5.2.1. Nasal dilators
Nasal dilators can be either fixed on the nasal dorsum or introduced in
the nostrils, in order to open up the nasal valve region and reduce
airflow resistance at this highly resistant area. These dilators are an
elegant, non-surgical solution for alar insufficiency, leading to an
important increase of nasal flow and good patient satisfaction77. Dinardi recently reviewed the effects of external
nasal dilators on physical exercise 78 and one ohter
study looked at an internal dilator 79. Although most
of the studies fail to demonstrate an effect on total
VO2max, heart rate or total exercise time78, nasal dilators significantly improved subjective
exertion rates 80 and nasal breathing81 during exercise. It needs to be noted that most of
these studies were performed in asymptomatic athletes. Only one study
found similar results in adolescents with AR using an external nasal
dilator 82, but none of these studies reported on
nasal structural or rhinoscopic findings in the subjects.