Does An Air Purifier Help With A Stuffy Nose?

Sinus congestion can be a total nightmare, so you may be wondering, does an air purifier help with a stuffy nose?

Whether you’re suffering from pet allergies, seasonal allergies, or are just suffering from a cold, you’re likely no stranger to the stress of a stuffy nose.

From the embarrassing mouth breathing to the constant need to keep a tissue nearby to the sinus pressure and headaches, a stuffy nose is enough to drive anyone crazy. 

So, does an air purifier help with a stuffy nose? Yes, it does!

In this article, we’ll help you figure out what type of air purifier you would need for a stuffy nose. We also included a couple of our personal recommendations to help you improve your air quality for those pesky allergy attacks.

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Does An Air Purifier Help With Stuffy Nose?

If you’re looking for relief from a stuffy nose or other allergy symptoms, getting an air purifier is the right choice. 

No matter the cause, an air purifier can help with a stuffy nose.

It can help you avoid irritation in the first place, prevent your congestion from worsening, and even solve your stuffy nose by providing the ideal breathing conditions in your home. 

Additional features like a built-in air humidifier or UV filtration system may also improve your air quality differently for a comprehensive solution to stuffy noses.

However, to get the most out of your air purifier, it’s important that you identify why you have a stuffy nose so that you can choose the right model for you.

What Causes A Stuffy Nose and How Does An Air Purifier Help?

Stuffy noses, or nasal congestion, can be caused by various environmental or internal factors. 

Environmental Allergies

Environmental allergies can cause a stuffy nose when you inhale pollen, dust, pet dander, mold, or other allergens from the environment—indoors and outdoors—around you. 

These can be seasonal, such as pollen in Spring, or year-round, with common allergens like dust, pet hair, and mold accumulating in your home or office.

When you breathe in the particles you’re allergic to, allergic rhinitis, an allergic reaction in the nose, occurs because your immune system reacts to the “threat” of the allergen. 

In response, the mucous membrane of your nose swells and produces additional mucus that makes it harder to breathe.

An air purifier helps resolve environmental allergies by removing the particles that trigger your allergies from the air. 

It will bring in air from the surrounding area using a fan and then push it through the internal filter to purify it of airborne pollutants and allergens. 

Each filter will have its specific composition and HEPA rating that tells you how finely the air can be filtered through it so that you know which allergens your air purifier addresses. 

Some may even use ultraviolet filtering to remove the smallest of particles.

Once the allergens are removed, the air is returned to the room, providing you with fewer potential allergens to trigger a stuffy nose.

Irritants

Like environmental allergies, various irritants can also cause a stuffy nose. However, instead of causing an allergic reaction, irritants like chemicals, foul odors, or smoke directly irritate the mucus lining of your nose. 

This reaction leads to your nose drying out and swelling that thins nasal passages, making any existing mucous more prominent and causing breathing difficulties.

As long as your air purifier has a filter rated to handle the particle size of the irritants causing you issues, it should be able to purify the air to help avoid irritating your nose and causing congestion.

Illness 

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Colds, cases of flu, and other illnesses that cause a runny nose can spread through the air. 

When you inhale the airborne germs, they infect your nose, nasal passages, and body with the virus. 

As a result, your body produces excess mucus to help flush out the virus from your nasal passages, causing a stuffy nose.

In many cases, a standard air purifier filter cannot deal with particles the size of a cold virus. However, filters that combine traditional air filtration and ultraviolet (UV) purification can sterilize the particles and germs that lead to illnesses. 

As a result, it’ll prevent germs from reaching you and your germs from infecting others if your nasal congestion is caused by something viral.

Dry Air

Did you know that dry air can cause a wet, stuffy nose? It may sound backward, but it’s true.

Like allergens and illnesses, dry air can dry out and irritate the sinuses and lining of the nasal passage. 

This irritation causes inflammation that encourages increased mucus production to help maintain ample moisture, leading to annoying nasal congestion.

While an air purifier does not directly solve a runny nose caused by dry air, it does improve the air quality so that your nose has to deal with fewer allergens once moisture is restored. 

Air purifiers can sometimes come with a built-in humidifier that simultaneously addresses both problems. 

Picking The Right Air Purifier To Prevent Stuffy Noses

Whether you’ve got allergies, want to get rid of annoying smells, or want to ensure you’re breathing the best air possible, an air purifier is an excellent addition to any home or office. 

While the answer to “does an air purifier help with my stuffy nose?” is an emphatic “yes!” you still want to be sure you’re getting the right air purifier for your needs.

What To Consider When Buying An Air Purifier For Stuffy Nose

1. Effective Range

air purifier range

When choosing an air purifier, the unit’s effective range is one of the most important things to look for. 

This figure, often provided by the manufacturer on the product listing or packaging, will give you an idea of what room size it can support effectively.

Generally, you want to be sure that whichever model you’re considering can support, at a minimum, the square footage of the room in which you plan to use it. 

Of course, you can also buy a unit that exceeds your required range for potentially faster filtration. Still, it’s not guaranteed that you will see a noticeable difference in air quality.

Suppose your room has poor airflow or several barriers blocking the unit’s ability to reach the entire room. In that case, you may need a second or higher-capacity air purifier for the best results. 

