Physiologic Effects of an External Nasal Dilator

An external nasal dilator (Breathe Right, CNS, Inc., Bloomington, MN) has become popular with athletes. The dilator is an adhesive band with a central elastic strip. When applied across the nasal valve, the device theoretically increases nasal valve area. We used acoustic rhinometry (Hood Laboratori...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Laryngoscope 1997-09, Vol.107 (9), p.1235-1238
Main Authors: Griffin, John W., Hunter, Gary, Ferguson, Drew, Sillers, Michael J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
Adolescent
Adult
Airway Resistance - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cartilage - anatomy & histology
Dilatation - instrumentation
Double-Blind Method
Equipment Design
Exercise Test
Female
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Nasal Cavity - anatomy & histology
Nasal Septum - anatomy & histology
Nose - anatomy & histology
Nose - physiology
Oxygen Consumption - physiology
Perception
Physical Exertion - physiology
Placebos
Pulmonary Ventilation - physiology
Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects)
Respiration - physiology
Rest - physiology
Sports - physiology
Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments. Material. Instrumentation
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Summary:An external nasal dilator (Breathe Right, CNS, Inc., Bloomington, MN) has become popular with athletes. The dilator is an adhesive band with a central elastic strip. When applied across the nasal valve, the device theoretically increases nasal valve area. We used acoustic rhinometry (Hood Laboratories, Pembroke, MA) to measure the cross‐sectional area at the nasal valve with and without the device in 53 athletes. Thirty athletes were exercised on a cycle ergometer with and without the device while measuring physiologic parameters, including oxygen consumption (VO2), heart rate, and respiratory rate. The study was conducted in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled manner. At rest, the external nasal dilator was found to significantly increase nasal valve area in all demographic groups measured. The device was also found to significantly decrease submaximal exercise perceived exertion, heart rate, ventilation, and VO2 when compared with placebo.
ISSN:0023-852X
1531-4995
DOI:10.1097/00005537-199709000-00014