Why Do I Snore? Oriental Medicine Tell You Why

Why Do I Snore? Oriental Medicine Tell You Why

            
   < Dr. Lee's Sinus School Tells You Why>

The Causes of Snoring

 

 

The nose serves as a critical gateway in breathing. The causes that block the gateway include: acute rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis, deviated nasal septum, nasal polyps and sinusitis. 

 

 

 

The blocking by the soft palate is another common cause, since it is the most susceptible part to vibrate. When the uvula or other palate tissues hang lose, the respiratory way becomes easily narrowed. While this is more common to obese people, it can also happen to the slim-shaped with stretched palate tissues or have wide wrinkles in the back of the uvula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On both sides of the palate, tonsils are located. Those were commonly known to degenerate as people pass their adolescence, however, not inconsiderable number of adults still have them. Since they are located on the lateral sides of the respiratory tract, large tonsils can easily block the respiratory tract. 

 

Adult obesity could be another cause. The tissues surrounding the respiratory tract can be filled with fats, narrowing the air way in the nasal cavity and sinuses, along with the pharynx, larynx which are also parts of the air way.

 

Another part that can cause obstruction is the back part of the tongue. People with normal respiratory tract does not experience obstructed airway when they lie on their back, however, people with larger tongues or pushed-back tongues might have constricted respiratory tract.

 

The facial skeleton could be one of the structural problems causing snoring. Narrow, recessed and protruding jaws belong to these structural problems. Narrow jawed people may suffer from restricted airway from having their relatively larger tongues being pushed back by the jaw.

 

As a part of normal aging process, muscle elasticity can diminish, inducing snoring. Also, chronic snoring can damage the uvula and palate tissues by its vibration (not just damaging the sensory cells, but elasticity in the muscles). This in turn, maintains the clear airway more difficult. 

 

 

 

 

           Why Do I Snore? Dr. Lee tells you why-> -> click

 

The Level of Snoring

 

Stage 0: Clear inhaling with no sound during a deep sleep - Healthy

Stage 1: Slight snoring at the beginning of a deep sleep - Good

Stage 2: Periodical snoring - Slightly blocked sinuses

Stage 3: Repeat loud and soft snoring – Heavily congested sinuses

Stage 4: No snoring, but breathing through the mouth - Worse than Stage 3

Stage 5: Sleeping with an open mouth

Stage 6: Possible sleep apnea syndrome

 

Stage 0 indicates healthy state of the sinuses. Stage 1, which exhibits slight snoring in the begging of sleep is considered to be in a good state. Stage 2 indicates a partial blockage somewhere in the paranasal sinuses. In stage 3, it exhibits the alternating pattern of loud and soft snoring, caused by more blocked sinuses.

 

People who belong to stage 4 may not have loud snoring, but mouth breathing is being carried out in a subtle manner. No one hardly recognizes the seriousness of the condition, but this could be more devastating than snoring. The sinuses are more blocked than the previous stage. If the sinuses become more obstructed than stage 3, nasal breathing becomes more difficult, leading the mouth to open. Breathing through both mouth and the nose does not vibrate the uvula. Subtle mouth breathing does not create enough negative pressure to move the uvula to generate sound. In some cases, people inhale through the nose and exhale through their mouth, making it difficult to define it as snoring, however, the blockage is more serious than the 3rd stage. Feeling dryness in the throat, lips, or mouth after waking up, or soreness in the throat, or drooling marks mouth breathing. People who frequently suffer from the following symptoms should look into this matter carefully: sore throat, tonsillitis, slight cough, bronchitis, laryngitis.

 

At stage 5, people, whose sinuses are almost completely blocked, complain fatigue after waking up. Their mouth is opened during their sleep and the uvula vibrates over night. At this stage, people begin to think the snoring could be the underlying reason for the tiredness.

 

Sleep apnea becomes apparent at stage 6, much of the ostiomeatal complex is constricted, inducing severe breathing difficulty. While this stage of sleep apnea is very critical, stage 4 requires the utmost attention to diagnose. Most patients do not snore at that stage, but they are unaware of mouth breathing without snoring is more critical than snoring with their mouth closed.

 

I can assure that restoring the ventilation in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses can improve snoring as well as sleep apnea in every stage of snoring.