Should you mouth tape with a sore throat?

Whether you should mouth tape with a sore throat depends on what's making it sore. A dry, scratchy throat that shows up in the morning and fades after breakfast often comes from sleeping with your mouth open, which is the problem mouth tape is meant to help with. A sore throat from a cold or flu usually arrives with a blocked nose, and that's a clear reason to leave the tape in the drawer until you're better.

Should you mouth tape with a sore throat?

You can usually keep mouth taping with a sore throat if the soreness is a dry-air or mouth-breathing problem and your nose is clear. You should skip it if the sore throat is part of an infection, especially one that blocks your nose. The deciding question isn't really your throat at all. It's whether you can breathe comfortably through your nose with your mouth closed.

Cleveland Clinic's ENT Michael Benninger says that waking up with a sore throat is sometimes a sign of a cold or strep throat, but that unless you have other symptoms, it's more likely something irritated your throat while you slept. He lists dry air, mouth breathing, acid reflux, sleep apnea and dehydration as examples. Our article on waking up with a sore throat goes through each of these causes.

No study has tested mouth tape as a way to ease a sore throat, so this rating reflects the general state of mouth tape research. What we do have is good reason to think mouth breathing dries the throat, and tape keeps the lips together.

How can you tell a dry morning throat from an infection?

A dry morning throat usually feels scratchy on waking and eases once you've had something to eat or drink, with no other symptoms. A throat infection tends to stay sore through the day and comes with other signs, like a blocked or runny nose, cough, fever or aches. The NHS says most sore throats are caused by viruses like colds or flu, and they usually get better on their own within a week.

Here's a quick way to sort it out:

The NHS says cold symptoms come on gradually over 2 to 3 days and include a blocked or runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, a hoarse voice and a cough. Flu comes on quickly, within a few hours, and can bring a sudden high temperature, aches and a sore throat along with exhaustion. Either one changes the picture for tape.

Can mouth tape help a dry, sore throat in the morning?

Mouth tape may help a dry, sore throat in the morning if mouth breathing is the reason, because it keeps your lips together so you breathe through your nose. Dr. Benninger explains that breathing through the nose helps keep moisture in your mouth and throat. When you sleep with your mouth open, he says, saliva either dries out or escapes as drool, and either way it isn't keeping your throat lubricated.

Cleveland Clinic lists soothing sore throats and easing dry mouth among the benefits people hope to get from nasal breathing at night. Its sleep specialist is cautious about mouth tape overall, noting how few studies there are. The best-known one, a 2022 study of mouth breathers with mild sleep apnea, found that 13 of 20 participants cut their snoring index by at least half after a week of taping. It didn't measure sore throats.

If you think mouth breathing is behind your morning throat, a fair test is a week or two of taping on nights when your nose is clear. Notice how your throat feels each morning. If it improves, that's a good sign. If it doesn't, look at the other causes Dr. Benninger lists, such as reflux or dry air. Our guide to mouth tape for dry mouth covers the same approach for a dry mouth.

When should you skip mouth tape with a sore throat?

You should skip mouth tape whenever a sore throat comes with a blocked nose, and while you have a cold, flu or other infection. Cleveland Clinic's sleep specialist says never to use mouth tape with nasal congestion, nasal obstruction or a sinus infection, along with chronic allergies, enlarged tonsils, a deviated septum or heart issues.

The reason is airflow. A 2025 systematic review in PLOS One found that four of the ten studies it included warned that keeping the mouth closed with tape, a seal or a chin strap could pose a serious risk of asphyxiation if the nose is blocked or if the person vomits. Being sick raises both of those odds.

Skip tape for now if any of these apply:

• Your nose is blocked or running.
• You have a fever, or you feel hot, cold or shivery.
• You're coughing a lot, especially at night.
• You feel sick to your stomach or have been vomiting.
• Swallowing is painful or difficult.

Our article on mouth tape with a cold explains how a blocked nose changes your breathing at night and when it's reasonable to start again. If snoring has crept in with the cold, snoring when sick covers what helps.

