GETTING WATER IN THE NOSE WHILE SWIMMING (HOW TO PLUG YOUR NOSE, SO YOU DO NOT CHOKE ON WATER?) - PART 1
The efficient movement of our bodies in the water while swimming, does not come naturally to the majority of our water filled planet's population. Putting our faces in the water and having fun around and in our local pools, lakes, oceans, seas or rivers is, however, as common as your favorite bread.
Though a very common skill such as holding your breath underwater is easy to master, many unlucky individuals never get the hang of it and are not able to put their head/face under water without holding their nose or using a nose plug.
Is this you? If so, I urge you to continue reading. You will not regret it.
There are a few reasons why these unfortunate folks (meaning you) never grasp this easy to learn skill of not having to plug your nose when you go underwater.
I am going to venture out and say that the number one reason is that nobody has taken the time to properly explain to you how to do this and thus subjecting you to a life full of water up your nose.
A very uncomfortable feeling indeed.
Many instructors do not spend the time to explain why the water goes up the nose and what are the correct exercises to prevent it. They just simply suggest wearing a nose plug or plugging your nose.
None of these are actual solutions to the problem. They are just small bandaids.
Try learning how to swim freestyle while holding your nose. That is an impossible feat and plain silly if you ask me.
Don’t take me wrong, I don’t have a problem with wearing a nose plug, on the contrary, for example, I recommend my swimmers to wear nose plugs during competitions for their backstroke swims. This way they don’t lose air out of their lungs while doing their underwater kick.
Nonetheless, I also don’t like to see and do unnecessary things and wearing a nose plug for a front style swimming stroke such as freestyle or breaststroke is definitely not necessary.
So, how do you control the air and water in your nose?
First, let’s look at the problem. If you are one of the unlucky individuals, the issue at hand is that you are not able to plug your nasal passage and thus the difference in pressure outside in the water and inside your body is forcing the water to go up your nose (there is really nothing to stop it).
Furthermore, when you then manage to get your head out of the water and try to take a breath, you do not isolate mouth breathing from your nose breathing properly. So you do end up taking a breath with both your nose and your mouth simultaneously which causes even more discomfort since your nose is already partially filled with water.
Don’t despair though, there is always hope.
To plug your nasal air passage you will have to use a small muscular area, located at the back of your throat, called the soft palate (Velum).
When the soft palate is closed, it separates your nasal cavity from your oral cavity, so air only flows through your mouth.
Simple?
Yes, actually it is.
With a few straightforward exercises you will be able to close the nose like everybody else.
As a first step, to feel the soft palate, you should practice pronouncing, so called velar consonants. In the English language, they would be for example the "ng" ending of the word "swimming".
Notice where the back of the tongue touches? That is your soft palate. Feel free to use a mirror to check out what is happening in your mouth.
Now, you know where your soft palate is, so let’s close the nasal passage with the help of so-called stop consonants.
There are 2 sets of these consonants, depending on where you want your air to flow. The "T", "P", "K" and similar type consonants are so-called oral stops and "M", "N" consonants are nasal stops.
Now your turn. Try it!
If you say the word "swim" and pause at the "M" letter, your soft palate is in the position where air can be exhaled from your nose and not your mouth.
On the other hand, and this is more interesting for swimming and plugging your nose, if you say the word "kick" and stop your tongue from finishing the word at the first letter "K", you will notice that you can softly exhale out of your mouth, but not your nose. Hence, your nasal tract is closed and no water (when submerged) can get in.
And there you have it. No more water up your nose when going underwater.
I’d suggest for you to practice the different consonants and the tongue positions out of the water. And when you are ready, get into the shallow end where you can stand and start dipping your head in while holding the "K", "T", or "P" oral stop consonants, so your nasal passage closes.
When this becomes easy. Add a slow bobbing rhythm, so you go down underwater for 5 seconds, then come up, take a quick breath (only through your mouth while holding the "Kay" consonant) and back down for 5 seconds. Like you’d be a buoy on the water going rhythmically up and down.
After you no longer have to hold your nose when you go underwater, move onto basic swimming while repeating the tongue exercises in your head.
You will start plugging the nose with your soft palate automatically without even thinking about it in no time.
Remember, be patient as these exercises might take days and for some even weeks to master, but if you prevail, I am confident that you will succeed.
As an advanced step, feel free to also try the human nose clip technique described in my next post.
If you have tried many times to get rid of the water in your nose during swimming and even the above mentioned soft palate consonant technique does not work for you, perhaps, before you go the nose plug route, you could opt into a small mask which actually covers your nose as well as your eyes. This way, there is no danger of water ever getting into your nose.
I am not suggesting you wear a regular scuba mask for swimming, but there exist larger type goggle masks which very closely resembles a small scuba mask.
