Patent ID: 7294138

Claim:
A device for applying pressure and absorbing liquid in a nasal cavity, comprising: a flange member, wherein said flange member includes an integral extension, and wherein said integral extension is substantially rigid and non-absorbent; and an absorbent packing member formed from a unitary piece of material, having: a length; a pair of planar sidewalls, wherein said sidewalls have equal areas; a posterior portion including a free end of said packing member; and an anterior portion, said anterior portion including a non-absorbent neck portion, wherein said integral extension extends from a surface of said flange member facing said packing member, and wherein said surface of said flange facing said packing member defines a plane, wherein in an expanded condition a width of said posterior portion increases in a direction away from said anterior portion in a region beginning at a section including said integral extension of said flange member and said neck portion and extending to an end of the sidewalls proximate to the free end of the packing member, wherein said integral extension of said flange member is fixed to said packing member at said neck portion of said anterior portion, and wherein said sidewalls are substantially symmetrical with respect to said plane defined by said flange, and wherein said absorbent packing member is not enclosed within a cover.