girl... i get that u seem to be stressed about this and have already elected to stay awake for multiple days in fear of this so u probably don't want to admit that it was for nought.. but it's pretty clear that this guy didn't die purely from having a blocked nose. he took a combo of substances that can be lethal even without that added variable. ur brain needs oxygen and therefore will alert u when u aren't getting it. this means u will either begin to breathe through ur mouth automatically or u will wake up to do so manually. u won't die simply from having both nostrils blocked. that man likely didn't do either of those things (if suffocation was the cause of death, which the article doesn't say..) because of the alcohol/sleep med combo, which can definitely override ur body's automatic self preservation responses. similar to how u don't want to leave a drunk person passed out on their back, cause if they puke and they're too intoxicated to register their body's cues they can choke on it and die. if ur really that anxious about it for urself specifically, talk to ur primary care doctor. ur gonna keep getting the same common sense answers from everyone here.