office humidity

[Katewest]

I brought my barometer into the office today...20.4%! No wonder i feel terrible

[Rebecca Petris]

Heh.

Believe it or not, that's actually within (albeit barely) OSHA's "recommendations" of 20% to 60%. Blich.

Desk humidifier... moisture chamber glasses... blinking a LOT... drinking a lot... dropping as needed...

[Rebecca Petris]

So much for the US. The Canadian OHS, on the other hand, cites 30-60% as an acceptable range and suggests 50%.

[Katewest]

Canada sounds like such a more reasonable place! I don't think a humidifier will work because my "office" doesn't have a ceiling

[Guest]

Canada sounds like such a more reasonable place! I don't think a humidifier will work because my "office" doesn't have a ceiling

Well, if it can pump out enough humidity, you may still find that the area immediately adjacent to the humidifier has a higher humidity than the rest of the office. Even the tiny desktop one I have will raise the humidity within a couple feet of it by about 4% (I know... that's actually pretty pathetic, but it's better than nothing)...

But, I now have a Vics warm steam one (http://www.vicks.com/products/humidi...st-humidifier/ ) and it's impressing me - because it's tall and narrow, it hardly takes up any counter space, and it's pretty easy to clean compared to others I've owned. I haven't brought this one to work yet, but I suspect it would do better than the 4% increase from the little one I currently bring along sometimes ( http://www.amazon.com/Medisana-Hah15...pr_product_top )

[Katewest]

Ill bring in my home humidifier to the office tomorrow and try it out. I tried talking to the building manager but he looked at me like i was crazy then said he can't change the whole buildings humidity. I really think i need to find a job outside of the office setting.

[bakunin]

In Brazil the rule in work office is 40-60% (or 65%, i don't remember well).

[patientpatrick]

few weeks ago I was in the hospital with my wife preparing for the birth of our first baby. I brought my hydrometer with me so I could monitor the humidity in the delivery rooms. It was 16%!!!! I got a pair of moisture chambers which helped but truthfully I was still miserable, I kept resoaking the sponges every hour and using drops constantly. What really sucks, is my mother is a nurse at another hospital and I used to be able to visit her all the time during her shifts and felt just fine. Now, even with moisture chambers i can barely tolerate the hospital air. It is still my hope that the nerves in my corneas will regrow and i can be comfortable in a hospital again. It's been very difficult taking my new baby to the hospital for checkups and tests. I have found that putting a moist towel over my eye lids every hour to be helpful, but i don't know how practical that is for you at work.

[soaps]

I work in a hospital . very dry and blowy air con is a challenge. But best thing is u don't get a second glance to dark sunnies only polite inquiries.

[patrick]

Office humidity

I talked to my manager the other day about my eye condition. We do this regularly because he knows about the situation i'm in. we both decided its best for me to change jobs and just quit working in an office environment all together. At this point it is not workable for me there anymore. I'm in too much pain and discomfort to function properly. Going on sick leave is not an option,because this won't solve the culprit of the problem. The day i'll return it will all start over again.
The climate is just horrible in the office i work in. It is extremely hot and dry as a dessert. Lots of draft in the air as well. I guess you can imagine i really don't like being there on a daily basis anymore.
Even people without eye problems have difficulties working in this building. Co workers that normally wear contact lenses all show up with their glasses on at work. I think that says enough.
Why changing jobs and not try to solve the problems you have in this office first? Well they have tried everything in their power to change things,but everything simply failed. point is this office is part of a very large building and to properly solve the problems (which btw they do acknowledge there are) would be to replace the whole climate control system. This is too costly and at this point there are no sufficient funds to have this carried out in the near future.
So for me this means i can fortunately keep my job. Same employer,but my work will be 100% outside the building. Different tasks as well of course,but i am quite familiar with the tasks outside because i already did them now and then in the past.
I work at a large trainstation btw.
Hopefully this change will offer some relief,because to be honest am really quite fed up with all this. It has taken control over
All aspects of my life now. A few years ago i'd never believed it if anyone would have told me this eyecondition would become such a large negative influence in my life...but still it has.

[Guest]

Hopefully this change will offer some relief,because to be honest am really quite fed up with all this. It has taken control over
All aspects of my life now. A few years ago i'd never believed it if anyone would have told me this eyecondition would become such a large negative influence in my life...but still it has.

Well, it sounds like you're taking steps in the right direction (in terms of making this more manageable right now). It's the total effects of lots of changes (big and small) that you make, plus the passing of time (and more healing), that can add up to a HUGE difference to how your eyes feel over the long run.

[Katewest]

I am in the same boat. Work in a school with 20% humidity. Ick. But now I'm facing a complete career change. I want to find something where i can work from home....but what?? Programming is perfect working from home but it's all computer work.

[patrick]

Hi,

Yes, sometimes you have to be brave enough to make a decision like this i guess. Doing nothing and just sit and wait for the things to come is just not an option in my case.
I've tried literally everything to improve my mgd,but i have now come to terms with the fact that my situation will never be a 100% okay anymore.this Took me 5 years and believe me i struggled a looot with it.
That doesn't mean i am ready now to give up the battle. Not at all,but in addition to my search for improvement of my mgd i also want to improve my quality of life while i continue my search for relief.
Time goes on and i don't want to waste it anymore with putting my life on hold waiting and hoping for better times. Done that too long already.
Indeed saag,it is the sum of all the steps big and small together that make the difference. Hopefully the result of my acceptance and the willingness to make adjustments in my personal circumstances is going to result in a higher quality of life in the long run. We'll see..
Katewest: 20% relative humidity is just killing for people with dry eye. Even with moderate dry eye symptoms it is impossible to be longterm in a space with a humidity that low. I hope for you that you can find a suitable job you can do from home,but it is difficult to find something that doesn't involve computer work i guess.

[Guest]

Katewest: 20% relative humidity is just killing for people with dry eye. Even with moderate dry eye symptoms it is impossible to be longterm in a space with a humidity that low.

Agreed... such low humidity levels are sooo tough to cope with...

I hope for you that you can find a suitable job you can do from home,but it is difficult to find something that doesn't involve computer work i guess.

But then again, maybe working on a computer at HOME would be doable for some since at HOME, you can control the humidity - can put a humidier on the furnace, run a few portable ones where needed, take as many breaks from the "work" as you need... etc.

Granted, some folks will be in a place where no amount of breaks and/or humidity will ever allow them to work on a computer... but just saying... might be possible for some in the right environment.