Nasal Valve Collapse
This is a condition where the sidewalls of your nostrils collapse as you breathe in. It can occur by itself, or along with other reasons that cause nasal congestion. Typically, it occurs most often years after rhinoplasty due to weakening of the cartilages that supports the side of the nostrils. Sometimes it happens without any surgery or trauma.
One way you can tell if you have nasal valve collapse is to put your index fingers on you face next to the nostrils and pull the cheek skin away from your nose. If you can breathe much better, you may have nasal valve collapse.
If you have allergies, a deviated nasal septum or any other intra-nasal medical condition, these issues need to be first addressed.
A simple way of treating this problem is to use a variety of nasal dilator devices, shown below. They won’t work if your internal nose is stuffy. You can have internal nasal obstruction, or external nasal valve collapse, or both, so the best way to tell is get examined. If these dilator strips help, then it’s safe to keep using. Sometimes, it’s not strong enough, or it can irritate the skin, causing people to stop using them. Ultimately, because it is a structural problem, surgery is the only definitive way of treating this condition.
Does it help snoring? Sometimes, but not all the time. Any form of nasal congestion can aggravate snoring downstream, but studies have shown that nasal surgery for nasal congestion only improved snoring and obstructive sleep apnea about 10% of the time.
Breath-Right Nasal Dilator Strips
These are adhesive strips that are placed over the nostrils to keep them open, similar to what athletes sometimes wear. A recent objective study tested this device for snoring, and found no significant improvement.
This can be found at most pharmacies.
Breathe With Eez
This product is a spring that you place inside your nostril. It tends to work somewhat better because it’s working from the inside, but some people find it uncomfortable.
Nozovent
A one-piece nasal valve dilator that works from the inside.
Sinus Cones
Another variation of a device that dilates from the inside.
Steven Y. Park, M.D.
Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
(212) 315-9058
