Written from firsthand experience with a deviated septum and checked against clinical sources. We make Ventriq Nasal Strips, so we are always upfront that a strip relieves symptoms rather than fixing the structural problem. Read our methodology or our editorial policy.
Our number one pick for a blocked nose: the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips. When your nose shuts at bedtime, a firm band holds the nasal valve open from the outside, so nothing has to go into a nostril that is already sore and full. It is the one I make and the one I use.
Yes, a nasal strip can make a blocked nose easier to breathe through, but only partly. A strip lifts the sides of the nose and widens the nasal valve, which gives air more room to get past swollen lining. It does nothing to the swelling itself, the mucus, or whatever caused the blockage, whether that is a cold, an allergy or a deviated septum. Our number one pick is the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips, and Breathe Right Extra Strength is a fair alternative you can buy in almost any pharmacy tonight.
I make Ventriq, so read this knowing I am not neutral. I am also someone who has spent a lot of nights with a nose that would not open. Ten years of rugby left my septum badly deviated and most likely broken more than once. A consultant otolaryngologist in Dublin recommended septorhinoplasty, and I put it off so I could keep playing. With a bent septum, every head cold hits twice as hard. The narrow side closes completely, the other side swells, and you end up breathing through your mouth until 4am. That is the situation I had in mind when I designed our strips.
Why a Blocked Nose Gets Worse When You Lie Down
If your nose feels passable during the day and then closes the moment your head hits the pillow, you are not imagining it. Lying flat lets more blood pool in the lining of the nose, and that lining is full of tissue that swells easily. Add a cold or hay fever, where the lining is already inflamed, and the airway gets noticeably narrower.
There is also the nasal cycle. Your nose naturally swells one side and then the other every few hours, and you never notice it when both sides are clear. When you are congested, the side that is meant to be resting can close off entirely. If your septum leans towards that side, it can feel like breathing through a straw. I go into the night time side of this in more depth in the complete guide to nasal breathing and better sleep.
What a Nasal Strip Can and Cannot Do for Congestion
It helps to think of a blocked nose as two separate problems stacked on top of each other.
- The doorway is too narrow. The internal nasal valve, about a centimetre inside each nostril, is the tightest point of the whole airway. A strip pulls the side walls outward and makes that doorway wider. This is the part a strip can genuinely help with.
- The corridor behind it is swollen or full. Mucosal swelling further back, and mucus sitting in the passages, are untouched by a strip. No amount of lift on the outside will drain mucus or calm an inflamed lining.
So the honest expectation is this. A strip will usually make each breath feel less of an effort and can be the difference between breathing through your nose and giving up and mouth breathing. It will not make a heavily blocked nose feel clear. If someone tells you a strip unblocks your nose, they are overselling it.
The Best Nasal Strips for a Blocked Nose, Compared
| Option | Lift on the valve | Hold overnight | Best for | Drawback when you are blocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips | Firm | Built for a full night | Regular blockage, a deviated septum, colds on top of a narrow nose | Posted from Ireland, so not on a shop shelf tonight |
| Breathe Right Extra Strength | Firm | Good for most people | A cold that needs something right now | Some people find it lifts at the edges by morning |
| Breathe Right Original | Gentle | Good | Mild stuffiness | Not much lift if your nose is properly shut |
| Pharmacy own brand strips | Light to moderate | Varies by brand | A cheap week of cold relief | Quality is inconsistent from pack to pack |
| Internal cones such as Mute | Moderate | Depends on sizing | People whose skin reacts to adhesive | Sits in a runny, sore nostril and needs cleaning every morning |
1. Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips: Our Number One Pick
The Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips are what I reach for the minute I feel a cold coming. The band is set firm because my nose needs it. A gentle strip on a congested, deviated nose barely registers, and I would wake at 3am with my mouth wide open anyway. The adhesive was chosen to last through a full night of tossing and turning, which matters more than people think when you are sick and restless.
There is no drug in it, so you can wear it every night of a cold, alongside whatever your pharmacist recommends, without worrying about rebound congestion. If you are training through a stuffy spell, the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips use a sweat resistant adhesive for the same lift during exercise.
Where it falls short: you cannot walk into a shop and buy it tonight, so if you are blocked right now, it will not help until the post arrives. And it relieves the symptom. It does not shorten a cold or settle an allergy.
2. Breathe Right Extra Strength
Credit where it is due. Breathe Right Extra Strength is a good strip and it is everywhere, from pharmacies to petrol stations. When your nose closes on a Sunday night, availability beats everything else. The Extra Strength band gives a decent pull and works well for a lot of people with a cold.
In my experience on a nose with a structural restriction, the lift and the grip were the weak points, and I would often find the edges peeling by morning. If that happens to you, reapplying halfway through the night gets old fast. I put the two side by side in Ventriq vs Breathe Right if you want the detail.
