The Nose Knows

I think my nose is trying to tell me something. Yesterday afternoon, it was running so badly, I thought I was coming down with a cold. That and chills sent me to bed with a box of tissues for a couple of hours.

The only thing I can think of was that I was experiencing some sort of detoxing episode because after I awoke, the weirdest thing happened. I was able to breath through my nose for the first time. Ever. It's not completely clear, but it's better than it's ever been.

This could result in some consequences that I had not even considered. Although I have always vehemently denied it, family members have, on occasion accused me of snoring. Could this be a cure? Woo hoo!

Okay, so I realize that that doesn't sound like a big deal. But let me ask you this: Do you live with someone who snores?  Or worse, share a bed with someone who snores? 

According to Web MD, a stuffy nose is one cause of snoring: Obstructed nasal airways: Partially blocked nasal passages require extra effort to transfer air through them while sleeping. This can pull together or collapse the non-rigid soft and dangling tissue of the throat, resulting in snoring. Some people snore only during allergy seasons or when they have a sinus infection. 

My ex-husband's snoring sent me to the couch a couple of nights a week and my mom's snoring is legendary in our family. 

When I was moving from New Jersey to Florida a few years ago, a few family members were kind enough to come and help. Among them were my mom and my sister Karen. I offered Karen a comfortable bed in the room where Mom was sleeping. We had all just spent the day packing the moving truck. Karen was actually part of the team that was loading the truck, so she had to have been exhausted. 

"No way", Karen said. "Mom snores. I'll sleep downstairs in your office." 

A little history: Karen's aversion to snoring goes back to childhood and a 'near-deaf' experience with a snorer. She, my sister Lori and my dad, while on a road trip, spent the night in a small apartment with distant cousins of my mom, Ethel Marie and Leonard. While my dad got the couch, Lori and Karen slept under the dining room table  right outside the master bedroom. (Sometimes it really stinks to be a kid, doesn't it?) I'm told Ethel Marie's snoring was so loud that neither of the girls got any sleep. In fact one of them may have ended up sleeping in the bathtub. The next day they were exhausted to the point of tears.

"Come on", I said. "It can't be that bad. Besides, there's no bed in my office." 

In fact there was nothing left in my office but carpeting. She didn't care. She opted to sleep on the the floor. Karen was adamant. 

Karen was also right. I slept in the same room with mom that night. 
I haven't heard a human emote such hideous sounds since Linda Blair was exorcised.

Anyway, I am not sure whether I am cured yet of snoring, but I do know that my nose knows something is better. And after only one week, I'll take it! Again, it doesn't sound like much, but let me ask you one more question: When was that last time you cleared a stuffy nose with your diet?