do your nostrils switch off every 90 minutes?

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ENT is my specialty.

YES, each nasal cavity takes its turn at being less congested. This is referred to as the Nasal Cycle. The reason for this normal phenomenon is due to the "erectile" tissue in the nose which controls nasal congestion. This tissue must tumesce (swell) and detumesce (shrink back down) every 90 minutes or so in order to remain healthy. As a result, the nose has developed this cycle so that each side takes a turn.

In patients with a deviated septum, they may have severe congestion every 90 minutes because one side is never "open".

It is also true that if you sleep on your side, the dependent side (the one toward the ground) is more congested than the upper side. This can also manifest as severe congestion when lying on one side if the patient has a deviated septum. They will sometimes note that they can breathe when they lay on the opposite side.

I would say that about 10% of patients referred for "chronic congestion" to our office are merely complaining of the normal nasal cycle.

Noses are weird.that's why I made them my specialty.

Other Answers:
no

No. Am I healthy?

I'm not sure if it is every 90min, but it is a scietific fact that you only use one nostril at a tinme. Like when you get sick and one nostril is really hard to breath out of.one nostril at a time is normal.

Worked for an ENT yes they definitely switch over especially at night depending on which side you are sleeping. How often during the day not sure.

Try it tonight, it's a trip the nostril fartherest from the pillow will be the clear, open one.

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do your nostrils switch off every 90 minutes?

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