Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know BOOKS 20 HEALTH October 31, 2025 This Device May Reduce Viruses At Home — And It’s Not An Air Purifier T he question: Can humidifiers help prevent the spread of viruses that can cause colds, flu and other illnesses? The science: Although you can get sick any time of year, winter is peak season for germs such as the coronavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Colder months are particularly high risk because family and friends gather in spaces with less ventila- tion, which may mean more opportunities for exposure as people cough or sneeze virus-laden droplets into the air. In colder months, the air is dryer as well, which is a problem. When air is dry, typically below 30 percent relative humidity, respiratory droplets containing viruses quickly evaporate, allowing the viruses to stay afloat and remain viable for a longer time. But when air is moist, the drop- lets weigh down the viruses so that they land on surfaces more quickly, said Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immuno- biology at Yale University. “Think of moisture as a heavy blanket that brings pol- lutants and contaminants to the ground level. When the air is dry, infectious particles can be suspended higher in the environment - closer to the level of our noses, mouths, even hands for an upright person,” said Amy Brown, a pediatric pulmonologist and an assistant pro- fessor of pediatrics at NewYork Medical College School of Medicine. Relative humidity - the amount of water vapor in the air compared with the amount it can hold - should be between 30 and 50 percent indoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Brown, an asthma specialist, said she recommends a narrower humidity range between 35 and 45 percent, particularly for those who have chronic lung conditions such as asthma. Of course, air purifiers can help combat airborne contaminants such as viruses and wildfire particulates because they actively remove them. However, a recent study on the use of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers in elementary school classrooms found the devices cut down the number of different viruses in the air but did not reduce their total amount. That’s why a multisystem approach that includes humidifiers might be a good idea, some research suggests. The authors of the air purifier study did note that higher relative humidity, especially above 40 percent, was linked with lower viral exposure, suggesting that increas- ing the humidity may help. “There isn’t a single silver bullet to prevent viral expo- sures in elementary school classrooms, but you can layer on several different interventions, and I think humidity is a lever that really hasn’t received a lot of attention,” said Peggy S. Lai, an associate professor of medicine at Mas- sachusetts General Hospital and the senior investigator of the study. In a small 2018 study, preschool classrooms without a humidifier had more than double the amount of flu-like illnesses than those with one. However, the study was not conclusive enough to recommend using humidi- fiers to reduce the risk of spread of airborne pathogens, said Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, who was not involved in the research. Air quality aside, air that is too dry can compromise one of the body’s defenses against germs. The mucous membrane that lines our nasal cavities and deeper airway traps pathogens so the immune system can remove them before they invade our cells. Dry air can compromise this protective lining, affecting its ability to function. While low humidity can be problematic, so can high humidity. Having too much moisture in the air can en- courage the growth of certain bacteria, mold and mildew, and dust mites. Experts cautioned against increasing humidity beyond the standard recommendations. “While there are situations that we cannot immediate- ly control related to outdoor air quality, we can be proac- tive to ensure ideal indoor air quality,” Brown said. “This includes optimizing ventilation, filtration and ensuring an ideal relative humidity.” WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW If you plan to use a humidifier, consider these tips: -Decide which type of humidifier is best for you. Cool mist humidifiers release room-temperature moisture into the air and, for that reason, are often considered safer for use around children. (Warmmist humidifiers boil the wa- ter to create steam that is then released into the air, but they pose a burn risk for children.) But some cool mist humidifiers allow the growth or accumulation of micro- organisms and minerals that can be dispersed from their water tanks into the air, potentially posing a health risk for some people, the EPA said. -Consider using distilled water. Water with low mineral content may prevent the buildup of minerals in the ma- chine and their subsequent dispersal into the air. -Clean the humidifier regularly. Empty the tank and clean it with a brush at least every three days. Bacteria and fungi often grow in a film inside the tank (and miner- als tend to build up), and breathing these may cause lung issues for some people, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. -Monitor indoor humidity levels. Use a humidifier only when needed, such as when indoor relative humidity is below 30 percent, and never use it when humidity is above 50 percent. THE BOTTOM LINE There’s no guarantee that you won’t catch a cold or the flu if you have a humidifier in your home. But as long as relative humidity levels are kept within the recommended range (30-50 percent), humidifiers may be beneficial as part of a broader approach to optimize indoor air quality. -TheWashington Post Can The Dictionary Stay Relevant In The Digital Age? to the American Dictionary, Webster stated that “language is the expression of ideas; and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas, they cannot retain an identity of language.” For just shy of 200 years, then, the series of dictionaries thatWebster inaugurated has attempted to represent American identity as contained in its language. The real pleasure of “Unabridged” lies in its descriptions of the scrupulous deliberations of Merriam’s lexicographers as they weigh the sense of words, wait- ing patiently - sometimes years - to see whether a neologism is a flash in the pan or something that will endure, then carefully, collaboratively sculpting defini- tions that will carry the senses of a word forward. Fatsis, whose previous books include “Word Freak,” a deep dive into the world of Scrabble, conveys clearly just what a slow, ethical process this editing work is - not reactive, partisan or, perish the thought, programmatic. Fatsis cites several instances in which Merriam-Webster has become ensnared in the culture wars. In the autumn of 2021, for instance, the publisher was forced to close its offices for five days following a threat that the company’s headquarters should be “shot up and bombed” because of its updated definition of the word girl, which added: “a person whose gender identity is female.” The would-be attacker was sentenced to a year in prison. One fears that the painstaking, neutral, descriptive work of lexicography runs counter to our age of outrage. It presents a kind of stoic, patrician expertise that goes against the promise (or the threat) that all information must be democratic, replace- able, up for grabs. One of the wisest, and most chilling, lines in “Unabridged” belongs to a retired editor who told Fatsis that “legacy dictionaries like Merriam faced the same growing popular distrust of traditional authorities that media and government did.” Even for those of us who don’t distrust Merriam’s definitions, there is the prob- lem that neither do we distrust other, more cheaply assembled alternatives. The internet has brought with it a readiness to settle for good-enough information, an idea that we don’t need the gold standard, just something that’s quick and free and feels right most of the time. A century ago, T.S. Eliot wondered, “Where is the knowl- edge we have lost in information?” For all its enjoyable humor, Fatsis’s elegiac book circles around the same question. There is, after all, artificial intelligence, and there is actual intelligence. -Special to TheWashington Post - Continued From Page 18 PHOTO: ATLANTIC MONTHLY VIATHEWASHINGTON POST By Lindsey Bever