Want to improve your health and breathe easier? Explore these easy, safe, and affordable practices that can help reduce the impact of viruses, colds, flu, and wildfire smoke.

con·spire /kuhn-spahyuhr/ (verb): 1. to act in harmony toward a common end 2. to breathe together

How’s your breathing lately?

We wish we didn't have to ask.

But there's a recurring pandemic, mysterious bugs are going around, forests are on fire, and the air is polluted. All of which can cause significant respiratory issues.

But what can we do?

Unfortunately, there's a lot of conflicting information out there. So we tried to cut through the noise to find out.

What we found surprised us.

It turns out that respiratory health is closely connected to your microbiome. Not the one in your gut that's been in the news lately, but the one in your head. Specifically, the one in your nose and mouth.

That’s right, you have a respiratory microbiome.

Technically, it’s called your upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiome. It’s made up of several parts of your body:

• Nasal cavity: the air-space above and behind your nose
• Sinuses: the spaces within bones of your skull around the nasal area
• Nasopharynx: the upper part of your throat
• Eustachian tube: the tube that connects your middle ear to your nose, throat, and mouth
• Oropharynx: the passage for air and food between your mouth and throat
• Larynx: your voice box.

Got that?

Here’s a picture. See if you can identify all the places the URT microbiome calls home:

Like the other microbiomes in your gut, in your lungs, on your skin, and around your genitals, the URT microbiome is an ecosystem of billions (yes, billions) of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microorganisms. Ideally, they usually conspire to help keep you healthy.

Here’s a photo of some of them:

But sometimes they get disrupted.

This is called dysbiosis, which can make you sick. It’s triggered by lots of things, including infections, stress, health issues, and environmental factors.

One of the things you can do about it is improve your respiratory hygiene.

You probably already brush your teeth and take showers, right? Well, there are other things you can do to keep your respiratory system clean.

Safe, simple, and inexpensive practices can help you stay healthier and breathe easier.

We’re not just talking about washing hands and wearing masks. You can also irrigate your nose and mouth, disinfect without toxic chemicals, ventilate rooms, and filter the air.

But don’t take our word for it. Check out the research. If medical studies aren’t your thing, use this chatbot to get answers without the jargon. We think you’ll be surprised by how effective these practices are proving to be.

But if they’re so effective, why haven’t you heard more about them?

You can probably guess: Money.

They’re relatively cheap and easy. Which means there’s not a lot of profit to be made by selling them. And studies have shown that funding, or the lack of it, influences clinical studies, public health policies, and cultural norms.

Which is why this site exists. We’re sharing this information so we can conspire to protect our personal and collective health.

These practices are not cure-alls, but rather preventative measures. Illness and dysregulation are caused by complex combinations of factors, including pathogens (the "germs"), the body's condition (the "host"), and the ecological context (the "environment"). All of these factors interact to shape your holobiont. From a biological perspective, we have never been individuals. Upper Respiratory Tract microbiome research is a relatively new field, and there is still much to learn. But given the circumstances, we believe it’s important to share this information.

So research the research, share this site with your health care provider and friends, and help us keep our communities safer and healthier.

Conspire with us.

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