Sunday, 6 June 2010
Snoring Cure
Snoring and Sleep Apnoea What is snoring? What causes snoring and who is at risk? Snoring affects 45 per cent of the population from time to time and an estimated 25 per cent of people are habitual snorers. There are a number of reasons why you may snore.
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When does snoring indicate a more serious problem? Sleep apnoea is periods when you stop breathing while you're sleeping. These interruptions in your breathing, which can last 10 seconds or longer, occur when the muscles in your soft palate, uvula, tongue and tonsils relax during sleep. This is the same process involved with normal snoring, but with sleep apnoea, the airway narrows so much that it closes. Your breathing stops, cutting off the flow of oxygen into your body and reducing the elimination of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the blood. Your brain detects this rise in CO2 and briefly wakes you up, re-opening your airways and re-starting your breathing. This process can be repeated several times during the night. Proper sleep may become impossible, resulting in severe fatigue and a decreased quality of life. Sleep apnoea in adults can increase the risk of serious health problems such as heart failure, because it deprives the sufferer of adequate levels of oxygen, making the heart work harder than normal. How do doctors recognize sleep apnoea?
How are snoring and sleep apnoea treated? Try to maintain a healthy diet and weight. A healthy diet means eating a wide variety of foods from four main food groups:
Regular exercise will improve muscle strength. If you are starting out begin with a 10-minute period of light exercise and gradually build from there. When you are ready, it is recommended that you exercise at least three to four times a week. Try to do 2030 minutes a session. Those 30 minutes don't have to be continuous: we know that three 10-minute sessions of exercise each day is just as good. Occasional vigorous activity is unwise and possibly dangerous if you are 'out of shape'. Factsheets on diet and weight and exercise are available and you can talk to your doctor about your ideal target weight, and regular exercise. Other measures include:
Medicines If your doctor diagnoses sleep apnoea and none of the simple remedies are successful, he or she may recommend wearing an oxygen mask over your face while you sleep, to force air through your airway so that it won't close. This treatment is called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). However, this form of treatment may need to continue for months or years and some people find wearing a mask in bed every night difficult to tolerate. Surgery LAUP involves removal of excess tissue from your soft palate and uvula with a small, hand-held laser. The operation makes your airway larger, so vibrations are decreased. The procedure is performed under a local anaesthetic and takes about 30 minutes. Depending on the severity of your snoring, you may need more than one session some people may need up to five or six sessions before their snoring is improved. If you need multiple treatments, they will likely be spaced four to six weeks apart. In general, this surgery does not have serious side effects and you can continue your regular activities immediately after the procedure. Some people may have a sore throat for about one week. In a very few cases, laser surgery can raise or lower the pitch of the voice. Before you decide on laser surgery, talk it over with your doctor. There are also several surgical options for sleep apnoea, depending on the cause:
What is the outcome of snoring and sleep apnoea? |
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