What is humidity? Is it harmful or beneficial to our health?
With the onset of summer and high temperatures, humidity begins to rise in many countries and regions; It is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air surrounding us. The higher the humidity, the less comfortable we feel, as the moisture slows down the process of evaporation of the sweat leaving our bodies, and therefore increases our sense of heat, especially when the relative humidity exceeds 55 to 60%.
Our bodies use a defense mechanism to maintain body temperature, through sweating, increased breathing, and changes in blood circulation, but because moisture impedes the sweating process, the body automatically resorts to other methods to keep its temperature constant. For this reason, you may notice that you breathe more quickly when your body temperature rises, and your body will start pumping more blood to the limbs and pumping lesser amounts to the brain and internal organs, which leads to feeling tired and blurred. In addition, you may also feel muscle spasms, especially in the legs. Sometimes, as the body loses fluid and salt, and is unable to maintain its temperature, an individual may experience heat exhaustion or a heart attack.
What we mentioned earlier is the direct effect of moisture on the body, but what about the indirect effects?
When moisture persists for long periods, the situation gets worse, as this excess moisture leads to the growth of pollutants that have a major health risk. Mildew grows in humid environments, and exposure to it increases asthma symptoms, allergies, and respiratory illnesses, sometimes even causing respiratory infections. The bacteria and viruses that cause infection to multiply in moisture. Also, dust mites increase in these humid climates, all of which lead to an increase in symptoms that you suffer from. So if you suffer from allergies and asthma, it is best to avoid damp places to avoid exacerbating your health problems.
Organic pollutants, such as bacteria, mold, and dust mites, are not the only things that get worse with higher humidity, as the amount of chemicals carried in the air also increases, which causes adverse physical effects with higher humidity. The concentration of harmful chemicals released by daily building materials, such as carpets and wood products, increases due to the interaction of chemicals with water vapor. Even low-level exposure to these chemicals can irritate the skin, eyes, and throat, as well as symptoms of the respiratory system.
What are the causes that lead to high humidity around you, and how to avoid it?
After we learned together about the dangers of high humidity and its damages to our health, it became necessary to know the reasons behind this and to take measures that would enable us to deal with this problem.
When ventilation is insufficient, the lack of fresh air leads to higher levels of the etiology of both chemical and organic pollutants. To ensure adequate ventilation and moisture levels are not high, we can use a specialist to change the design of heating, cooling, and air-conditioning systems; Like redirecting air ducts. We also advise you to avoid the use of huge air conditioners, as they operate with great power and therefore do not operate for long periods, which cannot remove moisture from the air.
In addition, neglecting the maintenance of air conditioners has a major role in the inability to control humidity levels in indoor places, so you should always ensure that it is cleaned and maintained continuously.
We may be able to control the levels of humidity in indoor and closed places, but we cannot do this in outdoor and open places, so we advise you to drink large quantities of water and keep your bodies as moist as possible, and we advise you to avoid staying outside for long periods when the weather is hot and the humidity is high.