Stop Snoring

Simple over-the-counter snoring treatments and common sense home remedies really do work

by Murray Grossan, M.D.

At the 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery in Orlando, Drs Peter Michaelson and Eric Mair presented their results of testing widely advertised products that allegedly cure snoring.

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They tested the lubricating mouth sprays, the special pillows , the nasal dilator strips and others. They concluded that none were effective.

I don’t agree
I disagree with their conclusions that none of the over the counter methods are of value.

I have practiced Ear Nose and Throat for 40 + years. I am part of a 5 person ENT group – Tower ENT at Cedars Sinai Medical where snoring is a major part of our specialty. In our group Dr Martin Hopp has pioneered some of the current snoring innovations. We see lots of patients with this problem.

As to the dilator strips; certain persons have very weak cartilages on the sides of the nose. When they take a forceful deep breath, the sides of the nose collapse, causing obstruction and forcing the person to mouth breathe and snore. These strips that hold the weak sides apart can be very helpful to the individual who has a flaccid or weak sides to his nose.

Or the tip of the nose can hang down. This depression causes the nose to block too. Simply taping the nose up can open the nose up for air passage and solve the problem.

This simple method is detailed in the book, The Sinus Cure (Ballnatine) by Debra Bruce and Murray Grossan, and we get letters daily from readers thanking us for this “cure of their snoring”.

Nasal Dryness
Many persons have nasal dryness. This impairs breathing, causes unpleasant sounds and can be a serious factor causing snoring and other problems. Nasal dryness may cause secondary nasal infection, crusting and dry mouth as well. In a dry nose the body’s natural defenders – lysozyme, good white cells can’t get to the bacterial. A dry nose can’t wash out pollens and dusts. A home made saline spray – one teaspoon salt to a pint of water helps. A saline product that contains the body’s natural electrolytes, such as Breathe.ease®XL Nasal Spray is highly effective in providing moisture here.

In addition it is important to keep the bedroom moist. I recommend pans of water that evaporate. The fancy vaporizers are impossible to clean and destroy the wallpaper.

Sleep Apnea
Snoring is not the same as sleep apnea. Here a person actually stops breathing during sleep. The partner hears the breathing stop, followed by loud sounds trying to overcome the blockage. This is a significant medical problem that requires more than simply taping the nose up.

We can use special machines that overcome the blockage, called CPAP devices. Or some procedures to clear the weakness of the soft palate or open the nose and correct the blockage may be indicated. Some persons respond to jaw repositioning.

If your partner feels that you do stop breathing in your sleep, get a sleep apnea test to find out if you are low on oxygen in your sleep. If you do have sleep apnea, treatment is necessary.

Try this
If that isn’t your problem, you might want to try gently taping up the tip of your nose, moistening the nose with one of the saline type sprays such as Breath.ease®XL nasal spray or home made saline. Or you could try one of the moisturizing Gels.

Important. Only the specified nasal moisturizing gels are safe to use in the nose. These are water-soluble. Any gel or ointment that is not water-soluble can land in your lungs and remain there and cause problems. For example Breathe.ease®XL Nasal Gel is water soluble and has the benefit of containing Xylitol which is especially moisturizing by virtue of its action that moisturizes at the cell level. The gel need only be used at night.

I was concerned that too many persons would misinterpret the conclusions of the Michelson and Mair study, since we see patients daily who do benefit using some of the over the counter aids. Every day Ear Nose and Throat doctors recommend these simple solutions that can work, when they are indicated.

For more information, go to Hydromedonline.com

First Published: Thanksgiving, 2003
Updated: February 2007

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