How to Handle Snoring

Erica Van Buren Josephine Magazine | Dec 6, 2016 | NewPressnow.com

For some couples, dealing with a snoring partner is an ongoing battle. But snoring could be a sign there’s something else going on.

Some battle through it shoving and kicking throughout the night until neither one of you gets a good night’s sleep. But that isn’t the best way to handle it.

“Snoring isn’t a disease per se,” says Dr. Asad Kabir with Mosaic Life Care. “It’s a symptom or a manifestation of a possible underlying disease.”

Snoring is caused by vibrating tissues within the airways of the nose and throat. Snoring is caused by turbulent airflow through narrowed airways and is affected by the stage of sleep, sleeping position and the use medications and alcohol. Snoring also can be a sign of an underlying medical problem.

“If someone has a habit of snoring it is recommended that they get evaluated, to see whether they have an underlying condition,” Kabir says. “As for as screening people for obstructive sleep apnea, which could be associated with snoring, there are a number of factors that come into play.”

The key things a primary care provider looks for in diagnosing obstructive sleep disorder include: snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, blood pressure, body mass index, age, neck circumference and gender. Snoring can be benign, but when accompanied with at least three of the other symptoms, there is cause for concern.

Experts say that anyone can snore. People who don’t snore often report snoring after a viral illness or drinking alcohol or when taking some medications.

If someone is having disruptive sleep, feeling restless, suffering from headaches and needing some sort of stimulant like coffee to keep going in addition to having snoring, he or she could have some underlying disorder which needs to be evaluated and treated.

Some cases are less severe than others. There are some non-surgical treatments to try out, including some behavioral changes, dental devices, nasal devices and medications, nasal CPAP and over-the-counter products.

“Try changing the sleep position,” says Roxane Peters,a respiratory therapista at Randolph Respiratory Care. “Back sleeping usually is what causes snoring to occur. In the event that you have someone that’s a severe snorer, you can sew a tennis ball or a golf ball into a T-shirt and this will discourage them from rolling over on their back.”

Peters says weight loss and avoiding alcohol three hours before bedtime can help with snoring. If you’re having trouble sleeping or your partner notices that you’re gasping or pausing your breathing, you definitely want to bring this up to your primary care provider.

Erica Van Buren can be reached at erica.vanburen@newspressnow.com.