Choosing an appropriately sized model ensures that the whole room’s air can be filtered instead of recycling the same air repeatedly, as a filter that’s too small can do.

2. Features To Fit The Purpose

The ideal choice for your next air purifier will depend on precisely what you need the machine for.

If you suffer from environmental allergies, a high-quality air purifier with sufficient range to cover your space and a filter that addresses your primary allergen will help fight a stuffy nose. 

You don’t need additional features to achieve cleaner air quality, but timers, humidifiers, a night mode, and adaptive fan levels can improve your experience.

For those suffering from nosebleeds, sore throats, or runny noses from dry air, an air purifier with a humidifier can help provide moisture, assist with thinning mucus, and prevent additional allergens from irritating your sensitive nasal passages by removing them from the air.

Illnesses like the cold require special ultraviolet purification to help avoid spreading germs, so be sure that the model you choose has that feature available. 

A built-in humidifier will also assist with clearing out your sinuses and make breathing easier.

3. Filter Types

No factor plays a more significant role in an air purifier’s impact on your home than the filter it uses. 

In most cases, you’ll find air purifiers with a HEPA filter with a rating somewhere between 11-14, indicating how effective the filter is at capturing the smallest particles (under 0.3 microns).

Generally, H12 and H13 filters are used for home applications, as they can efficiently address many of the household allergens and pollutants you’re trying to avoid. 

However, H14 filters are also available, commonly used in medical settings due to their ability to filter out 99.995% of particles under .03 microns.

As a rule, the higher the HEPA filter’s rating, the cleaner it can make the air. However, the demand for fan strength also increases due to the increased pressure required to pull the air through the denser filter.

If your goal is to address smells, you’ll also want to be sure the filter includes an activated charcoal layer. 

Charcoal helps absorb the odors that a filter cannot despite removing the particles carrying the smells.

Does An Air Purifier Help With A Stuffy Nose: Our Top 3 Picks

Need some help getting started? Here are some of the best options to consider to jumpstart your search.

1. Afloia 2-in-1 HEPA 13 Air Purifier with Removable Humidifier

The Afloia air purifier is a great all-around option for small to medium-sized rooms. 

It has an activated charcoal layer to filter out odors, an H13 filter to remove most airborne contaminants, and a detachable humidifier to help your stuffy nose. 

Plus, you can use it wire-free for up to 12 hours, and it comes with customizable lighting and auto shut-off so that it can be your child’s night light.

2. AROEVE H13 Air Purifier for Large Rooms

This AROEVE air purifier is ideal for large rooms, offering coverage for nearly 1100 square feet of space with a single unit. 

In addition to H13 air filtration, it also provides UV filtration to eliminate germs from your air to help keep your family safe and an air quality indicator that automatically adjusts the fan speed to meet your needs.

3. Medify MA-125 True HEPA H14 Air Purifier

The Medify MA-125 is a high-end machine with an expansive effective range of over 2,500 square feet of H14 filtration. 

The True HEPA filter includes an activated carbon layer to remove odors while removing 99.995% of particles to as small as 0.1 microns, allowing you to address most allergens, fumes, and pollutants in your home or office.

Does an Air Purifier Help With a Stuffy Nose – FAQs

Does An Air Purifier Improve Allergies?

Yes, an air purifier will improve allergies by removing the allergen particles in the air so that you can’t inhale them and cause an allergic reaction.

Will An Air Purifier Cure My Cold?

No, an air purifier cannot resolve a cold you already have. 

However, it can help prevent you from getting sick at home or stop the spread of airborne germs with UV filtration technology.

Does An Air Purifier Remove Smoke Smells?

Yes, an air purifier can remove the smell of smoke from your home, but not with a HEPA filter alone. 

For the best results, consider using an air purifier with a HEPA filter to filter out the smoke particles and an activated carbon filter to remove the odors.

What Kind of Air Purifier Do I Need?

The right air purifier for you will depend on your budget, what you’re trying to filter out, and how much area you’re trying to protect. 

For example, humidifiers work well for dry areas. They can assist with clearing out existing mucous, while purifiers with UV cleaning can fight against the spread of germs. 

You’ll also want to choose a model that can support your intended location’s size to filter your air effectively.

What Range Should My Air Purifier Cover?

Your air purifier only needs to be rated to support your room’s size. Still, a higher capacity and range may lead to faster filtration or better address the needs of an irregularly shaped room.

Should I Leave My Air Purifier Running?

In most cases, always leaving your air purifier running is a good idea. 

By constantly purifying the air instead of when allergens appear, you can prevent symptoms and make it easier to recover if you react to an allergen, irritant, or virus.

Final Thoughts: Does An Air Purifier Help With a Stuffy Nose?

Nobody likes having a stuffy nose – and with the right air purifier, you can avoid dealing with the annoying side effects of allergies, irritants, or dryness. 

Unfortunately, an air purifier won’t solve your cold or flu, but it’ll help you recover more quickly along with the help of a humidifier feature.

There are many options to choose from, so be sure to select an air purifier that supports your room size, features a high-quality HEPA filter, has the features you need to address the cause of your runny nose, and fits within your budget.

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