does anyone wear a nose clip / plug?

I'm a 40 year old male that wears a nose clip. I used to feel weird wearing one, but now I don't care! I'm more comfortable and relaxed with one and it helps tremendously in the open water. I have a problem of breathing in water through my nose and this prevents that and allows me to concentrate on my swimming.

As if you think we all look so good wearing our wetsuits, goggles and caps at the beginning of a swim. We all look like a bunch of alien wackos.

What's a little nose clip compared to that?

Wear what makes you comfortable. I'd only listen to the criticism if it was (1) a long time swimmer who had a good reason for the comment or (2) your coach.

Edited by cadreamer 2004-10-10 7:33 PM

Yes. Its easier for me to breathl (30 something male.)

The stronger your breathing muscles, the more you will be able to control what oriface to breath from. Some people use a breathing exerciser, some breathe through a towel, and some just practice breathing in as quickly as possible and exhaling slowly.

Otherwise, just wear the nose clip and say F* them.

I am a 33 year old female and I wear a noseclip.

It is great to be all grownup and not worry about what others think of me--

I'm SO glad to see that 38% of us wear these things. I know the outfits are goofy but using different equipment than 'the norm' may have been crossing the line. Glad to see it's not! I've seen these breathing excersicers on ebay and keep meaning to start a thread here about their effectiveness but... don't. When I get done typing this I'll do it. Today I rode from the pool so I charnged into my spandex (which I'm so hott in) for the lifeguards to see that I'm not a doofus with the nose clip. I don't think the message was conveyed like I thought it would have been. Go figure!?!

So more about my problem, I just can't keep the water from flowing up my nose when I turn to take a breath. It's like I don't have the valve to shut off my nose. I broke my schnoz very badly when I was a kid so maybe that has something to do with it. I have problems with sucking in water through my mouth but I don't think I should seal that opening. The nose plug helped sort everything out so it was better today. What do you do with the wimpy rubber band on the nose clip? It seems very fragile.

Yup! I'm in the 35-39 age group :D and I wear one. I've toyed with learning how to swim without it, but honestly...why? Who cares what I look like and at least I'm out swimming instead of sitting on the couch getting fat (again).

The breathing exerciser works for me, but like everything it is a pain to start using. I also sing so I do other breathing exercises. Any type of breathing exercise will help. Try breathing through your nose while slightly pinching it shut, or breath through a towel (clean w/ no smell of detergent or bleach). Do this 30 times, breathing in as quickly as possible and exhaling normally. Make sure to expel all air from your lungs before breathing in; only breath while almost gasping for air. No need to pay for a breathing exerciser if something else works, i.e a nose clip.

Work on one thing at a time Dave. If wearing a nose plug gives you the mental clarity and in-water comfort to concentrate on your form, then F* them, F* the Queen, F* whomever - wear it. You are doing this for yourself, right? Worry about your swimming style, form, comfort in the water, etc. Now, the downside(s) to wearing one... It's another piece of gear that you can lose, break, etc. If you lose it during a race, you just might be miserable without it. Miserable enough to DNF? Well, that depends on your tolerance for water up your nose. The same could be said for goggles too. Just something to think about. For now though, keep working on the making your form permanent in your muscle's memory. Then start to ween yourself from the noseclip if you want to - but don't sweat the lettuce. Be comfortable, practice perfection and on the off chance of something happens, instinct kicks in and everyone is cool like Fonzie.

-Frank

Oh, and as far as the valve in your nose goes... It is a matter of breath control. It may not be easy, or come quickly to everyone, but it will come if you practice it. Perhaps after you're done with your laps, just lean over so that your face is in the water. As you put your face in the water, exhale a little through your nose. Then, when you exhale, as you're turning to breathe and most of your exhalation comes out of your mouth, breath a little out of your nose as your face is breaking the surface. That is, if you even want to practice it. If not, then ignore me.

I too have a permanently broken nose, a deviated septum from a high-speed-oral-soil-sampling incident as a teenager, so it's not impossible to learn. It just takes a little effort. Just keep swimming for now, and concentrate on your form. Do you have a deviated septum too? Can you put a 16 penny nail into the "OPEN" side for a party gag?

-Frank

I'm 16 and I wear a noseclip. Started wearing one ever since a 14 year old boy died of amoeba in a local lake. But I only use it in the lakes, not pools.

Mid-triathlon? Goodness, I hope you don't wear it on the bike - you should be done using it by T1... The point I was trying to make was that I think it's just peachy to wear one if that's your preference. Just give some thought to the worst-case and be prepared for it - even if it is just to be mentally prepared for it.

Risk analysis 101:
1) Is it POSSIBLE to lose the nose plug during the race?
2) How PROBABLE is it that you will lose it?
3) What is the OUTCOME in the event that you lose it?
4) How do YOU FIX an unwanted outcome?

Maybe it's my diving background, but every item of gear (including my brain and my dive buddy's brain), every thought process, every skill and every reaction that goes with me into the water goes through that process. Maybe a nose plug isn't a life or death thing (or maybe to you it is), but it can certainly hinder your performance if you lose it and don't have the rest of you trained to keep going. Maybe that's all I'm trying to say... Once you get to the point where your swimming is automagical, if you lose your nose plug in a race, then all that you have to worry about is water up your nose. Your body will take care of the swimming thing. If you make it through the swim leg with it intact, then no worries all around!

-Frank

I wear one in training but not for the same reason as you do. I wear it because I get sinus problems from small amounts of inhaled water. The water triggers a response that occurs later in the day causing sneezing and a very runny nose. I take a Claritin D12 before swimming and wear the nose clip and have much less problems with congestion. There is another current thread where we are discussing this. I do not wear the nose clip when racing and really like to swim without it but cannot handle the after problems very well. When I do swim without the clip I exhale from my nose and that is one way you can prevent excessive water getting up your nose. I don't worry about what others think about the clip. I use the metal nose clip that has no retaining band and padded ends. I take it off at the end of each set for a little nose breathing and to reseat the clip.

Thank you all for your support. I'm attempting to do a little work w/o the nose clip toward the end of my swims just to get acclimated but I don't like it. I think a better solution for the risk of losing the clip during a race would be to have a replacement clip ready to go. I thought about it a little more and it may be a good idea to have 2 or 3 extras, just in case. I'll keep trying without it but everything seems to work more fluidly without ingesting a gallon of water through my schnoz during each lap. My goals in the other diciplines are all performance based, yet my goal for swimming is to lose the nose clip. This is going to be hard but perhaps achievable. When I succeed I'll start a new thread. Thansk again for your confidence in me!!!

Carrying extras is just as good an answer as anything I said. I was hoping to see someone would come up with that answer. So instead of practicing without the nose plug, practice taking one off, and putting another one on. Being able to tread water comfortably without your hands might be a good skill Best of luck!

-Frank

I've never worn a nose plug and I think I could count on one hand the number of times I've only gotten water up my nose. It's just not a problem for me at all. However, I've never even thought twice about those who do. I've been a swimmer all my life and I've never heard anyone trash those with nose plugs, never thought it, anything. I think whoever you're talking to has a complex. Don't worry about.