3 ms·

As a first-line treatment, I urge anyone who either snores, or is just fatigued after sleep, to try a nasal stent/dilator. This isn't the strips which go on the

As a first-line treatment, I urge anyone who either snores, or is just fatigued after sleep, to try a nasal stent/dilator. This isn't the strips which go on the outside of the nose, although those work for some people, they're less effective. I use the Rhinomed, but there's several brands, that's just the first one I got, and if you drop them in a small bowl of water in the morning and rinse them off a few hours later, they'll last forever. It's just a little piece of medical-grade plastic which you stick in both nostrils, and it props them open. Some people are are going to need a CPAP, but trying the nasal stent doesn't take a sleep study, insurance, or a machine which you plug in and maintain: it takes twenty bucks. Probably don't jump straight in to using it every night, it takes the nostrils awhile to get used to them, but I have no discomfort at all starting around the second week of using them. I would even go so far as to say everyone should just pick them up and try them out. One benefit that never occurred to me is that when I have mild congestion, the mechanical action of the stent will drain it, and no one sleeps well with a stuffy nose. Getting more oxygen per breath while sleeping has no downsides, even if you think you don't need it. If you ever wake up with one sinus filled with mucus, definitely give it a try.

okramcivokram 2y ago
I don't understand how these types of devices are supposed to help, as it's not my nostrils that get blocked, but the far back of my throat.
- samatman 2y ago
  They mechanically open the nostril, which resists sinus closure, and that has knock-on effects for the rest of the respiratory tract. Nostrils basically don't block unless you stick something in them, but sinuses do, and opening the nostril helps directly with that. As a sinus starts to fill or close, it gets harder to pull air through the nostril, and noses are pretty flexible, so the passage narrows, which further narrows the sinus. Eventually you have a blockage, and start mouth breathing, and that's what triggers the blockage you're referring to. Sinuses serve an important purpose in humidifying air, which is important for the proper function of tonsils, especially the adenoid: adenoidal swelling is the major cause of apnea, and dry air from mouth breathing can easily trigger it. It doesn't work for everyone, and some people are just going to need a CPAP. But it's a no-commitment intervention of negligent cost, and if it works, that's a much better outcome than needing a CPAP and everything which comes with it. But there are actual, demonstrable reasons why it can serve as an alternative to the CPAP for some number of people, it isn't just woo. I hope I've done a good job of explaining why that is.

okramcivokram 2y ago

I don't understand how these types of devices are supposed to help, as it's not my nostrils that get blocked, but the far back of my throat.

samatman 2y ago
They mechanically open the nostril, which resists sinus closure, and that has knock-on effects for the rest of the respiratory tract. Nostrils basically don't block unless you stick something in them, but sinuses do, and opening the nostril helps directly with that. As a sinus starts to fill or close, it gets harder to pull air through the nostril, and noses are pretty flexible, so the passage narrows, which further narrows the sinus. Eventually you have a blockage, and start mouth breathing, and that's what triggers the blockage you're referring to. Sinuses serve an important purpose in humidifying air, which is important for the proper function of tonsils, especially the adenoid: adenoidal swelling is the major cause of apnea, and dry air from mouth breathing can easily trigger it. It doesn't work for everyone, and some people are just going to need a CPAP. But it's a no-commitment intervention of negligent cost, and if it works, that's a much better outcome than needing a CPAP and everything which comes with it. But there are actual, demonstrable reasons why it can serve as an alternative to the CPAP for some number of people, it isn't just woo. I hope I've done a good job of explaining why that is.