Stop Mouth Breathing Treatment Options
1. Effects of mouth breathing
When you stop nose
breathing and your mouth is open, you suffer from deficiencies in
O2
(oxygen), CO2 (carbon dioxide), and NO (nitric oxide) in body cells.
This leads to:
- decreased perfusion (blood supply) of all vital organs;
- suppressed Bohr effect;
- over-excited state of nerve cells causing increased anxiety, more
problems with sleep, etc.;
- constrictions of airways leading to dyspnea, nasal congestion, and frequent
infections
- muscular tension;
- tissue hypoxia;
- generation of free radicals in body cells;
- increased inflammation and heart rate;
- abnormalities related to regulation of the blood pressure, blood
glucose levels, and body weight;
- suppressed repair of cells, tissues and organs; and so forth.
For medical research related to these and many other effects, visit the links below or the web page Mouth vs. Nose Breathing Effects.
2. Stop mouth breathing treatment works if you know the cause
Regardless of the superficial causes and triggers, there is
one cause of mouth breathing: chronic hyperventilation.
Hyperventilation leads to primary effects outlined above. These effects produce
secondary symptoms of hyperventilation such as sinusitis, extra-mucus
production, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, deviated septum, snoring, sleep
apnea, and other pathologies that worsen nasal breathing creating an illusion
that they cause mouth breathing. Hence, in order to stop mouth breathing, one
need to stop his or her hyperventilation and increase body oxygen levels.
Mouth breathing treatment options are numerous. Depending on the
current clinical picture and symptoms, the effective treatment for
mouth breathing includes immediate respiratory techniques and long-term
breathing exercises and lifestyle
changes in order to retrain the automatic breathing pattern.
3. Mouth breathing treatment options
- If you suffer from occasional sinusitis (nasal congestion, blocked nose, or stuffy nose), apply the technique How to Unblock the Nose Breathing Exercise. It works in 1-2 minutes and this exercise can be applied as many times as you like. (By the way, this exercise instantly proves that heavy breathing is the cause of your mouth breathing and nasal congestions since CO2 does wonders as an instant and long-term mouth breathing treatment).
- If you suffer from mouth breathing during sleep, learn the
medical technique How to Tape the
Mouth at Night for oral breathing during night sleep. Note that for
most people it is impossible to stop mouth breathing, if they sleep on
their back at night. Sleeping on your back increases chances of mouth
breathing some 5-10 times. For this reason, if you sleep on your back,
it is also important to apply the treatment Prevent Sleeping on One's
Back.
- If you are afraid or nervous to use a tape at night, you may tape only one half of your mouth, or you may use 2 clean cotton socks and sew them together to make a support for your jaw. Sleeping in a sitting position is another excellent option to feel better in the morning and have higher morning body oxygen test results.
- If you suffer from memory problems and your mouth open automatically (a
habitual mouth breather), learn about steps related to constant reminding about
importance of nasal breathing. Use stickers on your tables and desks, PC screen,
doors, and other places on the house reminding you, "Nose breathing!" or "Close
the mouth". Keep a large mirror on your working desk in front of you so that you
can see your face and the way you breathe. If you have children, promise them a
treat if they notice you breathing through the mouth.
- If you are a chronic mouth breather (due to adenoid vegetation, nasal polyps, deviated septum, and other causes), the simplest and easiest way to acquire nasal breathing fast is to apply breathing devices: the Frolov breathing device or Amazing DIY breathing device. Indeed, a blocked nose will not prevent your from using breathing devices. But even people with sleep apnea, snoring at night with mouth breathing, obesity, hypertension, asthma and diabetes will also get most benefits from using breathing devices since there is no need to have a breathing teacher or a practitioner.
In general, your chance of success for this (stop mouth breathing treatment) program depends on your unconscious or automatic breathing pattern in the following manner.
Relationships between body oxygen
level and chances of open mouth
| Body Oxygen Level |
Minute Ventilation* |
Chance of mouth breathing, especially during sleep |
| Less than 10 s |
Over 20 L/min | Very likely |
| 10-20 s |
12-20 L/min | Likely |
| 20-30 s |
9-12 L/min |
Very unlikely |
|
30-40 s |
6-9 L/min |
Almost impossible |
| >40 s |
<6 L/min | Virtually impossible |
* Minute ventilation for a 70-kg
person at rest
In order to achieve higher body oxygen level right now, you can use free Buteyko breathing exercises and breathing techniques. Free detailed instructions (breathing exercises and lifestyle changes) are provided in the section Learn.
Check it here: a mouth breather has low body oxygen level.
References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion
(or blood
supply) to all vital organs
The Bohr effect
How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
Cell Oxygen Levels and oxygen transport are controlled by
alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on
breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr
effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2
content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes
place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence,
antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by
breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression
of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal
breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or
sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells
is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture
and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of
airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due
to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant
and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the
tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood
pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon
dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine
in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth
"CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control
How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?
Reference Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and
Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing
norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal
breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6
myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of
hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the
Sick. Table
1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV
(chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions
(34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in
Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of
Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia
How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of
all vital organs
Body oxygen test
How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy
Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical
studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5.
CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko
Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning
hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most
likely to die during early morning hours
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