Mouth Taping Before and After: How a Colorado Couple Beat Long COVID at 10,000 Feet
When Tina became what they believe was Summit County's first local COVID patient, neither she nor her husband Chris could have predicted how a simple piece of lip tape would transform their lives at 10,000 feet.
The Challenge: Breathing at Altitude with Long COVID
Tina's long COVID symptoms centered around breathing difficulties—a serious problem when you live in Breckenridge, Colorado, at high altitude. "We got the oxygen machines and all that kind of stuff," Chris recalls, but Tina, a retired chiropractor and dedicated health researcher, wasn't willing to accept that as her new reality.
"She said, you know, I'm just not going to live like this. I'm not going to live on oxygen machines," Chris explains. That determination led Tina down a research rabbit hole that would change everything.
The Discovery: From Skeptic to Believer
Through her research, Tina discovered James Nestor's "Breath" book, Patrick McKeown's work, and eventually Simply Breathe mouth tape. When she suggested Chris try it, he was skeptical: "Does mouth tape work? I was going, yeah, this is kind of hokey. I'm glad it's helping you, sweetheart, but I'm not going to do this stuff."
But Tina knew how to motivate her husband. She suggested he experiment to see if mouth taping would improve his ability to "skin up the mountain," a backcountry skiing terminology for the uphill portion of ski touring.
The results were undeniable. "I started skinning with tape, and it seemed to be helping. And then one day, I was skinning with another long time local... and I beat the guy up the freaking mountain," Chris remembers. "I actually had tape on my mouth, and I was being forced to breathe through my nose, and I was doing major diaphragmatic breathing."
The Transformation: Mouth Taping Before and After Results
The benefits extended far beyond athletic performance. Using Oura ring data, they tracked significant improvements in sleep quality. "My sleep is improved. I don't snore the way I used to," Chris notes.
For Tina, the transformation was even more dramatic. The mouth taping before and after difference was life-changing from a woman who had been dependent on oxygen machines to breathing freely at altitude, her long COVID symptoms significantly improved through the power of nasal breathing.
A Local Connection
What makes this story even more remarkable is the serendipitous local connection. Chris discovered that Simply Breathe was founded by a prosthodontist who had practiced in Colorado Springs and later Silverthorne which is practically in their backyard. "It's just kind of neat that all these people that were interested in mouth tape and were involved with it were so close to me," Chris reflects.
Today, Chris and Tina are devoted Simply Breathe customers, sharing their experience with friends and fellow mountain athletes. Their journey from COVID complications to peak performance demonstrates the life-changing potential of something as simple as breathing through your nose.
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