humidifier

[AnneNeville]

I would appreciate suggestions for favorite humidifiers. I'm waking up in the night with dry eyes and mouth. I am thinking a humidifier might help.

My husband hates humid rooms, unfortunately. He finds them "stuffy" and prefers to open the window for fresh air.

Are there other suggestions for how to get through the night without waking for eye drops? (I currently use Systane overnight drops).

I think I may get my other tear ducts closed next time I go to the doctor. Getting just the bottom done has not made a huge difference.

[WhatYouSjo]

I have two humidifiers, a Honeywell and a PureGuardian. The Honeywell uses filters, which have to be replaced every couple months. The PureGuardian does not, but if I use tap water, the furniture in the room will develop a coating of mineral dust over time that has to be cleaned. I'm considering getting a home water distiller to use with the PureGuardian, since I already use distilled water for things like nasal rinses. That way I could avoid the dust without having to replace (rather expensive) filters.

I have mine on a bedside table next to my bed, and I definitely notice if it isn't running. I would hope that your husband would be flexible, as you have a serious medical condition that is interfering with your sleep. It looks like you are already using Restasis and Xiidra; the other treatment you may wish to try is autologous serum eye drops. I have not used them myself, but heard good things from others.

I hope you find something that works - sleep is very important for us SS patients!

[helloz]

The cheapest Vicks humidifiers I've tried start leaking if i leave them on all night on the higher setting.  I've gone through a few this way and the last one i have resorted to leaving it on setting 1 and so far it has not started leaking.  Personally I only like warm mist.

My ideal would be a whole home humidifier but I realize that doesn't make sense in your situation.  Not to change the thread, but if anyone has humidifier ideas for the original poster as well as whole home humidifier advice that'd be great.

[Liz D.]

Anne,

The best humidifier for you would probably be the one I use, a Bell & Howell personal humidifier.  Google personal humidifier and you should see many brands available.  It uses a regular bottle of water.  I put mine right beside my bed on my end table and my husband doesn't even notice.

Hope this helps.  I love mine and I can bring it with me when I travel.  Just have to buy a new bottle of water.

Liz D.

[Pete0211]

My favorite is hard to find - Vornado EVDC500. It's an evaporative filter humidifier, so you need to regularly clean it and buy new filters. I think they have a new model (EVDC300) which is similar, but only has one tank / filter instead of the two in the 500.

I also use a Air Innovations Ultrasonic humidifier at times, and use it with distilled water to avoid the white dust typical of using tap water.

[AnneNeville]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am sure my husband will be flexible, but I want him to be comfortable, too. I think I will try a personal humidifier. Maybe if I put that on my bedside table it will provide enough moisture to help me without making the room feel "stuffy" to him. :-)

[SunshineDaydream]

If you find the humidifier isn't working, you may want to try eye gel at night and also Oramoist dry mouth patch. The latter is a little patch that sticks to the inside of your mouth and releases ingredients that increase moisture.

I have upper and lower punctal plugs and still wake up sometimes at night and apply eye drops, though not as often as I did without plugs. Everyone's system slows down at night and produces less moisture, but it's more pronounced for us Sjoggie's because we're already deficient.