Is it safe to mouth tape while sick if your nose feels clear?

Mouth taping while sick is best avoided even if your nose feels clear at bedtime, because colds and flu can change quickly overnight. The NHS lists a blocked or runny nose as one of the main cold symptoms, and Dr. Benninger notes that when you lie flat, mucus has nowhere to drain. A nose that's fine at 10 p.m. may not be fine at 3 a.m.

If you're getting over an illness and only a mild scratchy throat is left, retake the nose test before you tape. Close your mouth and breathe gently through your nose for a couple of minutes. If that feels easy, you're probably ready. Fold over one corner of the tape so it comes off quickly if you need to cough. If the test feels like work, wait another night.

What soothes a sore throat at night instead?

Several simple steps can soothe a sore throat at night while the tape is off. The NHS suggests gargling with warm salt water (half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, spat out afterward; not for children), drinking plenty of water, eating cool or soft foods, sucking ice cubes or hard sweets, avoiding smoke and resting.

For a cold, the NHS also suggests a hot lemon and honey drink to soothe a sore throat, and breathing in steam to ease a blocked nose, for example by sitting in the bathroom with a hot shower running. It says not to give honey to babies under 12 months, and not to let children breathe steam from a bowl of hot water because of the risk of scalding. A pharmacist can suggest paracetamol, ibuprofen or medicated lozenges.

For a dry throat in the morning, Dr. Benninger suggests a humidifier if the air is dry, which is common in winter. He also suggests drinking more water during the day, with just a couple of sips before bed so you aren't up all night. If you use a humidifier, the EPA advises against raising indoor humidity above 50% and recommends emptying and refilling portable units daily and cleaning them every third day. Our guide to the best humidifier setup for sleep covers placement and cleaning.

When should you see a doctor about a sore throat?

You should see a doctor if a sore throat doesn't improve after a week, keeps coming back, or comes with worrying symptoms. The NHS says to see a GP if a sore throat doesn't get better after a week, you get sore throats often, or you have a lump in your mouth or neck or a mouth ulcer that lasts more than 3 weeks.

The NHS says to get urgent advice if you have a very high temperature, feel hot, cold or shivery, have signs of dehydration such as peeing less than usual, or have a weakened immune system. It says to get emergency help for difficulty breathing, being unable to swallow, drooling, or a high-pitched sound when you breathe in.

Dr. Benninger says a morning sore throat that goes away after some food or drink is rarely a sign of something serious. He suggests seeing a doctor for a sore throat not linked to a virus that lasts all day, or one that hasn't improved after a couple of weeks, and says any change in voice or swallowing is worrying. A sore throat on waking that comes with loud snoring, gasping or pauses in breathing is worth raising with a doctor too, since snoring and sleep apnea are on his list of causes.

Who shouldn't use mouth tape at all?

Mouth tape isn't for everyone, sore throat or not. It's only for adults who can breathe comfortably through the nose with the mouth closed. If you have signs of sleep apnea, such as loud snoring with choking or gasping, see a doctor; mouth tape isn't a treatment for it. We don't recommend mouth tape for children. Our page on whether mouth taping is safe has the full list.

Our pick (paid partner): Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape

For nights when your nose is clear and a dry, mouth-breathing throat is the problem, our pick is Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape. We haven't tested or ranked mouth tapes ourselves; this is our recommendation.

Titan says its strip is bamboo silk rather than kinesiology tape and describes it as soft, breathable and moisture-wicking. It's one oval size, 76 by 38 mm, worn horizontally across the lips, with no printed logo or ink on the side that touches skin. Titan says every batch is third-party tested and certified PFAS-free, and that its 30-night guarantee refunds you if your sleep isn't better after 30 nights.

Read next

• Why do I wake up with a sore throat?
• Should you mouth tape with a cold, congestion or allergies?
• How to sleep with a stuffy nose

* This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your health.