Blocked sinuses are no fun, especially when the problem frequently requires taking a pill. Redditor gymfork points to a clever acupressure method that can solve the problem in just 20 seconds:
Push your tongue against the top of your mouth and place a finger between your eyebrows and apply pressure. Hold it for about 20 seconds and your sinuses will begin to drain.
When you push your tongue against the roof of your mouth, don’t aim for a specific point but rather push it flat against the top. When you let go, you should start to feel a little movement in the back of your throat. It’s a very simple trick that gets the job done.
LPT: How to clear a blocked nose [Reddit]
[referenced url=”https://staging.lifehacker.com.au/2014/11/try-clearing-your-sinuses-if-you-have-dark-circles-under-your-eyes/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/npmbkk6n8dpdaadofh36.jpg” title=”Try Clearing Your Sinuses If You Have Dark Circles Under Your Eyes” excerpt=”Dark circles under your eyes can be caused and exacerbated by a number of things, not just lack of sleep. One thing you might not know could cause dark circles: nasal congestion.”]
Comments
35 responses to “Clear Your Sinuses In 20 Seconds With Your Tongue And Your Thumb”
Interesting… I must try this sometime when I don’t risk looking like a fool.
I’ve had a blocked nose for the past week and this worked. Thanks.
I’ve heard a similar thing that said to alternate pressure between the two, so that it rocks the bone back and forth or something and then causes the drain.
Never worked for me though.
Holy crap it works…
UGH MOUTH FULL OF BOOGERS…
Just tried it and reading that almost made me spit my own mouthful of snot at the screen! ^_^
I tired but didnt feel anything.. maybe becuase i dont have blocked sinus.
I guess that was a little stupid haha
Me too. For once I wish I had blocked sinuses.
Then you’ll love this acupuncture tip for relieving stupidity – take your open hand, palm upwards and then bring it sharply up to your face.
Repeat as required.
It works!
Hrmmm sounds shonky… I’m not sure any more of pressure is going to rock back and forth your midface bones at least not from your tongue. Maybe a hammer would do the trick.
Damn, I needed this (badly) *LAST* week!
I have inflammed sinus at the moment. I tried it a couple of ways. First with a kind of sucking pressure on the roof of my mouth, then just pushing flat with the tongue. I can feel pressure changing but no draining 🙁
This helped a little but not with my inflammation/infection. I since purchase the sinusoother nose spray from amazons and it worked like the treat. very ficient and me no longer have any sinsues pain. i think too many people on here not have real sinus infection.
I use this method often because I get chronic hayfever in the morning. It works a treat most days!
If it’s just in the morning, it’s probably dust mites in your bed/pillow 🙂
They’re incredibly common, something (random stats) like 70% of people have them, but not everyone is sensitive to them.
Wow, this worked well for me!
Ive had my sinuses severely inflamed last two weeks hurt under my eyes badly nasal passages swollen i tried this it helped felt hard mucus i sassume what isqtip peroxide nasal spray didnt work but this worked i just tried it hour ago pressure.easing amd what ever i feel in my nose slowly passing through of course i know there those of you who are skeptical but it helped me
I tried this even though I didn’t have blocked sinuses, but I still felt something change inside my head.
It’s because when you push between your eyebrows it moved the bone that goes through your sinuses so you can feel it rocking back and forth
Would have been awesome a few weeks ago, my eyeballs felt like they were going to explode.
I have never seen bright orange boogers before the the volume. Sorry if you were eating dinner.
Feeling kinda silly right now. My sinuses are always blocked with dry crap.
When I tried this it sorts works. Slight draining but mostly my mucus is always dry.
It does clear it up a bit better though so it must work 🙂
Thanks for teh tip
Not sure about the above method, but the Buteyko method used for asthma sufferers works brilliantly for clearing sinuses!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buteyko_method
In particular the ‘Control Pause’ in the reduced breathing exercises works a treat.
The theory is that by reducing your breathing you increase the CO2 level in your blood which signals your nasal cavity to open up to allow more oxygen in.
