what is "cause and effect" versus coincidence. Sending healing vibes to your daughter.

I've bought the

Nope, been listening to her lungs daily waiting for it to move in to her lungs, plus she saw the pulmo 2 weeks ago and had xrays, everything was clear in her lungs then. Our pedi is on vacation till next week so tomorrow we get to make the 2.5-3 hour drive to see the pulmo for this, maybe she will have a clue, I know I don't!


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