Do you suffer from snoring? It’s a disease that should be treated as soon as possible. It is a global problem regardless of gender and age, that can be a harbinger of more serious health issues.
Snoring occurs because the flow of inhaled air provokes the vibration of soft tissues of the upper respiratory tract. In sleep, the roof muscles of the mouth are relaxed. When the air stream passes through them, they begin to vibrate, creating “roulades”.
Most people in sleep snore by inhaling. To avoid serious problems, snoring needs to be correctly diagnosed and to receive the correct treatment.
Professional diagnosis of sleep diseases
Snoring diagnosis begins with the question: “How do you sleep?” The patient confirms or denies factors specific to an exact diagnosis and helps determine obstructive sleep apnea.
Diagnosis can be made depending on how snoring affects a change in body weight (whether weight gain is observed) as well as blood pressure, brain and heart function.
Today, the polysomnography is recognized as the “gold standard” by all specialists in this sector. This is a multi-complex method for diagnosing and monitoring the physiological parameters and functions of a person during sleep.
The indicators are recorded over eight hours. But many wires and sensors can cause the patient discomfort during examination. Another method is cardio-respiratory monitoring which records the heart and respiratory system of a person during sleep. However, these methods require special equipment and under supervision of specialists.
Don’t forget that before you contact a doctor, you can collect a semblance of an anamnesis of your illness. To do this, use a mobile app to record your snoring and give it a specialist who can determine a particular disease by sounds and diagnose the cause quicker.
Mobile apps for the diagnosis of snoring deserve special attention. They allow you to record and recognize snoring during sleep, analyze it and send it to your doctor.
How to get rid of snoring: the main methods
Based on the diagnosis, a doctor can correctly determine the cause of snoring. Only then, can you completely get rid the problem.
It’s important to avoid the development of sleep apnea. The simplest method is to correct the sleep mode. If the doctor cannot find other reasons for snoring, you may need to stabilize your daily routine.
Smoking, overweight or alcohol can be the cause, so it’s recommended to get rid of the bad habit.
Methods that allow decrease snoring can be:
Homoeopathy and tablets: There are remedies to counter snoring, but not all are medical. Often homoeopathic remedies, biologically active supplements, are recommended for use as symptomatic therapy, which reduces the intensity of snoring, but not the main cause of the disease.
Orthopedic pillows (from position snoring): If snoring is caused by an incorrect position during sleep, you can use orthopedic pillows. They put the neck in the right position during sleep. Air circulation through the nose is normalized, the intensity of snoring reduces or disappears. But a pillow will not have a good effect if snoring is caused by a chronic disease.
Intraoral devices (mouth guards): These are easy to use and are worn on the upper and lower jaws. The mechanism is simple — a mouth guard slightly protrudes the lower jaw opening the airways, providing normal airflow to the lungs and preventing displacement of the lower jaw during sleep. But this device just blocks snoring and doesn’t treat the disease.
Surgery or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): Surgery and CPAP are most effective. CPAP is continuous positive pressure applied by a device on the airways. It consists of tubes and a sealed mask for the nose. Through the tubes, air is constantly introduced into the respiratory tract. CPAP is used only in severe cases. This is not a cure, but an opportunity to improve sleep.
The prevalence of snoring is a key task for modern medicine to find the best solution for treatment. Remember that treating snoring requires an individual approach. So if you or your loved ones are suffering from such a problem, the sooner you seek treatment, the better.
