Is It Safe to Use Nasal Strips Every Night?

If you experience a bit of congestion or a stuffy nose at night, nasal strips may help you breathe easier. One common brand is Breathe Right, though others like InstaClear and Hush are also recommended by the Sleep Foundation.

While these strips can be helpful for some people, experts say they may not necessarily be the best option for everyone — especially if you find yourself needing one every night.

Learn whether it’s safe to wear them nightly, when to wear them (and when to avoid them), and some alternatives to nasal strips.

Safety of Using Nasal Strips Every Night

Adhesive nasal strips, designed to be placed on the bridge of your nose, work by “pulling your skin and part of your nasal cartilage open — where air initially goes in — to open your internal nasal valve,” says Michael Yong, MD, a board-certified otolaryngologist and neurorhinologist at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California.

Nasal strips might help widen your airways, allowing air to pass through more easily, according to the Sleep and Sinus Centers of Georgia.

This may encourage breathing through your nose instead of your mouth, according to the Sleep Foundation. Nose breathing has many benefits, according to Cleveland Clinic, from filtering out debris to controlling the temperature of the air that reaches your lungs.

Plus, participants in a slightly older study reported improved sleep quality, less nasal stuffiness, and easier breathing when using nasal strips.

Yet research on the effectiveness of nasal strips is mixed, according to the Sleep Foundation. In fact, one study found that using nasal strips did not significantly improve subjective measures of sleep quality or nasal congestion when compared with a placebo.

And if you need one regularly, you might be missing an opportunity to get to the bottom of an underlying condition that requires a different treatment.

“Relying on nasal strips to breathe better every night is not a great long-term plan, because they’re not a definitive fix,” Dr. Yong says. If you’re using them every day, it could mean you need a certain procedure to more permanently treat nasal valve collapse or other structural issues, he says.

That said, there’s no evidence that using nasal strips every night is dangerous in any way. Plus, they don’t come with many side effects, according to SleepApnea.org, so there’s not much harm in using them nightly if you feel they’re helpful for you.

But you may want to let your doctor know if you need one frequently so they can perform an examination and give you advice on how to reduce congestion or snoring.

When to Use Nasal Strips

Whether it’s due to congestion or narrowed airways, people who always have a hard time breathing through their nose might then become chronic mouth breathers, says Yong.

“This often means they cannot breathe through their nose very well during the day, at night, or during exercise,” he adds.

This issue can be a sign of a nasal valve collapse — a condition where the airways inside your nose become narrow, making it hard to breathe freely, according to Cleveland Clinic.

A nasal valve collapse can make the stuffiness you get with a cold or allergies even worse, Yong says, which may also contribute to nighttime snoring.

In these cases, Yong recommends trying a nasal strip, because they can temporarily widen your nasal passages and make it easier to breathe.

If the collapse is mild, Yong says, “you might use nasal strips when exercising, or at night when you have a cold, to get over that hump.”

And if you’re waiting to get surgery for a condition like a deviated septum, wearing nasal strips every night to temporarily manage your symptoms could bring you some relief.

Even if you don’t have a condition like a nasal valve collapse, using nasal strips when you need them — such as during allergy season — is a safe, noninvasive option, according to the Sleep and Sinus Centers of Georgia.

When Not to Use Nasal Strips

If your stuffiness is because of a cold, sinus infection, or allergies, Yong doesn’t typically recommend nasal strips as a treatment option. This is because your congestion is likely due to nasal passage inflammation, which a nasal strip won’t heal.

Plus, nasal strips could irritate your skin due to the adhesive that keeps them on your nose, Yong says. If you have sensitive skin or a history of irritation from adhesives, you may want to avoid using nasal strips or check with your doctor or dermatologist first to make sure they’re safe for you.

It’s also time to have a chat with your doctor if you use nasal strips for a few days and don’t see any results.

“You could have a different condition that is affecting your breathing at night — like sleep apnea,” Yong says.

If you already have a diagnosis and take steps to manage sleep apnea, you might consider using nasal strips as a complementary treatment option. If you use a CPAP machine, though, it’s best to let your healthcare professional know, since this could affect the machine’s settings, according to SleepApnea.org.

Finally, make sure to read any manufacturer instructions or warnings before using nasal strips. For example, Breathe Right recommends that children under age 5 and people with a latex allergy should not use nasal strips. Plus, the company advises that you shouldn’t apply nasal strips to skin that’s sunburned or irritated in any way.

Alternatives to Using Nasal Strips Every Night

While nasal strips are safe to use, they may not work that well for your situation or might irritate your skin. Here are some alternatives to consider:

• ‌Nasal Saline Rinse A saline rinse can help remove debris from your airways, clear out your sinuses, and reduce mucus, according to MedlinePlus. Yong recommends rinsing with a nasal irrigation bottle (rather than a neti pot), because it sends more saline through your nasal passages. Just remember to use distilled water or a sterile saline solution for safety.
• ‌Nasal Steroid Spray Over-the-counter options like Flonase can help reduce nasal swelling and inflammation to ease congestion. “They’re safe to use on a regular basis and work best when used consistently over the course of a couple of months,” Yong says‌.
• ‌Snoring Device If you’re wearing nasal strips every night to relieve snoring, some other snoring remedies could help, such as a mouthpiece that keeps your jaw set in an optimal position or a CPAP machine to help keep your airways open. ‌
• Sleep Study If these remedies don’t work for you, your doctor might recommend that you do a sleep study to check your breathing, heart rate, and movement over the course of one night to diagnose the issue.