Snoring in men: causes and treatment

Snoring - a specific sound made by sleeping people occurs in 30% of the population. They often include smokers, older members of society, as well as people who are overweight. The phenomenon is not considered normal and is one of the signs of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Meanwhile, it is possible to restore normal functioning of the nasopharynx. So what are the causes and danger of snoring? How to cure snoring in men?

Causes of Snoring in Men

The occurrence of snoring is based on the curvature and narrowing of the airways resulting from organic or functional pathology. In this case, the air inhaled by a person changes the direction of his movement, creates turbulence. There is a sound that is amplified by vibration of the palatine tongue.

In addition to an unpleasant specific sound, during snoring in men, short-term respiratory arrest is noted. This is due to sagging atonic tissues of the pharynx and temporary airway obstruction. The number of such episodes can reach four hundred in 8 hours of sleep. At the same time, sleep is accompanied by periodic awakenings, a feeling of suffocation, and the quality of rest and, accordingly, of life as a whole decreases.

What conditions provoke the onset of the disease?

Snoring does not occur in completely healthy people.

As a rule, a snoring person has one or another pathology from the list below:

• organic disorders in the nasopharynx (septum curvature, adenoids, tumors, polyps);
• birth defects (malocclusion, abnormal development of the jaw);
• hypothyroidism;
• history of injuries accompanied by damage to nerve trunks;
• dysfunction of the pituitary gland;
• chronic inflammatory diseases of the nasopharynx and the narrowing of the nasal passages associated with this (sinusitis, rhinitis);
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome;
• age-related changes associated with a decrease in the tone of the upper palate.

Note: the causes of snoring in sleep in men can also be in the use of alcohol. Ethyl alcohol in quantities that can cause intoxication has a relaxing effect. In this case, the tissues of the upper palate relax and sag, blocking the airways.

In addition to the immediate causes of the disease, there are predisposing factors. They do not guarantee the occurrence of snoring, but significantly increase its likelihood.

Among the factors that trigger snoring are:

• long smoking;
• severe obesity;
• alcoholism;
• age over 40-50 years;
• allergic alertness of the body;
• chronic fatigue and insufficient sleep time.

During wakefulness in people suffering from snoring, you can notice signs such as breathing through the mouth, earache, and a change in the voice timbre.

What is the danger of snoring?

Most people consider snoring, albeit an unpleasant, but not dangerous to life and health phenomenon. However, in reality, the patient is exposed to some dangers associated with impaired breathing in a dream. The first unpleasant phenomenon that a snoring person encounters is lack of sleep and chronic fatigue syndrome. Waking up several times during the night, the patient does not go through all the necessary stages of sleep, respectively, his body does not receive proper rest.

The second, more formidable danger is hypoxia. Temporary airway obstruction can last from 3-5 to 30 seconds. In the latter case, the body begins to experience an acute shortage of oxygen. As a result of this, death and destruction of neurons occurs, chronic headaches develop, a person wakes up with a feeling of weakness, his mental abilities decrease.

Frequent episodes of hypoxia affect the work of the heart muscle. Snoring patients are at risk for myocardial infarction, many of them suffer from coronary heart disease, episodes of hypertension. In this case, blood pressure exceeds normal values ​​immediately after waking up, however, after 30-40 minutes after rising, it returns to normal.

Note: people suffering from snoring often experience sudden coronary death syndrome - cardiac arrest in a dream, against the background of the full health of the cardiovascular system. Such patients die in the vast majority of cases.

In terms of social adaptation, snoring also leads to problems. People living in the same room with the patient are irritated and cannot sleep at night. This leads to conflicts in the family, a negative attitude from relatives, isolation of a person while sleeping in remote rooms, which affects the mental state of the patient.

How to cure snoring in men?

As it became clear from the above, snoring is a much more serious problem than is believed. Getting rid of her is not easy, but possible. How to treat snoring in men? For this, various techniques can be used that relate to both traditional and traditional medicine.

Diet and exercise

The easiest way to deal with snoring is through diet and exercise. Nutritional restrictions for snoring have such goals as:

• weight loss in obesity;
• decrease in mucus secretion in the respiratory tract.

To reduce weight, you should adhere to a diet in which the amount of calories consumed per day will be less than their consumption by 100-200 units. It is recommended to reduce portions of food, switch to six meals a day, which helps to speed up metabolism. To reduce mucus secretion, it is recommended to reduce the intake of fats and simple carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.It is better if the diet will be based on vegetables and fruits, cereals, fortified drinks, light soups.

To reduce snoring, two main exercises are used to increase the tone of the muscles of the nasopharynx and reduce the degree of sagging:

1. Air rolling - the patient puffs out one cheek, after which he rolls air in his mouth onto the other cheek. Repeat the exercise should be up to 45-50 times per 1 cycle. It is recommended to do it before bedtime, as well as when waking up from snoring. To improve the result, it will not be superfluous to use the air rolling method daily.
2. Tongue on chin - an attempt should be made to reach the chin with the tongue, and then pull it back into the mouth. Repeat the exercise is necessary 15-20 times, before bedtime, as well as during night awakenings. The procedure allows you to slightly stretch and blur the tissues of the respiratory tract, which reduces the degree of sagging palate and the risk of developing snoring.

Techniques associated with dieting and exercises aimed at increasing the tone of the palate are effective only if the cause of snoring is functional impairment. Organic pathology is practically not amenable to similar types of therapy. Despite the diet, weight loss and regular exercise snoring persists. In such situations, treatment is carried out using drugs or surgery.

