Heating your house could be making your kids sick

When it starts getting cold outside, most of us start cranking up the heat inside. But that could be the reason kids end up sick.

The key is finding the right temperature -- not too hot, not too cold -- and those in pediatrics say doing so will help keep kids and adults healthy.

"The mucous membranes can dry out, crack a little, allowing viruses to seed and produce disease," said physician assistant Lou Melini.

That is what can happen in a hot home. "To crank it up to 86 degrees, I think that's a bit excessive. It's drying and counterproductive," Melini said.

Though there's no scientific studies to prove the theory, anecdotally Melini says it makes sense. "By having the household hot -- excessively hot, high 70s to 80s -- dries out the secretion, exasperates the problem. Secretion becomes thicker, harder to eliminate, clogs the airways up," he said.

To avoid all those problems, Melini first says turn down the thermostat. He says the best range is 68 to 72 degrees.

Then he suggests buying a humidifier. "Put a humidifier in the bedroom, which I think helps clear the airway nose to throat," Melini said.

That advice has worked for Kanoe Afualo and her baby, Logan. She runs a humidifier at her house all winter. "You can kind of tell a difference when you don't have it on and when you do have it on, because he tends to wake up with a dry, hacking cough," she said.

So, to avoid colds and other viruses that can all cause bronchiolitis, which can turn into RSV, turn down the heat and crank up the humidifier.

"That's pretty much universal recommendations by those people who work in pediatrics," Melini said.

Melini says inexpensive humidifiers work well. That, or a humidifier for the entire household. Something to remember though, you want to keep the humidifier clean so bacteria can't grow inside.

E-mail: corton@ksl.com

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