Advice on use of fan in baby’s room (benefits and SIDS prevention)

[14_teen]

My 3 month old baby currently room shares with my spouse and I. We have been sleeping with the ceiling fan on, mostly because I read somewhere (back when I had my first almost 5 years ago) that doing so reduces the risk of SIDS. My baby is a great sleeper, she’ll sleep 5-7 hrs before waking up for a feed and then goes right back to sleep for another 4 hrs at least. We follow safe sleep practices. We keep our house between 70 F to 73 F, and we have a humidifier in the bedroom. The issue is I have been suffering with allergies, and I get reoccurring sinus infections from the allergies, despite me washing my pillow case, sheets, and cleaning often I always seem to be worse in the mornings. The fan is definitely contributing negatively to my sinus issues, and I’m thinking of shutting it off, but I always go back to thinking of the SIDS reduction and keep it on… I’m looking for general advice on the fan situation, and more clarity on the research topic if anyone has feedback.

 

[hurrix]

@14_teen This is not a helpful comment, but as a Korean person, this cracks me up. Korean grandmothers would be appalled! IYKYK. (Look up fan death if you don’t know).

Anyway, as a fellow allergy sufferer, I sympathize. Are the fan blades clean? Ceiling fans accumulate a disgusting amount of dust.

 

[14_teen]

@hurrix Yes they are clean. I grew up without fans too, never had allergies until I moved to the USA

 

[andrewoffaith87]

@14_teen My husband has pretty bad asthma, we have a HEPA filter and it's reduced his symptoms so much! Perhaps it could help with your sinuses.

We don't have a ceiling fan in our nursery, so we use a portable fan and just don't point it near the babies face (I read not to do that somewhere)

 

[14_teen]

@andrewoffaith87 We’ve got HEPA filters too (cars included), and air purifiers in the house. My allergies are pretty bad most of the time.

 

[kittykatherine]

@14_teen The combo of the fan and the heat being on to 70-73 F could be drying out your mucous membranes making you more susceptible to dust and other allergens. A humidifier might help.

 

[14_teen]

@kittykatherine We’ve got a humidifier in the room already.

 

[kittykatherine]

@14_teen I see that now. Whoops

 

[themba]

@14_teen We use a fan purely because we are hot sleepers.

Have you seen an allergist? I moved to a high dust area and was miserable until I was prescribed singulair. It works wonders for my allergies. Also showering at night helps to get any allergens off of me.

 

[14_teen]

@themba I saw an allergist a couple years ago now, unfortunately for me I reacted to some of environmental/ pollen, fungus, some tree nuts, on top of the medication allergies I already have as well. It does feel like they are getting worse, so might be time to do another check in. Thanks for that reminder!

 

[christarchist]

@14_teen I'm not sure if you've seen this or not, but it might help you make some decisions re: sleep - http://www.sidscalculator.com/

Full disclosure, I personally do not use the calculator because my brain over inflates any level of risk and I'd never sleep if I saw the risk, no matter how minor. I just do everything I can do reduce the risk personally, again because I'm a professional catastrophizer.

If you are inclined to keep a fan, it doesn't have to be a ceiling fan. You could get a small table fan that aims towards the baby. Maybe that would stir up less allergens towards you?

 

[14_teen]

@christarchist I am like you, any risk is too much risk if it’s something I can control / help reduce. I did find it interesting that the calculator doesn’t mention use of fan in the room at all, so the risk based on the calculator is the same regardless.

I might try a small rotating fan in a corner of the room to circulate air without it blowing at my face.

 

[cristian55]

@14_teen One study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18838649/ shows "Fan use during sleep was associated with a 72% reduction in SIDS risk (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.77)." Not sure if that is substantiated by other studies and how it compares to other risk factors, but it look pretty sizeable.

Could an air filter help with your allergies?

 

[ciejay]

@cristian55 To quote from the article you shared--"Fan use may be an effective intervention for further decreasing SIDS risk in infants in adverse sleep environments." If the OP already has an ideal sleep environment, this study says they can ditch the fan and it won't make that much difference.

 

[nimbus]

@ciejay That's not what the study says.

"The reduction in SIDS risk seemed more pronounced in adverse sleep environments." This does not mean it has no benefit in safe sleep environments.

It also goes on to list "adverse environments" examples as anything from warmer room temperatures, to bed sharing, to not using a pacifier.

 

[whfrantz]

@nimbus Also for babies put in non prone positions for sleep. The study seems incredibly flawed tbh. You could say there may be a correlation, but there is no proof that a fan does anything to prevent SIDs.

If anything the temperature of a room has more to do with SIDs than a ceiling fan.

 

[cristian55]

@ciejay Ah! Thanks! I only skimmed it and missed how it compounds with other risk factors.

 

[14_teen]

@cristian55 We do use a hepa filter, and also have air purifiers in the house. That’s the study I previously saw, which is why I continue to use the fan despite it making me feel like crap.

 

[campmin]

@14_teen I had a constant post nasal drip which I thought was allergies and turned out to be aggravated by undiagnosed asthma. A combination of beconaise and my inhaler mostly cleared it up. Do you have any other asthma symptoms by any chance?

 

[14_teen]

@campmin I don’t think I have asthma symptoms, I’ll need to pay more attention to my body!