Drugs for snoring

The pharmacological treatment of snoring depends on the causes that caused it. As a rule, drugs are prescribed in accordance with the table below:

It is necessary to consider each of the drugs listed separately:

• Asonor - comes in the form of nasal drops. Moisturizes the nasopharynx and increases its tone. Use the drug immediately before bedtime, instilling 4-6 drops in each nostril.

• Naphthyzine is a local vasoconstrictor. It causes a reduction in the capillaries of the mucous membrane, thereby reducing the secretion of mucus and increasing the lumen of the nasal passages. 1-2 drops are applied to each nostril, 3-4 times a day, until the symptoms of the disease disappear.

• Hormonal sprays (nasonex) - the active substance - mometasone furoate. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects, reduces fluid proliferation through cell membranes. Instilled using a special metering device, 200 mg in each nasal passage, 2 times a day. The course of treatment is 1-2 weeks.

• Zyrtec is an anti-allergic drug that reduces tissue swelling and reduces mucus secretion. In the form of drops it is used for allergic rhinitis. 10 drops are prescribed in each nasal passage 2 times a day.

• Antibiotics are a wide group of drugs whose action is aimed at the destruction of pathogenic microorganisms. Used in infectious processes of airborne diseases causing snoring. Dosage and administration depends on the specific drug, the choice of which is made by the doctor.
• Xenical is a drug for weight loss that indirectly affects snoring (obesity is the cause of snoring). It prevents the absorption of fats in the intestines and their entry into the bloodstream. The drug is dosed at 120 mg per dose. The capsule must be taken during each visit to the dining room.

Each of the above medicines has its contraindications and side effects. Before using them, you should consult a doctor to assess the feasibility and safety of admission.

Snoring Accessories

To prevent snoring, special devices are sometimes used that do not eliminate the cause of the disease, but allow you to get rid of it during use.

These include:

• Mouthpiece - provides a change in the position of the lower jaw relative to the upper, which allows you to increase the clearance of the respiratory tract and avoid snoring. Sleep with an open mouth leads to drying out of the mucous membranes, which makes the mouthpiece a less popular device.

• A device that supports language - holds the language, not allowing it to sink. The device is effective only in cases where snoring occurs when the patient is on his back.

• Jaw strap - supports the lower jaw, reducing the chance of snoring. The device can not be used in relation to people with rhinitis of different origin.

The use of such devices, as well as the use of pharmacological therapy, should be done in consultation with the doctor and after determining the causes of the disease.

Getting rid of snoring with surgery

Speaking about how to remove snoring in a dream in men, one can not help but mention surgical treatment methods. Intervention is necessary in cases where the cause of snoring is the presence of foci of organic pathology in the nasopharynx. So, the nasal septum is leveled, adenoids are removed, birth defects are corrected and plastic.

Surgical treatment is carried out in a hospital, but hospitalization is not always required. So, after removal of the adenoids, the patient is discharged for outpatient treatment 2 hours after the end of the operation. Large-scale interventions (nasal septum plastic surgery) require monitoring the patient in the postoperative period and competent drug support. Such patients are in the hospital for several days.

Septoplasty

Septoplasty is an operation to correct the position of the nasal septum. In modern clinics, an endoscopic or laser method is used. During the procedure, the doctor removes tissues that interfere with the septum to occupy a normal anatomical position. The partition itself is not affected. Long hospitalization is not necessary.

Traumatic injuries of the nasal septum require more complex intervention associated with its destruction. At the same time, the cartilage tissue is opened, it is given the necessary position, after which it is fixed with gauze turundas and external dressings until complete healing. Such an operation is traumatic and requires hospitalization of the patient.

Folk methods

Since people have been faced with the problem of snoring for many centuries, there are also recipes for treating this disease in the arsenal of traditional medicine:

• Baked carrots - one medium-sized carrot is washed, peeled and wrapped in cling film. After that, the vegetable is placed in the oven and baked for 30-40 minutes at a temperature of 200 ° C. It is necessary to eat a dish one hour before each meal.

• Cabbage juice - add 1 teaspoon of honey to 1 cup of freshly squeezed cabbage juice, after which the mixture is thoroughly mixed. Reception mode - shortly before bedtime, 1 time per day.

• Sea buckthorn oil - 1 drop of oil should be instilled into each nasal passage 4 hours before bedtime. The drug relieves inflammation, disinfects the respiratory tract, facilitates breathing.

Alternative methods of treating snoring are effective if the disease occurs due to rhinitis, infectious inflammation, and dryness of the nasopharynx. Organic diseases are treated only by surgery.

Ways to prevent snoring

The basis for the prevention of snoring is a lifestyle change if it does not meet the current WHO requirements. It is necessary to increase physical activity, go in for sports, reduce weight to normal indicators. You can approximately determine the required body weight by the formula "growth in centimeters minus 100".

The second preventive measure is the rehabilitation of foci of chronic infection of the nasopharynx. It can be produced at home, using decoctions of medicinal plants.It is necessary to rinse your mouth and throat with a decoction of chamomile, instill sea buckthorn oil in your nose, and take oral medications that enhance immunity.

In most cases, the problem of snoring is easily resolved. The intervention of doctors is required in a minimum number of cases. You can avoid the problem if you take a full course of prevention, lead a healthy lifestyle, regularly undergo medical examinations for infectious and allergic diseases.