Snoring and Sleep Apnoea – Canadian Health Care Mall

What Contributes to Snoring?

A variety of factors can lead to snoring, including:

  • Cigarette smoking
  • Your mouth anatomy – a low, thick, soft palate and enlarged tonsils or tissues in the back of your throat (adenoids) can narrow your airway. Likewise, if the triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate (uvula) is elongated, airflow can be obstructed and vibration increased.
  • Being overweight or obese
  • Alcohol consumption – snoring can also be brought on by consuming too much alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles and decreases your natural defences against airway obstruction.
  • Upper airway problems such as nasal polyps, nasal blockage or congestion, a crooked partition between your nostrils (deviated nasal septum) or a floppy palate

Other known risk factors include allergies, using sedative drugs and rare conditions, including an overactive thyroid gland.

Tips to Prevent or Reduce Snoring

Appropriate lifestyle changes are important in the treatment of snoring and sleep apnoea syndrome:

  • If you smoke, stop.
  • Keep your weight healthy. Excess weight is a common risk factor for snoring. Keep your body mass index within the range of 20-25.
  • Sleep on your side: lying on your back allows your tongue to fall backward into your throat, which can partially obstruct airflow and cause snoring. Some men find sewing a tennis ball onto the back of their pyjamas can help stop them sleeping on their back.
  • Adhesive nasal strips applied to your nose can help increase the size of the nasal passage and help the breathing.
  • Get medical assessment and treatment for nasal congestion or obstruction. Problems with nasal allergies or obstruction are a common cause of snoring as a blocked nose means you have to breathe through the mouth, which brings an increased risk of snoring. To correct a deviated septum you may need surgery. Restrict your alcohol intake and avoid sedatives, including sleeping tablets.

Diagnosis

If you snore you should consult your doctor, especially if you have symptoms of sleep apnoea. A diagnosis of sleep apnoea syndrome is confirmed by a specialist in the area who will perform sleep studies, which requires you to spend a night in a specially designed sleep lab that measures the amount of oxygen in your blood during the night, amongst other parameters. Other causes of snoring, including nasal obstruction, may benefit from an opinion from an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist.

Treatment Options

If lifestyle changes don’t sort out the snoring problem other options can be considered. Mouthpieces that help advance the position of your tongue and soft palate to keep your air passage open can be used. Surgical options include tightening the loose tissues in the back of the throat. Laser surgery on the soft palate can now also be an option in some cases.

The treatment of sleep apnoea syndrome has been revolutionised by the delivery of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This delivers air continuously through your airway while you are sleeping. The most common form of CPAP involves wearing nasal prongs or a pressurised mask on the nose while you are sleeping. The mask is attached to a small pump that forces air through the airway, keeping it open. CPAP is extremely effective and can prevent all complications of sleep apnoea syndrome. However, like many medications or medical devices, it is only as good as the willingness or ability of the person to use it regularly.

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