Man suffocates to death in his sleep because his nose was blocked

[Bells]

I stayed up for 7 days straight once when I had a bad cold. It's doable, and completely normal. I mostly watch lots of movies and drink caffeine to pass the time until my nose clears up and then I sleep.

No, this is not normal.

It's actually really bad for your health.

If your nose is blocked up and it is preventing you from sleeping, there are remedies that do not involve risking your health and psychosis. For example, get a nasal decongestant. Or do saline flushes of your nostrils. Sleep with your upper body in an elevated position to allow the fluid to drain out.

He died of suffocation because he couldn't breathe through his nose as he slept.

He had issues with snoring for a while, but just coincidentally happens to die of a blocked throat the very night he has a blocked nose? I'm not convinced.

Given you decided to stay awake for 7 days because you got a blocked nose, I'm not surprised...

He died because he had consumed alcohol and sleeping tablets - both of which can slow respiration by quite a bit and combined, can literally cause someone to lapse into coma, which would require medical intervention - otherwise, the person would die.

Which is why on sleeping tablet bottles there's usually a big warning of 'do not mix with alcohol' on the bottle. Why you may ask? Because it can literally slow your breathing down to the point of death.

Blocked nose won't kill you. Snoring won't kill you. Mixing sleeping tablets with alcohol will likely kill you.

So, a person must be awake to mouth-breathe?

That was already my point.

No. If one's nose is blocked while one is asleep, one automatically breathes through their mouth. The primal part of the brain is good at ensuring one gets oxygen while one is asleep. What then happens is that the person wakes up at some point in the night or in the morning and realises their mouth and throat is very dry. Why? Because they have spent the night breathing through their mouth.

But, if a person takes sleeping tablets and drinks alcohol, then no amount of clear nose or mouth breathing will allow them to survive if their respiration rate drops dramatically and the brain thus becomes starved of oxygen. They can then die because in their drugged state, they would not be able to wake up and would lapse into a coma and die. Ergo this:

The articles said his DIY snoring cure (blocking his nose with tampons) is what killed him. Not sleep apnea.

Is wrong.

Please stop posting this kind of rubbish on this site.