3. Breathe Right Original and Pharmacy Own Brands
For a light cold where your nose is stuffy rather than shut, a gentler strip is perfectly fine and cheaper. Breathe Right Original and the own brand strips sold by the big pharmacy chains use the same idea with a softer band. I would not bother with them if your nose is fully blocked or you have a deviated septum, but for a few nights of mild congestion they do the job.
4. Why Internal Dilators Are Not My First Choice Here
Internal cones and stents such as Mute and AIRMAX are good products, and for someone whose skin will not tolerate adhesive they are the right answer. With a blocked nose from a cold, though, you are putting something into a nostril that is runny, tender and being wiped constantly. You will be taking them out to blow your nose and cleaning them every morning. An external strip avoids all of that. I cover the wider trade off in internal vs external nasal dilators.
How to Get More Out of a Strip When You Are Congested
- Blow your nose first, then wash and dry the skin. Clear what you can, then get rid of any oil on the bridge. A strip sticks to clean, dry skin and slides off anything else.
- Keep vapour rubs off your nose. Menthol rubs and balms leave an oily film that kills adhesion. If you use one, put it on your chest.
- Put the strip on ten minutes before lights out. It gives the adhesive time to settle before your face meets the pillow.
- Place it on the flared part of the nose, just above the nostrils, not up on the hard bone. It needs to sit over the valve to lift it.
- Raise your head a little. An extra pillow reduces the pooling that makes a blocked nose worse when you lie flat.
Most people put a strip on too high. The guide on how to choose the right nasal strip shows where it should sit for different nose shapes.
Using Strips Alongside Sprays and Rinses
A strip works mechanically, so it can be used with most other things a pharmacist might suggest. Saline sprays and rinses help clear mucus and are gentle enough for regular use. Decongestant sprays shrink the lining quickly but can cause rebound congestion if used for longer than the pack allows, so follow the label and treat them as a short term tool. Steroid sprays are often used for ongoing allergic congestion, and whether one suits you is a question for your pharmacist or GP. I compare the options properly in nasal strips vs nasal sprays.
Something I learned the hard way: mouth tape is a bad idea when your nose is blocked. It assumes your nose works. If it does not, open the nose first. More on that in nasal strips vs mouth tape.
When a Blocked Nose Needs a Doctor, Not a Strip
A strip is for comfort. Please speak to a pharmacist or GP if any of these apply:
- One side of your nose has been blocked for weeks and never clears
- You have nosebleeds, facial pain or swelling, or a high temperature
- Your sense of smell has gone and is not coming back
- The blockage is constant all year and affecting your sleep
- You snore loudly and gasp or choke during the night, or are exhausted during the day
That last one matters. Strips do not treat sleep apnoea. If your blockage is constant and one sided, a structural cause such as a deviated septum is worth getting checked by an ENT. I wrote about my own experience of that in how to sleep better with a deviated septum.
The Bottom Line
A nasal strip will not clear a blocked nose, but it can widen the narrowest part of the airway enough to keep you breathing through your nose at night instead of waking with a dry mouth. For a nose that closes regularly, or a cold landing on top of a deviated septum, our number one pick is the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips. If you need relief tonight, Breathe Right Extra Strength from the nearest pharmacy is a sensible stopgap. For every strip ranked side by side, see our honest roundup of the best nasal strips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do nasal strips work for a blocked nose?
They help partly. A strip widens the nasal valve at the front of the nose, which makes breathing through swollen lining easier. It does not reduce swelling or clear mucus, so a heavily blocked nose will feel better but not clear.
What are the best nasal strips for a blocked nose?
Our number one pick is the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips, which I make, because the band is firm and the adhesive is built to last a full night. Breathe Right Extra Strength is a good alternative that is easy to buy in most pharmacies.
Can I use nasal strips with a cold?
Yes. Strips are drug free, so you can wear them every night of a cold and alongside saline or other sprays your pharmacist recommends. They ease breathing but do nothing to shorten the cold itself.
Can I use a nasal strip and a nasal spray together?
Generally yes, because a strip works mechanically and a spray works on the lining. Follow the label on any decongestant spray, since overuse can cause rebound congestion, and ask a pharmacist if you are unsure.
Why will my nasal strip not stick when I have a cold?
Usually oil or moisture on the skin. Wash and dry your nose before applying, keep vapour rubs and moisturiser off the bridge, and press the strip down for a few seconds so the adhesive warms and grips.
Will a nasal strip help a nose blocked by a deviated septum?
It can ease the restriction at the nasal valve, which is often where a deviation is felt most. It does not straighten the septum. Only surgery such as septoplasty or septorhinoplasty corrects the structure.
Try Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips for easier breathing on the nights your nose closes up, or if you train through it, take a look at the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips.
