Why It Is Important To Reduce Snoring
Snoring used to be the butt of every joke on old-time sit-coms and cartoons. A character would loudly snort Honk-chooooo with every breath, much to the consternation of his or her spouse, who suffered alongside them in bed. Entire plotlines revolved around characters not being able to get enough sleep because of snoring. Off the screen, in real life, physicians who hear complaints about snoring would ignore the snorer and write a prescription for sleeping pills for the snorer's spouse.
Snoring - Not So Funny
In recent years, health care professionals have come to realize that snoring is nearly always a sign of more serious health problems. Chronic snoring has been linked to an increased risk of stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Clearly, snoring is nothing to laugh about any more.
Conservative Treatments To Reduce Snoring
Both acupuncture and acupressure have been successfully used to treat snoring. A small silver ring worn on the snorer's little finger seems to stop the snoring because the ring exerts pressure on vital points that control the flow of the airway.
Electricity has also been used to reduce snoring, in the form of a bracelet that emits electronic pulses throughout the night to keep the patient from settling into a sleeping position that promotes snoring.
Comprehensive Treatments That Reduce Snoring
If conservative treatment proves ineffective, more comprehensive action must be taken to reduce the patient's snoring. The most commonly prescribed treatment is a device known as a CPAP machine. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure. The snorer wears an air blower over her mouth and nose during slumber. These respiration machines inflate the throat, creating a condition of continuous positive pressure in the airway. They are extremely effective.
The downside of a CPAP is obvious. Who can sleep with a big hose and mask over their face and a machine humming a few feet from their head? For some people, however, the inconvenience of the CPAP is the lesser evil when compared to a night of sleepless snoring.
Still, the CPAP is not without side effects. Some snorers experience feelings of claustrophobia, skin irritation and headaches from using the CPAP. Still, the need to reduce snoring is greater than the sum of these inconveniences for some people. Some spouses resist the CPAP at first, but eventually they come to realize that the white noise of the CPAP is preferable to the unexpected fits and starts of the snorer.
