Hey all,

The family and I just got back from a weekend camping trip at a local KOA - just to get the little one used to camping. Well this past weekend was quite damp and cool and as such throughout the night in our tent it got quite damp which caused me some breathing problems (asthma, allergies). I kept waking up with my head all stuffed up, which caused a secondary problem for my wife - me snoaring.

So how does everyone deal with the dampness and stuffy heads?
I do take benadryl, but nothing helped this past weekend.

Thanks for the help.

Take care,
Aaron

Aaron did you not have some fresh air coming in?
Are we talking condensation here(no ventilation), or just the fact that the weather was damp overall?



Mark Rubino
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler - Blog
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler

http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

Sometimes what people do is put those blue tarps right over the tent. That is a no-no because then you don't get any air flow through the tent.The more air there is between the fly and tent the better.You will actually be warmer also because you have no dampness forming inside the tent. If you use a tarp for added protection then hang it above the tent at least a few feet higher.You must have air flow.

I never thought about the air flow - as there was NONE where we had the tent set up. Also I could have done a better job tying out the fly, to improve the air flow.

Would a fan help? I have a small battery operated fan I could bring along on car camping trips at least. Any other options?

Thanks,
Aaron

Hey Aaron,

I had a major case of stuffy nose on my spring trip (so bad that I could not breathe through my nose)

I used Tylenol Sinus/Cold Daytime, worked well enough I suppose. It's important to get non drowsy stuff though.

Tenzing

http://tenzingsadventures.blogspot.com/

If you have an air space between your fly and tent you should be ok. If you can leave your windows open without getting rain in that should also help.I don't know if the fan wuold work. When they talk about airflow they mean the outside air and inside air.If you have everything closed up the damp air from perspireing and breathing has no where to go and that creates dampness.

I think Ragweed has started as well. Might be an allergic reaction. But definitely keep the air moving.

Sal

Hi Aaron, We were camping in APP this last week with our 2 dogs,one of which is 17 yrs old and suffers from congestive heart failure. All that to say the dampness is hard on her breathing. To combat the humidity in our tent at nite we would hang a small butane/propane lantern in the tent and run it on low. Of course we were sure of good ventilation as the tent has mesh walls,with a partial fly and good air flow. Then we ran a small battery operated fan to keep air moving.She was quite comfortable.It will probably be her last camping trip so her comfort was important.

If your tent does not have a large enough fly then consider using a tarp so that
you can sleep with all the door flaps and window flaps open


Never enough ventilation in a tent and when you button it up you have a sauna

P.S. Like opening a window at home when you don't have air


HTH
Raton Laveur
aka


*Rac n*

Thanks all - I think the problem is lack of air flow. As I mentioned where the tent was setup there was no air movement, and I had the fly buttoned up tighter than a drum to try and keep as much heat in as possible (to keep the wife happy).

We have a family trip coming up in 3 weeks so I'll have to remember to ensure there is proper air flow / ventilation.

Thanks,
Aaron