Did you manage to get rid off the water up your nose problem or found some other technique that works best for you? Don't hesitate to share with me your experience and please join me for more tips like these by
LNURL1DP68GURN8GHJ7URP0YHRXD3SWDMKJMFWVDHK6TMVDE6HYMRS9A4HSCNCWFXSH3NN0H- or simply send using my Lightning Address⚡swmtr@360swim.com or swmtr@getalby.com
Comments (85)
When being under water is your second nature then you can blow bubbles through both your mouth and nose.
Thanks in advance for your response!
Thanks
When I try to wait just as you said,
I drop into the water before I can take
breath.
I think my real problem is.
I cannot take air into
my lung fast enough.
Can you give me advise.
-Thanks in advance-
::-Heidi-::
1) you metioned 'Is this the only possible way to breathe normally underwater' - well, you don't actually breathe under water, you breathe above the water and always inhale with your mouth (not your nose)
2) when you swim freestyle, you face is down, eyes looking at the bottom of the pool and when you need to take a breath, this is usually when the water enters the nose as you turn your head to the side to take a breath. To help with this, start blowing air through your nose out into the water right before you are about to take a breath. This will create an outward surge of air and no water will come in.
Hope this helped a little. It is hard to give advice without actually being there with your in the pool, but keep going and don't give up, you will eventually get it. Trying different things helps.
If I lay back into the water, facing the surface, I am able to shut my nose cavity off from my throat. But, the cavity still fills with water.
You mentioned to Heidi:
2) when you swim freestyle, you face is down, eyes looking at the bottom of the pool and when you need to take a breath, this is usually when the water enters the nose as you turn your head to the side to take a breath. To help with this, start blowing air through your nose out into the water right before you are about to take a breath. This will create an outward surge of air and no water will come in.
I was under the impression that water was always trying to rush in your nose as your head begins to face the surface as being normal for everyone.
Is that correct? Or should I be working on this technique (or some other technique) that could prevent water entering the nasal cavity as my head turns? Or is this technique just to seal off the nasal cavity water from going down your throat?
You are correct in the statement that when you turn your head upside down (facing up towards the ceiling) water will always rush in.
The nose plugging technique described in this article is mainly for individuals who have hard time keeping water out of the nose while the face is down in the water (facing the bottom). Sounds like you have mastered this.
To Heidi, I was explaining what to do during the transition period between bottom facing and top facing position. Since this transition period is short, you can purge air out of your nose to keep the water from flowing in.
For the ceiling facing water into the nose issue, you should use the human nose clip technique - /blog/human-nose-clip-getting-water-up-my-nose
If you have issue of water getting into your nose during a flip turn, you could try the human nose clip technique or just purging air through your nose and that should do the trick.
The next thing I want to try is rotary breathing, and there I hit a snag. When I turn my head sideways out of the water, the water comes in my nose. Sometimes it enters as I'm tipping my head out, and sometimes it enters as I'm tipping my head back in. I'm only turning far enough to get my mouth into the air, and I'm keeping my ear in the water, so it's not that I'm turning toward the ceiling and having it run in that way.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Or is there something I need to know to keep the water out while breathing, in addition to the tips on this page? Has anyone else heard of this particular problem?
Thanks!
From what you have described, I would not start learning how to breathe just yet. Breathing skill is very difficult to learn without having a great body balance and control in the water. I'd suggest learning to rotate your body from one side to the other without breathing first.
However, to address your question. When you start rotating your head to breathe, your nose goes from pointing down towards the bottom of the pool to going to the side where you get some water in. During the rotation, you can do a couple of things:
1) blow through your nose during the rotation, this will keep the water out
or
2) try learning to maneuver your upper lip to cover the nostrils which also is a good technique to keep the water out.
Hope this helps.
waiting for your article on holding water while flipping :)
I got here searching in google about a 'problem' I have. I can swim and even dive a bit, as long as my nostrils are more or less downwards, but when some water gets inside my nose I feel an intense pain in my nose and my head. Is that normal?
To plug your nose in those positions, you can try the human nose plug technique to do what you need to. It works for some, not so much for others, so give it a shot. Good luck.
I can dip my face into a sink so that my eyes and chin are underwater and my nose/throat does not fill with water. Is it safe to say that I can control my soft palate adequately?
I'm starting to think that my problem is more psychological than physical.
Great blog by the way! Thanks.
Basically I am happy with my swimming and my breathing, but I just bought myself a new pair of googles and now I notice I have water going up my nose! The googles seem fine, but seriously when I wear them I notice a lot of water going up my nose - so now I'm changing my technique to blow it out. If I go back to my old googles I'm fine. I've noticed my new ones have bigger cups/lens over each eye and I'm wondering if the extra air in there - a bigger space - means the water can compact it easier to creep up my nose!! Mad I know... any help appreciated. Darren
and start to hyperventilate. We have no idea why I do this and my teacher is at a loss to help me. I still love being in the water but this problem is holding me back. Any ideas please?
