How Do Nasal Strips work, Snoring, Best Brands and Homemade

Nasal strips can improve your breathing dramatically and even help to address related problems such as snoring. Here is more info about nose strips including best brands and options for horse nose strips.

How Do Nasal Strips Work

The question “how do nasal strips work?” is asked very commonly is online health forums and discussion boards as well as Q-A websites the likes of yahoo answer.

Before we delve into answering this question, let’s start by pointing out that you will find the discussion leaning more towards Breathe Right Nose Strips which happens to be one of the most popular strips out there.

Other nose strips work in a very similar manner nevertheless and unless someone comes with up with a different innovation altogether, you will not have any problem working or trying to figure out how any other brand out there works.

Coming back to the question, how do nasal strips work? The principle idea is simply to keep the airways open – mechanically rather than chemically (with medications).

The strips come with two main components, namely, a self-adhesive material on the underside and an elastic spring-like band on the upper side. Patients are required to stick a strip on the flair of the nose as they sleep or go about their normal day-to-day activities.

The bended position of the elastic bands makes them to spring back to their original shape which consequently exerts outwards force on the nostrils, thus opening the nasal passages inside the nose mechanically.

This in turn prevents or lowers air resistance and facilitates better movement of air into the nasal passages, thus improving breathing while at the same time relieving any symptoms of nasal congestion regardless of the underlying causes – including allergies and common cold.

Nasal Strips for Snoring or  Nasal Strips to Stop Snoring

Nasal congestion and snoring go hand in hand. Nasal congestion is caused by allergies and colds. It typically causes narrowing of the breathing space at the rear end of each nostril which then causes breathing through the nose to become rather difficult.

The small diameter left from constriction of the nasal passages also makes air to flow through the nose faster just as water over through a smaller diameter hosepipe faster compared to a wider one. As the air moves through the nasal airways faster, they cause loud vibration that are then perceived as snoring.

Michael Breus, Ph.D., a sleep specialist based in Scottsdale, Arizona says that most cases of snoring are associated with obstruction due to nasal congestion.

The WebMD website recommends using nose strips for snoring alleviation. As we have already mentioned, these strips raises the nasal passages up. With that done, the resulting lower air resistance and speed of movement makes it less likely for the patient to produce snoring.

Your safest bet is to use Breathe Right Nasal Strips for snoring alleviation but their brands may as well work fine. You can check with your local drugstore or even order them online.

Best Nasal Strips

The truth be told; no products are created equally and for every proven product that does actually work, there is always the probability of several less effective or ineffective but similar products which then begs the question, “Which are the best nasal strips?”

We  would without hesitation vote Breathe Right as the best strips out there judging from the rave reviews and ratings that this product seem to be getting in most of the online shopping sites as well as the positive reviews given by skin care experts.

Keep in mind that following instructions is just as important as choosing the best one. It also helps to minimize the risk of undesired side-effects e.g. skin irritation from wrong usage.

Nasal Strips Review

With so many nose strips out there, it is simply unreasonably to include reviews drawn from different product experiences. This would only lead to confusion or even biased especially given the short space that we have for this article which makes it impractical to list dozens of reviews here.

In consideration of these factors, we decided to concentrate on reviews around just one product and since most sites you will come across will have something to say about Breathe Right Strips, they will be at the center of our review.

With that in mind here is what real users of the Breathe Right Strips had to say about their experience with them.

Positive reviews:

“Keeps your nose open and breathing easily all night….” From a user on Amazon

Here is another Breathe Right strips review from a user on DrugStore.com,

“My husband has used this product consistently for five years. He sleeps through the night and so do I.”

Negative reviews

“…The basic issue is the adhesive does not keep the strip seated for the night. By morning at least one tab is loose making the strip ineffective.”

As much as there are many positive reviews about this product, there is that occasional negative review from a user who was dissatisfied for one reason or another. Anyway, the overall picture for the product is a positive one.

Nasal Strips for Kids

Kids are also not immune to nasal congestion problem due to medical conditions such as common cold, allergies, and nasal defects such deviated septum. It is only natural for any health conscious parent to be hesitant about using adult products on their kids lest they risk causing them undesired side-effects such as skin irritation.

That is where the concept of kid’s nose strips comes in. The Breathe Right brand also takes the day in the “nasal strips for kids” category.

The manufacturer states says that the strips are formulated to be safe for use on kid’s gentle skin and that any kid aged over 5 years should have no problem using it. The strips come in 12 piece packaging and are touted to be safe for every night use.

Homemade Nasal Strips

Most commercial nose strips work great no doubt, but you can always save a few dollars by making your own homemade nasal strips. A DIY nose strip also allows you the opportunity to custom-fit it to the size of your nose.

This homemade nasal strip is pretty easy to make but works just as effectively as a commercial one such as Breathe Right.

1. Get a flexible plastic such as the one found atop the inside surface of a Pringles can and cut a thin strip out of it
2. Place the plastic strip on the inside of a normal plastic bandage
3. Wash your nose and tape the bandage carefully on the flair of your nose. The plastic strip will stretch outwards and pull your nostrils open, consequently opening the nasal passages.

Reusable Nasal Strips

Using one nasal strip every night may eventually roll down to huge sums of money especially for patients with long term conditions e.g. allergies. That drove some innovative and responsive entrepreneurs to see the need and develop reusable nose strips and related products.

We took some time to come up with a list of some of the products on the market today and here is what we were able to gather:

• Sleep Right Nasal Breathe Aid
• Max-Air Nose Cones

These are not exactly strips but they are reportedly just as effective and at least offer you the option for multiple uses before discarding them.

Horse Nasal Strips or Nasal Strips For Horses

Horse nasal strips work in a similar manner as human strips; that is, they are taped on the outside of the nose where they mechanically – as opposed to chemically – pull the nostril upwards and consequently open the nasal passages.

They also come with a medical-grade self-adhesive chemical at the bottom and a flexible band on the top of it which looks so much like the ordinary skin band that we use for cuts and scratches.

As for what they do, horse nasal strips first of all ensure better air flow into the lungs by minimizing air resistance which them lays ground for optimum performance at the track. While a horse breathes hard during exercise or a race, the soft tissues atop the nasal passages get sucked in and collapses, thus reducing the size of the airway.

As a consequence, there is increased resistance to the air flowing into the lungs. Less air means lower performance especially considering that this is the times that a horse need the most oxygen. In addition to improving performance of equine horses at the track, researchers have also shown that horse nasal strips can reduce lung damage.

These simple innovations were in particular shown to reduce lung hemorrhage by as much as 50 percent as Howard Erickson, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine says.

Here is why: Horses breathe exclusively through their nose which is unlike human beings who can use both nose and mouth for the purpose.

Under high intensity athletic activities such as racing and exercises, horses can create negative pressure in their lungs – owing to the narrower air passages that result from collapsed nasal passages – which may ultimately lead to hemorrhage in the lungs.

Lastly, equine strips can help to avoid fatigue related injuries.

As for the best choice for nasal strips for horses, Flair ™ Equine Nasal Strips are a great bet.