There’s a significant number of people around the world who regularly deal with nasal discomfort, whether due to allergies, sinusitis, or some other ailment. It’s not fun, since it not only makes breathing difficult, but it can also lead to headaches, tenderness around the face, and a general feeling of fatigue. There are, of course, wellness solutions you can take to help with the condition, from medication and nasal cleansing to laser therapy and nasal surgery. The NasoCalm is a new machine that promises to alleviate nasal discomfort using EMS-based massage therapy.
That’s right, it’s a nasal massage tool that uses electric muscle stimulation (EMS) at specific areas of the nose to treat symptoms such as rhinitis, sinusitis, and nasal congestion. Does this thing really work? We don’t know. However, if you’re a fan of massage therapies, electromyostimulation, and Eastern medicine, the device seems to employ techniques in those disciplines to promote better overall nasal conditions.
The NasoCalm is a headset that wears over the nose, putting six EMS contact points directly on the skin. Those electrodes are responsible for sending electrical impulses to the muscles beneath the skin, which elicits those muscles to contract, much like they do during regular massages. According to the outfit, these impulses are targeted at specific acupressure points that are believed to help clear nasal passages and alleviate pain, which are the same areas targeted during nasal massage therapies.
When first switched on, the device produces electric impulses at the lowest intensity level to ensure you can adapt without any trouble. Once you feel the need to ramp things up, buttons on the right side let you dial it up or down until you find the ideal setting for your particular needs. There are five levels of intensity for the impulses, by the way, so you get a decent range to play around with during your sessions.
The NasoCalm makes a maximum 55 decibels of noise during operation, which is, basically, comparable to the regular bustle on a busy home, so it’s reasonably quiet enough that you won’t be disrupting anyone’s day while using this thing. Of course, if you use it in public, you’re going to get a lot of looks because, let’s be honest, it looks like a 3D mask for your nose. It’s made from silicone, by the way, so it’s soft, lightweight, and skin-friendly enough that you should have no trouble strapping it on for the 15 minutes it takes to go through one cycle. Heck, it might be comfortable enough to go through multiple cycles, if you need it.
A 100mAh battery allows the device to run for 3.5 hours of continuous use, so you can get a lot of mileage with a full charge, especially since each cycle only requires 15 minutes. How credible is this? We’re not entirely sure. In fact, this is the first time we’ve heard of using EMS for allergic rhinits, sinusitis, and similar nasal conditions, so it’s probably not worth relying on it to solve your nasal issues. However, if you’ve lived with those issues for a long time, it probably doesn’t hurt to try something that can help, especially since it’s pretty affordably-priced.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running or the NasoCalm. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $59.