Difference Between Nebulizer & Humidifier

Though both nebulizers and humidifiers are atomizers, that is, they convert liquid into mist, they are very different appliances. Humidifiers come in cool and warm mist varieties, and are used mainly to increase humidity in a room or home. Nebulizers only produce cool mist that is inhaled through a face mask to administer medication to the lungs.

Humidifier

• A humidifier is a small electric machine that increases moisture in a room by changing water into a mist. The machine uses a wick to pull water from the reservoir up the wick and past the fans which turn the water into mist. A vaporizer is a type of warm mist humidifier, while an impeller is the cool mist variety.

Uses of a Humidifier

• Humidifiers rid your home of dry air, and can thus benefit those with upper and lower respiratory infections and also those with dry skin. The down side of a humidifier is that increased humidity also increases bacteria and mold growth, so you must wash the machine regularly.

Nebulizer

• A nebulizer is a small electronic air compressor that takes liquid medication and turns it into a mist which is then sent up a long tube into a face mask. The receiver of the medication inhales the fog-like substance into his lungs.The breathing session, or the time it takes to inhale all of the liquid-to-mist medication, can take upwards of 10 minutes to complete.

Uses of a Nebulizer

• The main use of nebulizers is to deliver inhalant medication for respiratory diseases to those too young or too weak to use an inhaler. Small children tend to have a difficult time breathing in deeply when using inhalers, or they breathe at the wrong time and do not get enough medication in their lungs. If you have full lungs and are unable to breathe deeply, a nebulizer helps to deliver the medication in smaller particles than those of an inhaler.
  Some other uses for nebulizers are for turning aromatherapy essential oils into a fine mist in order to slowly force the scent into the air, causing the scent to fall down slowly, thus increasing the time in which you can smell the relaxing scent of the oil.

Other Differences

• While a humidifier can be used to break up phlegm in upper and lower respiratory infections, it is also used to treat dry skin and sinus headaches. A nebulizer is almost exclusively used to treat respiratory diseases. While the humidifier ejects the mist into the air for all to breathe, the nebulizer ejects the medication into a face mask for the respiratory sufferer.