Snoring strips or nasal strips are readily available at any pharmacy today. They are advertised as an effective, no-pain solution for snoring – but do the claims hold up?
Nasal strips for snoring are a kind of nasal dilator that pull the nostrils open from the outside, allowing more airflow in the nasal pathways. At night, a strip can be worn to hold your nose open and prevent breathing from your mouth (which causes snoring). These drug-free strips are inexpensive and easy to apply, making them a sound option for snorers who want to take the first step towards solving their problem.
How Does a Nasal Strip Work to Reduce Snoring?
These strips are tiny flexible bands of material that are applied on the bridge of the nose. There’s an adhesive on the underside of the nasal strip that allows it to stick to the skin. You are supposed to place the strip right in the center of your nose in a way that it lays exactly on top of the flare of each nostril.
Once in position, the strip widens the open nasal passages by pulling up the sides of the nose. This larger nasal space is then able to improve airflow, which leads to reduced air turbulence and snoring, plus easier breathing.
Are Snoring Strips Effective?
It depends on the extent and cause of the obstruction that’s causing your snoring. Also, the strip is only useful as long as it can lift the side of the nose; if it comes off in the middle of the night – as it happens with many users – it won’t help.
The important thing to note here is that snoring strips only help manage the symptom (snoring), they do nothing to treat the underlying cause (such as sleep apnea). If you’re looking for a quick-fix to reduce snoring and improve sleep, anti-snoring nasal strips are definitely worth a try.
Other than possible skin irritation from the adhesive, nasal strips have no reported side effects. Due to being non-invasive and readily available without a prescription, nasal strips are definitely a convenient option for snorers of any age looking breathe easier and fall asleep faster.
A Sinus Specialist Can Help Eliminate Snoring for Good
Snoring refers to the sound created by the vibration of the soft tissues in the upper airway. While you’re asleep, your muscles relax and air is forced to pass through a narrowed throat.
It has the potential to disrupt sleep every night and cause long-term health consequences. If you have a severe snoring problem, you are not the only one who has to deal with it; it can affect anyone who is within the earshot, especially your partner.
Snoring is more than just an annoying quirk; it’s a sign that an underlying health condition is causing damage. Some recent studies indicate that chronic snoring can actually thicken the carotid arteries over time, leading to an increased risk of stroke.
In many cases, snoring is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is a repetitive, partial or complete obstruction of breathing that can happen dozens or even hundreds of times throughout the night. OSA can be caused by many factors such as drinking too much alcohol, excessive smoking, enlarged tonsils, excess weight, and sleeping on your back.
A trained sinus specialist can determine what’s causing your snoring, be it a deviated septum, nasal congestion due to allergies or cold, or something else. If you or your loved one snores, we highly recommend getting a comprehensive sleep evaluation by an ENT specialist with a strong focus in rhinology. They can help you stop snoring.
At Florida Sinus & Snoring Specialists, we offer the following proven solutions for treating snoring effectively:
Minimally Invasive Palatal Stiffening (MIPS)
MIPS has proven to be really effective to stop snoring even in people who have been experiencing it for several years or decades. Dr. Lee Mandel at the Florida Sinus & Snoring Specialists created the MIPS procedure as a faster and easier approach to conventional procedures for stiffening a soft palate.
During the 15-minute procedure, Dr. Mandel uses a diode laser to trim the uvula and make a tiny cut right at the center of the soft palate. He then swings the laser a few times, in a very controlled manner, under the palate’s lining on both sides. The entire procedure only takes 3–5 minutes once the patient has been put under anesthesia.
As the lining heals over the next few days, the palate is pulled up and tightened, causing lesser vibrations during breathing. This means no more blocked airways and thus, no more loud, ear-piercing snoring. You can also choose to combine MIPS with a nasal or sinus treatment, depending on the severity of your condition. In that case, the procedure will probably take an extra 10–15 minutes. Once it’s done, you may experience a mild sore throat, but that sensation will completely go away within a week.
Immunotherapy
If your snoring and/or poor sleep is being caused by nasal congestion brought on by allergies, immunotherapy can be an excellent option. It is especially great for people who have tried medications and other strategies to no avail. Immunotherapy’s aim is to treat the underlying allergy instead of the symptom of snoring.
It involves frequent, regular exposure to tiny amounts of allergens over a period of several years. The formula is available in the form of sublingual allergy drops and subcutaneous allergy shots. Those not comfortable with injections (allergy shots), usually prefer to get the treatment via drops.
ClariFix Cooling
If your snoring is a symptom of rhinitis, and you’re also experiencing symptoms such as constant nasal congestion, postnasal drip, runny nose and sneezing, ClariFix can be the long-term solution you need. It is a minimally-invasive cryotherapy procedure that involves freezing the irritated area in the back of the nose to relieve pain and inflammation.
ClariFix is a safe, in-office procedure that takes just a few minutes to perform. A topical anesthetic is applied before the cooling device is used. You won’t feel any pain – just a little pressure and a cooling sensation in your nose and maybe around your molars. Once the procedure is complete, you might see a drastic improvement in your symptoms between 2 and 4 weeks afterwards.
Minimally Invasive Nasal Procedures
We also offer minimally invasive nasal procedures at Florida Sinus & Snoring Specialists. Patients usually request them in conjunction with MIPS in order to remove any obstructions (like nasal polyps) in the nasal passages. As the name implies, the procedures are super fast and offer quick relief from snoring.
Our Board-Certified Sinus Specialists Can Help You Breathe Easier
Not many people realize that severe snoring can affect pretty much all aspects of life. The noise will interfere with you and your partner or roommate getting a good night’s rest, which is the foundation of your health and well-being.
When you regularly snore at night, it disrupts your sleep quality, leading to irritability, fatigue, and increased risk of health issues. Plus, if your loud snoring is keeping your loved one awake, it can create relationship problems too. Also, remember, snoring is just a symptom of an underlying condition, such as obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep disorders – which can be deadly if left unaddressed.
Thousands of patients have found long-term relief from snoring and its underlying causes at Florida Sinus & Snoring Specialists. Dr. Mandel is Board Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and is co-founder and executive member of the board of directors for the Society for Innovation and Technology in Otolaryngology (SITO). He is an active member of the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and is the only private practice Fellow of the American Rhinologic Society in South Florida. He has over 20 years of experience in performing minimally-invasive snoring, sleep, and sinonasal procedures.
If you are not sure why your snoring occurs and you’re tired of causing noisy night issues for everyone around you, visit Dr. Mandel and his team to treat your condition once and for all. Call us at 954-983-1211 or contact us online to request an appointment today.
