Effects of "trigeminal training" on trigeminal sensitivity and self-rated nasal patency.

Purpose: Patients with the feeling of a congested nose not always suffer from an anatomical obstruction but might just have a low trigeminal sensibility, which prevents them from perceiving the nasal airstream. We examined whether intermittent trigeminal stimulation increases sensitivity of the nasal trigeminal nerve and whether this effect is accompanied by subjective improvement of nasal breathing.

Method: Thirty-five patients (M = 58.