My boyfriend recently started snoring a lot. It seems like it only happened when he sleeps on his back, but its getting to the point to where he keeps me up at night. I'm wondering what causes snoring. I would also like to know if anyone has any home remedies that might reduce it (and if you don't, just let me know what medications, nose strips, etc worked for you).
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Snoring is a huge indicator of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
OSA is when you literally stop breathing during sleep.
Talk to your doctor. Time for a sleep study, and possibly a CPAP machine.
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Snoring is caused by relaxed tissue vibrating. Some people who snore a lot have sleep apnea, some people do not. Many people who have sleep apnea snore, but some do not.
ReplyDeleteSince he is waking you up at night, watch him for awhile while he is snoring. Does he appear to stop breathing? Does he have to start to wake himself in order to start breathing again? If he does, then there is a good chance he may have sleep apnea. If he doesn't stop breathing, he likely does not have sleep apnea. If you suspect sleep apnea, he needs a sleep study. Other signs of sleep apnea are having difficulty waking up in the morning (not feeling refreshed from a night's sleep), waking up with a headache, and having trouble staying awake during the day (expecially if he has to be inactive such as sitting in a meeting, reading, watching tv).
Obstructive sleep apnea has many causes and many treatments. One cause is being over weight. Another is a deviated septum. Another is badly congested sinuses. Another is having too much tissue in the soft palate. CPAP and BiPAP are treatments that can be used for almost any form of obstructive sleep apnea. Weight loss is a treatment for sleep apnea due to being over weight. Seriously congested sinuses are treated either with antibiotics or surgery (depends upon just how bad it is.) Deviated septum is treated with a septoplasty (surgery). Having too much tissue in the soft palate is treated by a UPPP (surgery). A person can have more than one of these conditions at the same time. Only an ENT is qualified to do many of these treatments.
There is also central sleep apnea. It has to do with the brain forgetting to tell a person to breathe. It can be treated as well.
If you suspect that your boyfriend has sleep apnea, he needs a special sleep test done.
If he doesn't have any symptoms of sleep apnea, there are some over the counter remedies to try. If it seems that it his nose is the source is the cause of the problem, there are those little strips you can buy that are supposed to help hold the nose open. There is also a spray for the throat that is supposed to help stop snoring.
Since he only does it when he sleeps on his back, he may need to sleep on his side. There are pillows that are supposed to help you sleep on your side.
Most problem snoring is caused by a throat airway obstruction, such as the soft palate collapsing into the airway. This is the reason why nasal strips often don't work.
ReplyDeleteIf you can breathe normally through your nose then nasal strips will more or less be useless.
there are many products out there that are designed to help keep the throat airway open by supporting the lower jaw in a forward position.
I use a product called Slumber Guard which is available in pharmacies across Australia, and also comes with free delivery worldwide. It's an actual certified medical device so it's not some fad.
It uses the same principles that doctors use to treat snoring, but for a fraction of the price.