Cheryll
Your blog post was very helpful, and I'll try these techniques the next time I swim.
Thanks!
Going swimming again tonight and since this comment is moderated i'll probably be swimming by the time its posted. So answers wont help me, just pointing out the article can be confusing. 'Holding the K constant,' do I keep saying 'Kay' over and over again? As that seems to be the only alternative to holding my tongue in the K position and trying to breathe (impossible).
Thank you,
On the other hand, if the issue is about inhaling, then there is no need to say any letters. Just simply deeply inhale, so your chest rises.
Hope this helped. Anything else, just ask.
PS: Unfortunately, I have to moderate the comments. Too many crazy spammers out there.
Just wanted to say thank you! After 4 months struggling to learn how to breathe while swimming, I think I finally got it, thanks to this post.
As French is my mother tongue, I first looked for info on the Internet in this language, but couldn't find any actual solution to my problem (other than 'just blow through your mouth' or 'wear a nose clip').
I practised the technique you suggest for quite some time in the shallow water, staying still, and then, when I felt I got it, tried while swimming. It didn't work right away, but the week after, I could, for the very first time, swim from one end of the olympic pool to the other without stopping to cough or catch my breath. Also, maybe this is obvious to some people, but I found it helped to really face the bottom of the pool while exhaling. And I usually hold my breath or finish emptying my lungs through my nose when I lift my head again. Not sure what a swimming coach or a professional would think about that, but I can really swim a long time this way, which I think is a good sign.
Anyway, I think the ideal breath cycle is different for each person and can take a while to figure out, but it's worth the effort. :)
After reading this, I started practicing, and after only a couple of pool visits, I can swim a good 15-20 meters without my head popping up. You've saved me from permanent embarrassment by a seven-year-old. And though I never cared much for swimming before, now I'm actually starting to enjoy it!
I learnt swimming 13years ago but I avoided learning freestyle as I hate the water entering my nose. I do swim but never swim freestyle.
However, in April, I wanted to overcome my dislike towards freestyle, so I start learning again. Same thing happen still, water keep entering my nose when I reach to the suface for taking breath. I always need to stop, not because of feeling tired or losing breath but because I cant bear water getting into my lungs.
I came across your blog as I was searching for the reason why water keeps on getting into my nose during freestyle. I guess your article already explain my situation.
Though I dont thoroughly understand the exercises, I will try to practice your suggestion.
Thank you so much.
(Muni)
Thank you so much for this post...but I'm a little confused. I just started learning how to swim about two weeks ago. My last swim lesson, I had to jump in the deep end as somehow I kept getting water in my nose (I wasn't breathing it in) and it would go down my throats and I would choke. I ended up swallowing pool water 4 times this way. Now I am home with a very raw feeling throat and raw feeling, runny nose. I am having so much trouble coordinating my breathing movements while diving, jusmping, flipping, etc. Maybe I just need a TON of practice? I know it's just my second swim lesson but ugh it's awful. I also have a tendency to tense up in the water and freak out a bit. I'm a very cautious, scared type of person. I also probably wouldn't be allowed to wear a nose clip air goggles to cover my nose unfortunately. If anyone has tips for me I'd gladly take them! Thank you for your time!!
Let me start out by saying that I'm 33 years old and have only been able to enjoy the water with a nose/goggle mask all my life. My Dad is an excellent swimmer. He tried to teach me when I was a kid, but only continued to tell me to blow air out of my nose like most people will tell you. This does not and has never worked for me. It probably works for 99% of people, but never for me unfortunately.
All my life I've dreamed of being able to swim and enjoy the water properly. I searched for tips and tricks to try again as an adult and found this site. I never heard about the soft palate trick, blocking with the tongue position by holding the 'k' sound in stick, for instance. Let me tell you that I was hopeless. Even putting my face towards the shower water and it would shoot up my nose and down my throat.
But guess what... THIS TRICK WORKS. It takes practice, but it works. I was in the pool and not only was able to put my face in the water, I was able to sit down underneath, head facing forward and down with my eyes towards the floor and a minimal amount of water got in. It was no where near as uncomfortable as I remembered from my childhood. I would have a sore throat for hours if I slipped under the surface as a child that's how much water would rush in and down my throat. Now? Even when a bit slips in (due to lack of practice I'd assume) it's so minimal and the discomfort has only lasted me 5 minutes at most (one time and I think I did it wrong that time). It's not painful like it used to be. And the longer I'm in the water the more confident I become until I'm going under and pushing off the wall and coming up in a good 5 seconds. A LONG time for someone like me!
I've only been in the pool and tried this two times since and that's a lot of progress already for me. I told myself to remember to come back to this page and thank you personally, as I never thought in my life that I'd be even close to where I am now. I have confidence for the first time and hope that I'll be able to swim more and more. Thank you!! I feel like I've grown wings and can fly, that's how happy this has made me.