Breathe Right Strips
An article in today's Miami Herald discussed the efficacy of Breathe Right Strips. As you know these strips "opens your nose to: reduce snoring, relieve nasal congestion."
"The FDA approved the strips in 1996 for temporary relief of breathing difficulties related to a deviated nasal septum. The Mayo Clinic recommends nasal strips to prevent or quiet snoring." according to the article.
The author went on to state "Evidence is mounting that these strips can help snorers. It's worth a try, especially because there are no adverse effects."
True, dilating the nose to allow freer air passage has no adverse health effects per se but snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Chung and her colleagues at the University of Toronto defined and validated 4 questions to ask patients about to undergo anesthesia for general surgery. The four questions: snoring, tiredness during the day, observed cessation of breathing during sleep and high blood pressure.
Stopping the snoring does not stop obstructive sleep apnea which occurs because of obstruction in the throat behind the tongue but may just silence and eliminate several of the warning signs of apnea - snoring and observed cessation of breathing.
The lesson to be learned from this - quieting snoring is a double edged sword in people who may have obstructive sleep apnea. If the snoring is heavy, constant and punctuated by periods of silence then the best advice is to consult a sleep physician or a specially trained dentist especially in a person who is overweight, has a large shirt collar size and has high blood pressure.
Dr. Barsh
"The FDA approved the strips in 1996 for temporary relief of breathing difficulties related to a deviated nasal septum. The Mayo Clinic recommends nasal strips to prevent or quiet snoring." according to the article.
The author went on to state "Evidence is mounting that these strips can help snorers. It's worth a try, especially because there are no adverse effects."
True, dilating the nose to allow freer air passage has no adverse health effects per se but snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Chung and her colleagues at the University of Toronto defined and validated 4 questions to ask patients about to undergo anesthesia for general surgery. The four questions: snoring, tiredness during the day, observed cessation of breathing during sleep and high blood pressure.
Stopping the snoring does not stop obstructive sleep apnea which occurs because of obstruction in the throat behind the tongue but may just silence and eliminate several of the warning signs of apnea - snoring and observed cessation of breathing.
The lesson to be learned from this - quieting snoring is a double edged sword in people who may have obstructive sleep apnea. If the snoring is heavy, constant and punctuated by periods of silence then the best advice is to consult a sleep physician or a specially trained dentist especially in a person who is overweight, has a large shirt collar size and has high blood pressure.
Dr. Barsh
posted by Dr. Larry Barsh at
6:35 AM
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