Mouth Taping

[Manor607]

I have been a ' mouth breather' all my life . ( 70 yrs old now). I would say it became problematic as I entered by 50's. Waking up in the middle of the night with extreme dry mouth/throat. Then waking in the morning with a slight headache and low energy. I somehow landed on a 'mouth taping' site ( a US dentist I believe?). We are meant to breathe through our nose not the mouth. I have been mouth-taping now for about 5 years. I use

3M micropore 2" tape (make sure you get the 2" width). A very inexpensive solution to my

'mouth breathing' and widely available at drug stores + Amazon. I'm not a Dr and not sure of the physiology - but the odd time I have a 'stuffed-up' nostril...after putting the tape over my mouth..my breathing clears. Also, I would often wake myself up with my own snoring. With the mouth taped...pretty much impossible to snore.

Educate yourself. ie not a good idea to tape if you have been drinking or have a bad cold flu...there are lots of online articles/YouTube vids etc.

Also, I have noticed 2-3 nights a month...the tape was off when I woke up. I'm assuming it was the body's natural reflex to get it off...for whatever reason. One final thing, I learned from experience-- fold a tiny bit over at each end before you place it over your mouth...makes it MUCH easier to take off.

[Logo132]

Yes I tried this a while back when I’d watched some of Patrick mckeons YouTube videos about buteyko and the mouth taping method. I found it effective but had to give up as my nose gets very stuffy and I was struggling to manage breathing through just my nose.

However I might give it another go as I have a similar problem to you at the moment I’m waking up with a very dry mouth and a headache most mornings which I know is due to my moth breathing.

I also recently found out my asthma is related to GERD so I’m hoping a combination of the acid watcher diet and reintroducing the mouth taping may help.

Thank you for sharing.

[ccccc]

Do you think perhaps the reason why the tape was off when you woke up is because you were struggling to breathe? Although I understand people with asthma can over breathe and I do nasal breathing exercises myself, taping over your mouth while asleep sounds rather risky to me.

[Bevvy]

Just a note of caution. If you are waking with a headache and low energy you should speak to gp. You could benefit from a sleep study. In particular in case of sleep apnea. Both symptoms could indicate this.I am pretty certain I don’t have sleep apnea but I accept I should speak to gp because I DO snore dreadfully. I tried mouth taping but found it didn’t work for me because it came undone during the night.

[Manor607]

Thanks for your reply. No, I'm pretty sure it is not caused by a breathing issue. Otherwise I would wake up at the time or in the morning with breathing difficulty...which I don't. I think it is more of a case of the tape on the skin...causing the body's natural reflex to get rid of the irritant. Like when there is a hair near your mouth...something like that. I have been taping for 5 years...and it is not a common occurrence to wake up with it off. I no longer have those foggy headaches and dry mouth...so def worth it (for me). Also, I agree people should be comfortable about having the tape on their mouth. Best to do it for awhile in the evening...while you are watching TV etc, so you realize how easy it is to release it. DO NOT USE something like duct tape...it is NOT that kind of experience. As I said, what works best for me is Micropore surgical tape.