Aleksey Zhuravel: “HOW TO DECLARE THE WAR OF THE TORCH AND WIN IN IT”

The material was taken from the website of ТСН TV channel

Don’t ignore the problem, because snoring can often be a symptom of serious illness.

We have muscles in our mouths — the tongue muscle, the anterior and posterior palatine muscles. They can be stretched, and then the muscles lie on the tongue, and then this insidious sound appears. Why does this happen? We need to understand this in more detail.

Snoring is a common problem that is not usually spoken about out loud. And in vain. After all, this disease can not only cause inconvenience to family and friends, but also threaten the health of the snorer. From my medical practice, I can draw one interesting conclusion: in 95% of cases, patients have no idea where snoring comes from and are surprised to learn that it can be controlled. How? Let’s start with the basics.

WHY DO PEOPLE SNORE?

Impaired nasal breathing. It can be blocked due to a deviated septum, polyps, or persistent inflammation (for example, chronic rhinitis). Due to these processes, fluid appears in the nose, which gradually accumulates on the palate. The palate, like any muscle, stretches and descends.

Reflux disease. When the gastrointestinal juice rises high up, it is backed up, and the palate swells under the influence of acid. This is why an unpleasant sound appears.

Bad habits. Alcohol works in the same way as reflux disease. It goes down and stimulates gastric juice to go up in increased doses. The same goes for smoking.

Excess weight. It leads to the accumulation of fat in the abdomen. It puts pressure on the abdomen, which again causes gastrointestinal juice to rise. The tongue itself also rises higher when there is an excess of subcutaneous fat. This also makes breathing difficult.

Due to enlarged glands, which are often swollen in allergy sufferers and asthmatics.

WHAT TO DO?

Identify the problem. You need to be alert if intense snoring is followed by a breath-hold of up to 10 seconds.

Find a specialist who will take care of you. There is a doctor called a somnologist who studies sleep problems. As a rule, such doctors have special diagnostic equipment, and according to all the canons of medicine, you should start with them. But in practice, I can say that not all patients find this rare doctor and get to him. For the most part, people immediately run to the ENT with a standard set of questions: “Why do I have nasal congestion?”, “What should I do if I have breathing problems?”.

You need to be alert when you experience a breath-hold of up to 10 seconds during sleep

Undergo an examination by an ENT. After the examination, the doctor will identify and eliminate possible indirect causes of snoring. For example, he or she can diagnose a deviated septum, polyps, inflammation, and chronic rhinitis. In this case, it will be necessary to restore the functioning of the airways by treating and eliminating another disease. In the case of tonsils, they are partially or completely removed. But a stretched palate can be surgically removed.

HOW TO TREAT ON YOUR OWN?

Is it possible to solve the problem of snoring at home? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. If snoring occurs from time to time, then it is quite possible to cope with it on your own or at least minimize the provoking factors. How to do it?

• For those who are overweight, it’s time to start fighting it. Take up physical activity and eat right. This will reduce the volume of gastric juice, as well as the size of the abdomen and chin. It will already become easier.
• Give up bad habits. Alcohol and smoking should be avoided, especially at night.
• Remove spicy, salty, and fatty foods from your diet. Or at least avoid eating it before bed. In general, it is better to eat the last meal of the day no later than four hours before bedtime.
• You also need to be careful with sports. I do not recommend strength training, because if you strain your abs, the pressure will only increase and gastrointestinal juice will rise. Perfectly, I advise my patients to run or at least take a half-hour walk before going to bed.
• You can instill saline into the nose, but not on a regular basis. After all, the nose has its own flora, and it is advisable not to wash it out. You can drip for a week or two, then take a couple of weeks off.
• Drink more water, ideally at least two liters a day. Just like saliva, even one glass of water can calm the stomach a bit.
• Learn and practice special anti-snoring exercises. Precise instructions are now easy to find on the Internet.

WHAT IF IT’S SERIOUS?

When a patient has a chronic history of snoring, all of these tips will not help to get rid of it. In this case, there are only two options.

The first option is CPAP therapy. Today it is considered the gold standard for snoring treatment. What does it consist of? A breathing mask is put on the face, active oxygen is supplied from a cylinder under a certain pressure, and the person goes to bed with it. But there are also disadvantages: half of those who use it give up therapy after a month or two because it is uncomfortable to sleep in it every night.

The second option is surgical. The surgeon lifts the palate and thus relieves it. But again, this is not enough. After all, if you undergo surgery, but then do not adopt a healthy lifestyle, then after a certain period of time the palate will relax again and snoring will return.

By the way, the operation itself is not complicated. Rehabilitation lasts only from seven days to three weeks. During this time, the diet is as light as possible — liquid or grated food. The pain syndrome completely disappears in 10-14 days.

As for the methods of palate lifting, they are divided into laser, surgical and coblation (cold plasma coagulation). The surgical method has the most risks, and the main one is bleeding, because in this area, namely next to the carotid artery, there are nerve and vascular bundles. As for laser and coblation, these methods reduce the rehabilitation time to a week.

So, snoring can and should be fought. Don’t ignore snoring, because it can often be a symptom of much more serious illnesses. For example, asthma, allergies, sleep apnea, hypertension, heart rhythm disorders, or obesity. So don’t neglect taking care of your health and solve all problems on time.