Buteyko Manual For Asthma Continued. Page 81 instructions. The goal is to have just enough sticking power on the tape to for it to stay on, and keep the lips together. The tape recommended is called surgical or paper tape about 1 inch wide, available from a pharmacist. Tear off a strip about 2 inches [5 cms]. Fold a small tab on each end, so that it is easy to grip. Then repeatedly put the tape onto your palm and tear it off. Do this until it is hardly sticky at all. It does not need much power to keep your lips together. Ensure your mouth is closed, as you can breathe through this tape, and gently place in lengthways along your lips. I suggest you do this on yourself first to show your child that you are also doing it. [It will greatly improve your sleep quality if you actually wear it in bed.] Have a practice during the day with the tape so there is less if any drama at bedtime. Check on the child around 3.30 am to check he has not pulled it off. Re-apply it if necessary. If it is off and you do not re-apply it, then your child will have no protection during the deepest sleep/breathing period, and will start the next day dealing with the results of huge elephant breathing. This may be asthma, bedwetting or just plain tiredness. As with the breathing drills, this is as important as brushing your teeth! The most common concern with this is that your nose will block up will your mouth is taped closed and you will suffocate. Fortunately, the effect of CO2 on your nose makes this impossible. The more blocked your nose becomes, the more CO2 you will trap in. The extra CO2 will cause your nose to unblock. So your nose will not block completely unless you open your mouth. It may whistle a bit, but cannot close up completely. You may have noticed that there is a lot covered on Day One. This is true. The following days are just a matter of reinforcement. Day Two and Continuing Days On day two the child should find less difficulty in keeping his mouth closed. They will have become used to the higher levels of CO2 caused by their mouth being closed. Go to page 82     Go to beginning of Chapter | HOME | PRODUCTS | ORDER FROM | CONTACT US |