Environmental Effects

When I got back from NC I felt like my stomach was trying to claw it's way out of my abdomen.  It was so painful.  I think my mother said it best with, "Everytime I go to New Mexico I don't know which end of me to stick on the toilet."  What we're talking about is elevation sickness and man, it's awful.  I just laid around all day, drank a ton of water, swallowed some Tylenol, and debated on which of me to stick on the toilet.  When one of the guys at the shop found out I wasn't feeling so hot he said, "Oh, I was wondering why you weren't so bouncy today."

Now that I feel fine I was thinking, and it might sound silly, but I was wondering if people in really humid areas get any of their required hydration by way of just breathing in; does the water in the air get soaked up in their lungs?  Here in southern Colorado it hasn't rained in months and the humidity level is at 5%.  It's so terribly dry and I don't care what anyone says about the addictive qualities of chapstick because here I need it multiple times a day and still my lips crack.