Eczema is commonplace a condition in children, but what with how uncomfortable dry, cracked and irritable eczema-prone skin is, the fact that half the people who experience eczema as a child are likely to continue experiencing it for the rest of their lives, and how much the dryness of winter can exacerbate it, it’s important to know how to manage it.
Keeping your skin properly hydrated is key to bringing relief to or preventing an outbreak of eczema, and while eczema creams and medication can help to an extent, you’ll more likely than not begin experiencing increasing discomfort during the winter when the drier weather and the heat from your furnace or heating system saps out the moisture of your skin even more. A humidifier is the perfect solution to counteract winter dryness – in fact, doctors treating eczema will often suggest incorporating one in spaces you tend to spend a lot of time in to maintain the appropriate moisture level in the environment to keep your body properly hydrated.
And while humidifiers are all but a must-have during the winter season to combat everything from dry skin and sickness to the longevity of your wooden furniture, cool mist humidifiers are particularly recommended for treating or managing eczema. These humidifiers don’t alter the ambient conditions of your environment, and therefore don’t risk exacerbating your condition; a good humidifier also lets you control the degree of humidity you’re maintaining, since humidity exceeding 50% can encourage an uptick of mold, mildew and other allergens likely to aggravate eczema. Take a look at our picks for the best humidifiers to keep your skin soft and irritation-free through the winter.
KEN’S PICK
Honeywell HCM350W Germ Free Cool Mist Humidifier
This cool mist humidifier is popular for a reason, its evaporative design blowing mist through a wicking filter to capture and remove impurities like bacteria. This, coupled with the adjustable humidity controls of the unit, with three settings letting you pick the degree of moisture output you need, keeps the likelihood of bacterial or viral disease transmission on the down-low, since humidity around or above 43% has been proven to remove airborne pathogens by making them too heavy to be transmitted by air.
Meanwhile, the ultraviolent (UV) water path of the unit kills contaminants like mold, fungi and bacteria in the water being misted up for humidifying, living up to the “Germ Free” promise and ensuring you’re in a healthy and safe environment. Add to this the fact that maintaining the appropriate degree of humidity not only discourages allergens like mold, mildew and dust mites but has also been proven to reduce the transmission ability of airborne pathogens like bacteria and viruses, and this impressive humidifier not only keeps you safe from an eczema outbreak, but pretty much keeps all those nasty winter colds and infections at bay.
Since this is an evaporative humidifier, it does come with a filter that needs to be regularly cleaned to keep functioning at its best. However, considering the multiple pros of this unit outweigh the costs of maintenance – which, thanks to the unit’s Protec antimicrobial cleaning ball keeping the filter cleaner longer and the wide mouth of the tank making it much easier to empty out and clean, is comparatively really low – we still believe this is a great bargain. The 2 gallon tank makes for a great sized unit offering plenty of output and lasting power per refill, a recessed tank handle making it easy to remove and fill up when needed, while the unit’s digital humidity and temperature monitor enhances the user-friendliness of the unit by eliminating the need for a hygrometer and letting you monitor humidity levels in real-time and adjust to your requirements.
KEN’S BUDGET PICK
Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
Despite its compactness and budget-friendly price-tag, this 1.5 liter capacity humidifier promises to run for 16 hours continuously at the highest setting without a hitch, the automatic shut-off system turning the unit off when you remove the tank or when water levels are low to improve the longevity of the humidifier and improve its performance efficiency. Great for small to medium-sized rooms – making it a great option to keep eczema outbreaks to a minimum by keeping in your bedroom, office or workspace – the high/low settings of the unit and the 360° mist nozzle allow you to moderate moisture output, direction and speed to suit your needs. In fact, the night light option makes this a great bedside unit, soothing you to sleep, keeping you hydrated as you rest, and ensuring you don’t wake up to irritated skin or a scratchy, dry throat.
RUNNER-UP
Aennon 2.8L Cool Mist Humidifier
The capsule-like design makes this an attractive humidifier-slash-night-light to have atop a table or counter, an optional LED light mode with seven available colors making it a versatile little unit with impressive humidifying specs placing it squarely on this list. The 2.8 liter water tank ensures the humidifier can run for 20 hours straight before needing a refill, letting you maintain the appropriate moisture level in your bedroom, office or other mid-sized room almost all day long.
A control dial lets you moderate the degree of moisture output you require, the automatic shut-off feature ensuring the unit’s longevity by switching the unit off when the reservoir runs empty. Easy to clean up thanks to the relatively wide opening, accessible with a good cleaning brush, this humidifier is just the right size to keep on your bedside table or desk to sail through the winter sans dry skin and eczema outbreaks, the in-built light feature making it an attractive and ambient addition to any room.
RUNNER-UP
SimpleTaste 3L Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
Unlike the other options on this list, this handy humidifier is not just great for moderating moisture content in the air, but also doubles as an essential oil diffuser. The 3 liter water tank capacity makes for 10 continuous hours of mist on the highest setting, and 20 hours on the lowest setting, the aroma diffusing sponge incorporated into the design enhancing your environment with pleasant, mood-lifting and therapeutic fragrances while the humidifier helps keep your skin healthy and irritation-free. But that’s not all – this unit is also a great night light, featuring a 7-color LED lamp you can set to a single color or on a cycle for additional ambience.