Learn How To Stop Snoring Without Surgery Blog

Nasal Strips And Sprays

For those who sleep next to someone who snores, the following might help:

- Get a great pair of ear plugs

- Get your partner to sleep on his or her side

- Purchase a white noise machine

- Encourage your partner to see a doctor about the snoring to discuss solutions

Commercials and Internet sites tout the use of nasal strips and sprays to stop snoring. But do they really work?

A study published a year ago in “Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Journal” concluded these products don’t help because snoring happens when the throat muscles relax and the tongue falls back, which obviously has nothing to do with the nose.

If snoring is a direct result of congestion or a deviated septum, then nasal dialators, strips, sprays and decongestants might help.

Anti-snoring throat sprays might help a little. They contain oils so using them is similar to oiling a squeaky hinge. But these sprays don’t last long and can be dangerous for people with sleep apnea, said Dr. Robert Reyna, director of the sleep clinic at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fontana.

Children should not use throat sprays, he cautioned.

(info by La Rue Novick from http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~24505~2969459,00.html)

The following advice from sleep experts and the National Sleep Foundation will help people reduce or stop primary snoring, but those with sleep apnea can benefit, too.

- Change sleeping positions. Some people are just positional snorers and only snore when they’re on their backs. Some organizations sell T-shirts with a pocket sewn onto the middle of the back where a tennis ball fits. It helps keep the person lying on his or her side.

- Lose weight. Overweight and obesity can be primary causes for primary snoring and sleep apnea. There’s more tissue and fat around the neck area encroaching on the muscles of the throat.

- Avoid sedatives, smoking and alcohol. These only increase the chances of snoring. Sedatives and alcohol relax the throat muscles and smoking inflames the tissue in the mouth and throat.

- Fix nasal obstructions and allergies. Some people who have snoring without sleep apnea can sometimes be helped by treating nasal allergies.

- Oral appliances fitted by dentists can sometimes help reduce snoring. But go to a specialist.

- Remove tonsils. In children, snoring is often caused by enlarged tonsils. Removing them is effective in 90 percent of children.

- Consider chin surgery. Some people with shorter chins might benefit from surgery to pull the chin forward to create a bigger airway.

- Look into radiofrequency scarring. This technique, for primary snoring, might benefit some people. The scarring is done on the tissue in the back of the throat. After the scars heal, the tissue won’t flop around as much as it used to. This method doesn’t help sleep apnea.

- Remove the soft palate. In some cases, removing the soft palate (mainly the tonsils and uvula) will stop snoring in adults — but insurance usually does not cover this procedure because it’s considered cosmetic. People with sleep apnea may not benefit from this surgical procedure and it could potentially be dangerous.

Consider implants. Silicone beads called palatable implants can be injected into the soft palate to stiffen it up in people with primary snoring. Again, insurance most likely will not cover the procedure because it’s considered cosmetic.

(info by La Rue Novick from http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~24505~2969459,00.html)

Who’s At Risk

According to the National Sleep Foundation, risk factors for sleep apnea include the following:

* Having a smaller upper airway, a large tongue, tonsils or uvula

* Being overweight or obese

* Having a small jaw or recessed chin

* Having a large overbite

* Having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in a man; 16 inches or greater in a woman)

* Smoking and alcohol use

* Being age 40 or older

* Ethnicity (African-Americans, Pacific-Islanders and Hispanics)

Snoring Help

Sometimes making lifestyle changes can help reduce or even stop snoring. Some of these changes include losing weight, limiting alcohol consumption, quitting smoking, changing sleeping positions and ridding your bedroom of allergens such as dust and pet hair.

“A lot of things people are doing in terms of habit can be modified and their snoring can eventually go away on its own,” Downey said.

A more extreme way to stop snoring is to have the soft palate, the tissue in the back of the mouth and throat including the uvula and tonsils, removed.

Downey does not recommend this surgery for anyone who has NOT first undergone a sleep study. A potential danger for someone who has sleep apnea but hasn’t been diagnosed yet is the surgery will make them have silent sleep apnea. The tissue no longer vibrates, but the problem is still there.

“If we just cover up the snoring,” Downey said, “sometimes we cover up the problem.”

(info by La Rue Novick from http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~24505~2969459,00.html)