Sudipta Biswas, semester IV

Snoring

Sudipta Biswas, semester IV

Sounds while sleeping because of the obstruction of breathing is called Snoring. The sounds of snoring does not come from nose. Actually the sounds come from the middle portion of nose and throat.

Symptoms

Lack of concentration, headache, sleepy eyes in day, lack of oxygen in blood, loss of memory are some symptoms of snoring.

Causes

Causes of snoring are described below: • Alcohol - Drinking alcohol makes the tissues and the muscles of throat relaxed, which obstructs the breathing air. • Obesity - Individuals who have obesity, fats are conjugated in their throat and trachea. It can be a cause of snoring. • Gender - Males have thinner trachea than women. That is why a male person snores more than female. • Stress - Lack of sleep and stress can be cause of snoring. Because when we go to sleep with stress, the muscle of trachea and throat become relaxed and we snore. • Nose problem or consumer - Long term nose problem like unstable bone in nose or consumer on tongue can be a cause of snoring.

• Sleeping position - Lying on back while sleeping can be a cause of snoring.

Because when we lay on back , our roof of mouth becomes down because of gravity and we snore. • Allergy - Allergy can be a cause of snoring. • Tonsil- Increase of tonsil and thyroid gland. • Smoking - Smoking is also a cause of snoring.

Disease

The individuals who snore, individual may have sleep apnea. They can face heart attack while sleeping, even death.

How to identify the disease

Doctors do endoscopy of nose, x-ray of nose and chest, ECG, some blood tests to identify the disease. Polysomnography can be used to recognize the sleeping disorders.

Treatments

If tumor is the cause of snoring, the tumor on tongue or tonsil or throat must be removed by surgery. If individuals have unstable bone in nose, it must be fixed by surgery. CPP machine can be used as a treatment of snoring.

How to reduce snoring

✔ Reduce drinking alcohol. Specially before 4-5 hours of sleeping, do not drink alcohol. ✔ Decreasing weight helps to reduce snoring. Take healthy foods. ✔ Do not take too much stress. ✔ Lay on side. ✔ Change pillow cover frequently. ✔ Drink enough water (2-3 L per day).

Some home remedies to reduce snoring:

✔ Olive oil - Take one drop of olive oil into nose. Olive oil cleans your nose and reduce snoring. ✔ Turmeric - Drinking warm milk with turmeric can reduce snoring. ✔ Garlic - Mix garlic paste with warm water and gargle with it. ✔ Mint - Mix mint leaves with warm water and gargle with it. ✔ Cinnamon - Mix cinnamon powder with warm water and gargle with it.

References:

• Snoring by Mayo clinic • What you need to know about sleep apnea by Kathleen Davis • Sleep apnea by Alexandra Benisek