A good night’s sleep has numerous benefits and includes improving mental health, immune system, daytime performance and helps maintaining healthy weight.
In the current challenging times, many individuals would have experienced various sleep issues including insomnia and sleep disordered breathing.
Weight gain and increased alcohol intake in addition may increase the problem with snoring which is an extremely common problem affecting both males and females.
Disruptive sleep
It can disrupt the quality of sleep of both the patient and their partner. About 10% of these patients may have a condition known as obstructive sleep apnoea whereby they have breath holding episodes in their sleep which can cause oxygen deprivation. This can result in poor sleep, morning headaches and daytime sleepiness. If sleep apnoea is left untreated then the chances of developing other disorders such as ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, memory problems, dementia and stroke can increase. In addition to having higher risks of developing the above problems, intrusive snoring can play a detrimental role in relationships and many of these patients are experiencing marital disharmony.
Snoring causes
Snoring occurs as a result of a turbulent airflow and can affect both children and adults. The commonest cause in children is due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids and there is plethora of evidence in the medical literature to demonstrate that removal of tonsils and adenoids in these children dramatically improves their quality of sleep as well as their cognitive function.
In adults the problem could be due to an obstruction in the nose as a result of a deviated nasal septum or nasal polyps but more commonly it is the redundant, floppy soft palate in the throat that may be the culprit.
Ambulatory home sleep studies can be easily arranged in order to ascertain whether the patient has obstructive sleep apnoea as this would determine the treatment options available in each case.
Treatment
Treatment options include oral appliances such as mandibular advancement device or nasal CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). Medical treatment with nasal sprays and antihistamines may help patients with allergic rhinitis by improving breathing through the nose and thus improve snoring. Patient compliance with medication and appliances can be poor and therefore surgery in carefully selected patients could offer a good alternative. Surgery involves a range of procedures ranging from minimally invasive radiofrequency surgery to soft palate, tongue and nose to more aggressive laser or robotic surgery. Surgery may also help improve utilisation of appliances or alleviate the need of using them.
Patient selection
Patient selection however, is crucial and this is achieved by performing drug induced sleep endoscopy whereby a hospitalised patient is given sedative agents to mimic sleep, snoring and obstruction and a fibre optic endoscope inserted through the nose and in to the throat allowing a three dimensional evaluation of the upper airway anatomy in the dynamic mode.
Your Consultant
Professor Kotecha who has 25 years’ experience in the field of Sleep Medicine offers an individually tailored evaluation and treatment plan of sleep disordered breathing and various other sleep disorders at Nuffield Health Brentwood Hospital, Essex.
Contact Information:
Professor Bhik Kotecha MBBCh., M.Phil., FRCS
Professor Kotecha, Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeon | Nuffield Health
www.snoringmanagement.com
For any enquiries, to book an initial consultation or to request more information, please contact our dedicated hospital enquiry team at Nuffield Health Brentwood Hospital on 01277 887 178. Website: Brentwood Hospital, Private Hospital in Essex | Nuffield Health
