Snoring is treated by many people as a troublesome habit that can be dealt with using simple home remedies. Meanwhile, getting rid of snoring is not as easy as we think. Ignored and untreated, it can lead to a more dangerous disease – sleep apnea, considered by doctors as a serious medical problem.
It is estimated that half of men and every third woman snore. The effects of poor sleep caused by snoring are always felt in the morning and accompany us all day – headache, fatigue, irritability. People who “snorer” often sleep very restlessly, their sleep is intermittent, shallow, it is easy to wake them up, but they also have problems falling asleep. Once they manage to fall asleep, they immediately hear the words uttered in a pleading or commanding tone – “don’t snore”, which is why they are unable to sleep soundly through the night. Often even the snorer himself is awakened by this loud noise.
Home remedies for snoring are usually not effective. These people try a variety of methods, from unblocking a stuffy nose, limiting alcohol consumption and taking tranquilizers (these drugs can aggravate snoring), frequent hydration, to trying to lose weight. Sleeping on the side, the most common method used by Poles, unfortunately does not solve this problem either.
When snoring persists, you should visit an ENT specialist because it may turn out that we suffer from a breathing disorder during sleep, i.e. apnea.
The body’s fight for oxygen
Sleeping on your back further aggravates the condition of apnea. Our tongue then drops down, the mouth opens and the nasopharynx and throat are narrowed. In this way, the air that enters the throat causes its soft parts to vibrate, which in turn causes a specific sound, i.e. snoring. Apnea means at least 10-second moments during which we do not breathe during sleep. The correct amount of air does not reach the lungs, so the blood itself is not properly oxygenated. Basically, the whole body fights hypoxia then, in other words, apnea chokes us. We can then feel shortness of breath or choking. During apnea, we lead our body to a lot of breathing effort. The movements of the chest and abdomen are getting stronger, and this is not accompanied by the natural phases of breathing – inhalation and exhalation. Breathing effort leads the snorer to awakening, which he himself is not aware of. Awakening in this case helps to clear the throat as a result of increased muscle tone.
How is snoring tested?
Apnea, once diagnosed, needs to be treated very quickly. The cause of snoring, the formation of apnea, may lie in the lower or upper respiratory tract. To find out, the doctor first measures blood pressure, checks the neck circumference and BMI, i.e. body weight circumference. Another method may be endoscopy. Using a small camera, the laryngologist is able to carefully examine the area of the nasopharynx. The doctor may also order the last stage of the diagnosis, i.e. polysomnography, i.e. checking breathing disorders during sleep. For this examination to take place, the patient must spend one or two nights in the hospital. When the state of apnea threatens health or life, then the patient undergoes surgery.