I have used this many times to clear my nose!
Alternatively, the Bukakke method has been known to work interesting wonders…
It works ok but not the best
Did nothing for me
Whoa, I’m one part happy and one part angry, I’ve lived with blocked sinuses for my whole life, I cannot believe this works and I never knew about it.
I was lying trying to get to sleep with completely closed sinuses and I found this site, the only downside is that it actually hurts a bit to do it, but it beats a blocked up nose easily.
Anyone who thinks it doesn’t work, keep holding your thumb quite firmly between the eye browsbrows longer than you have been, it’s very uncomfortable but all of a sudden they open up and you feel it move to your throat.
First time I tried it nothing happened coz I stopped it too soon, you need to do it for the full 20 seconds until it’s almost painful.
It’s worth it.
My sinuses have been so clogged that it’s causing a roaring sound in my head that I always call, “Brain noise”. Weird thing: The noise is loud “pink noise”, and there is a rather high pitched tone that is dominant. (It’s an F natural, for those of you who are musically inclined). It’s so loud and persistent that I couldn’t sing the Sabbath prayer Friday night at sunset. I couldn’t keep the tune because the tone interfered. Here’s the strangest thing: I discovered that if I listen, the background noise forms notes, and then the notes form music that will not stop. It was a dirge for two days. Very depressing and nerve wracking. I took a Chinese herbal remedy before bed. I couldn’t believe this: it is SO WEIRD. I wouldn’t believe someone else if s/he told me it happened to her/him. I woke up several times during the night, just miserable with this awful dirge in a minor key screaming inside my head over and over. Then around 4:00 a.m. when I woke up again, the dirge had transformed itself into ………… I can almost not say it ……. honest, folks: a chorus of angels in a major modal key. Beautiful. With hideous clogged sinuses, the chorus of angels soothed me. I rocked my head back and forth on the pillow, smiling at the bizarre phenomenon. I think I know what’s going on. Being a musician, I think I can pick out the harmonics in the pink noise. Eventually, you’ll find almost any note that way. And then suggestion carries on the rest. This has been going on for three days now, changing the chords and key signature. UNFORTUNATELY THIS METHOD did not work for me at all. I was very persistent because this had been driving me crazy and I wanted relief. But the sinuses just won’t budge. Aside from making a recording and selling it for a profit, what else can I do? Thanks for laughing at me. I would, too.
Tried it twice. Didn’t work for me.
That is bizarre! It actually worked. Thank you. Hopefully now that it’s cleared out this awful sinus headache will go away too!
so i did it and it works! but only for a little while and it gets blocked again…
This didn’t work for me but one of my favorite methods to open your passages for a couple minutes is to hang upside down from a bed or chair until your head begins to throb really hard. You shouldn’t be able to breathe out of your nose at all. Then either sit up immediately or stand up. Your nasal passages will open immediately and you will be able to clear out your nose and be able to breathe through it fine for a finite amount of time. Another thing that helps clear out my nose in the morning well is to do what I stated before but then climb up a flight of stairs. It will really open it up.
My left nostril is so clogged its painful. I tried it several times and felt no relief afterwards, no sense of draining of any sort. Just a cramped tongue n nice red spot between the eyebrows lol.. Ugh this blocked nose is killing me
Hahahagotem
Ive had them my whole life and this 1 article saves me in school i dont wanna be breathing through my mouth 100% of the time cuz then ppl will think im weird so i can just do this before school and if i need to again i just ask to go to the bathroom its just a lifesaver 😉
Always came across the version that switches pressure back and forth before. It never did anything for me.
Tried this and it worked beautifully.
Thank you for giving me this freedom to breath again.
I have pneumonia and I have been struggling to sleep for HOURS. Mucus kept moving forward and blocking the back of my nasal cavity so I couldn’t breathe well. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hack or blow it out. It was stuck. In a fit of rage, I googled this problem and this site came up. I tried it aprehensively and IT WORKED. Biggest, scariest, solid block of bloody Mucus (sorry) came out and I CAN BREATHE. Goodnight❤