Mouth breathers

[Scarlett]

Has anyone tried the mouth tape ?

i order some today.  I can’t wait to try it.  Reviews look good.

[Slache]

I would be afraid the person isn't getting enough oxygen through their nose.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Have you seen an ENT?  Before having my deviated septum repaired, I could breathe through my nose if I held perfectly still in bed.  Even rolling over was enough of an effort that I had to breathe through my mouth.  After I had a septoplasy to repair the septum, I can now breathe easily through my nose, and just for fun, about 6 weeks after the repair, I ran 5k while breathing entirely through my nose (slower than my usual pace, obviously!).  I'd see an ENT.  

 

[ktgrok]

I don't get it - isn't mouth breathing a symptom of not breathing well via the nose? Closing the mouth doesn't solve the nose problem, and I'd think it just lowers oxygen levels. Clearing the nose problem is what would help. 

I breath through my mouth all night because I can't breathe well enough through my nose. If I were to tape my mouth I'd just not breathe well enough, lol. 

[catz]

I’ve had sinus surgery.  I breath through my nose much better than I am used to but still mouth breath at times.  I always assumed this was a structural thing too.   

[Scarlett]

Well I have given this a lot of thought. I am sure some people can’t breathe through their nose and thus are mouth breathers.  But I am not a mouth breather during the day. I have paid close attention for weeks.  But the second I relax enough to go to sleep my mouth pops open.  Every time I fall  asleep in the car or on a plane..,.just wide open mouth.  All of my loved ones think it is just hilarious.  I have lots of pics of me with my mouth open.  
 

I tried it last night......but not until I woke up at 3 a.,m......I went to bed ahead of Dh because he was working on a kitchen plumbing  issue and I planned to talk to him when he came to bed....so anyway putting it on for the first time at 3 am wasn’t ideal. However, it seemed to be effective.  

A visit to an ENT isn’t a bad idea though. 

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

That’s my mom.  She isn’t congested and doesn’t have apnea or obstructions, her mouth just falls open when she relaxes and she snores and gets dry mouth when that happens.  
 

I’m glad you didn’t mind the tape!  Just like a sleep mask (I love mine so very much) and ear plugs (ditto!) or can take some getting used to something new on your body as you sleep.  But it’s better than waking up to the Sahara in your mouth 😂

Sahara is right! It is annoying as heck, but I also read it can cause bad breath and cavities!

[Lady Florida.]

On 2/9/2020 at 1:11 AM, CuriousMomof3 said:

I always thought people who breathed through their mouth had some kind of obstruction that prevented nose breathing.  That's true for me.  I only mouth breathe if I have a cold or allergies or a sinus thing preventing me from breathing through my nose. 

If that's true, that blocking the mouth seems like a very bad idea.  But maybe I am wrong.  I often am. 

Yes this. I had a deviated septum and breathed through my mouth most of my life. Insurance wouldn't pay for surgery because they considered it elective and unnecessary. I was in my 40s when I finally was able to get it covered. If my mouth had somehow been blocked before my surgery, I wouldn't have been able to breathe at all. 

[Scarlett]

5 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Yes this. I had a deviated septum and breathed through my mouth most of my life. Insurance wouldn't pay for surgery because they considered it elective and unnecessary. I was in my 40s when I finally was able to get it covered. If my mouth had somehow been blocked before my surgery, I wouldn't have been able to breathe at all. 

Yes, this is the case for some I am sure.  But I think it would be apparent very quickly which camp a person is in.  

[Lady Florida.]

1 minute ago, Scarlett said:

Yes, this is the case for some I am sure.  But I think it would be apparent very quickly which camp a person is in.  

Yes, I went back and finished the thread after I posted and saw your post. I 'liked' it hoping that would show you I realized you don't have that issue. 🙂 

[Scarlett]

7 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Yes, I went back and finished the thread after I posted and saw your post. I 'liked' it hoping that would show you I realized you don't have that issue. 🙂 

No worries.  Trust me it did cross my mind when I was thinking of trying it I might smother myself in my sleep.  😂 and I am fairly claustrophobic so I was worried about that but it really wasn’t bad.  

[kiwik]

I am asthmatic.  I have always breathed partly through my mouth and partly through my nose.  When I just breathe through my nose I don't get enough air.  

[geodob]

Related to this, is the fact that our Paranasal Sinuses.  Produce Nitric Oxide.
Which is only breathed into the lungs, when breathing through the nose.

One thing that Nitric Oxide does, is to dilate the blood vessels. In the lungs, it enables greater absorption of oxygen.
Another thing about Nitric Oxide, is that it is an 'anti-bacterial' and 'anti-viral' agent.
So that it helps to kill off bacteria and viruses that enter the lungs.

But Mouth Breathers, miss out on this benefit.
For some people, mouth breathing can be a result of a head cold, and blocked nose.  Which forces them to mouth breathe.
They may continue to mouth breathe out of habit.  After the head cold has gone.

[Scarlett]

3 hours ago, geodob said:

Related to this, is the fact that our Paranasal Sinuses.  Produce Nitric Oxide.
Which is only breathed into the lungs, when breathing through the nose.

One thing that Nitric Oxide does, is to dilate the blood vessels. In the lungs, it enables greater absorption of oxygen.
Another thing about Nitric Oxide, is that it is an 'anti-bacterial' and 'anti-viral' agent.
So that it helps to kill off bacteria and viruses that enter the lungs.

But Mouth Breathers, miss out on this benefit.
For some people, mouth breathing can be a result of a head cold, and blocked nose.  Which forces them to mouth breathe.
They may continue to mouth breathe out of habit.  After the head cold has gone.

I did not know this.  Very interesting. I know I have always had my mouth pop open when I go to sleep sitting up.  But I honestly don’t remember waking up during the night and the next morning with such dry mouth until the last few years.  It would explain how exhausted I feel most  of the time.  
 

I feel like my mouth popping open so easily is related to my TMJ issues.....but I have no facts to back that up.  
 

Last night I slept all night with it.  I did wake up once and feel annoyed but powered through it and went back to sleep.  I did feel refreshed this morning.  
The worst part is not being able to talk to Dh as I am drifting off to sleep!  He probably likes it! Lol

[DesertBlossom]

Do you have a tongue tie? When we took my baby in to have his tongue tie lasered, I asked the dr about my teenager who has a tongue tie. She said it can cause sleep issues because in order to hold your mouth closed you have to create a suction with your tongue. If your tongue is tied to the floor of your mouth, that can be difficult to do.

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, DesertBlossom said:

Do you have a tongue tie? When we took my baby in to have his tongue tie lasered, I asked the dr about my teenager who has a tongue tie. She said it can cause sleep issues because in order to hold your mouth closed you have to create a suction with your tongue. If your tongue is tied to the floor of your mouth, that can be difficult to do.

Nope. 
 

About ten years ago I had serious TMJ issues.  They wanted to do surgery, braces—-I was just not ok with that.  So I did a lot of research on my own and did a lot of behavioral changes...one of which was I stopped sleeping with my hands under the side of my face.  I now sleep with my hands under my pillow.  I suspect that is when my mouth started coming open during the night.