As close to 90 million Americans are suffering from snoring as stated by the National Sleep Foundation, Janis Saunier of Medtronic Inc said that having an expanded clearance means that more people who are qualified can avail of the Pillar procedure.

Likewise, patients can benefit from 5 implants when treating for snoring. However, in treating obstructive sleep apnea, there is still no study nor clearance from the FDA for more than three implants for the said treatment. A patient who is deemed to be in need of more implants can benefit much from this development.

The Pillar Procedure

This procedure is done by an ENT specialist or a surgeon for oral and maxillofacial surgery. The surgeon will put small implants on the parts of the face such as the soft palate. Using this method, the soft palate will be stiffened as a response to tissue collapse and vibration. As a result, it helps in avoiding blockage of the upper airway which is said to be the most common contributing factor to snoring and sleep apnea.

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea is experienced by millions of people world wide. This puts the same number at risk of developing serious complications such as cardiovascular ailments, hypertension, stroke and even accidents.
• Snoring is not the only symptoms felt in OSA. A person experiences cessation of breathing for even more than a hundred times during sleep.
• Age is a big risk factor with research studies showing that 60 percent of people who are over 65 have OSA.
• The collapse of the soft tissue muscles at the back of the throat mainly contributes to the obstruction. As air cannot pass through the airway, a stoppage on the breathing occurs. The body then reacts to these as the person may tend to wake up snorting, gagging or choking to gasp for air.
• The cessation may last for around 10 seconds or more. It occurs from ten to more than a hundred times per hour during sleep.

A patient who was diagnosed of Obstructive sleep apnea recalls that as a form of treatment, he has been undergoing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Here, he has to wear the CPAP mask every time he goes to sleep. The CPAP mask will be worn over the nose and mouth. It will give continuous flow of air to the body thus preventing obstruction. As an effect, the oxygen levels in the blood is maintained to normally allowing organs and cells to function normally. Although effective, a lot of people find the CPAP mask as annoying and uncomfortable to wear. In fact, 20 percent of those who tried the therapy dropped out from it with the thought of having to wear the uncomfortable mask for the rest of their lives.

However, no matter how annoying the mask can get, it still provides significant improvement to a patient’s life. Back in the days where sleep apnea wasn’t even a discovered sleep disorder, treatment such as this one as not readily available to suffering patients. It takes time to get one’s self acquainted with the machine but the fruits that one reaps afterwards is great. It has helped people sleep peacefully making them not tired during the day.

In the UK, a 10-point charter was published. This aimed to outline the proper diagnosis and treatment of those who have obstructive sleep apnea. With this charter, the hope of improving screening, diagnosis and increasing awareness among people are greatly highlighted. The impact of OSA in one’s life extend from physiological to mental to social effects. It is just rightful to educate people to come out and have themselves check out if they deem themselves to be having the said sleep condition.

Sleep apnea is a common cause for snoring. This occurs when the soft tissue found in the throat relaxes or collapses due to multiple reasons. When they collapse, air is blocked and cannot go to the lungs. Sleep apnea is experienced by one out of 25 adults. These people may have cessation of breathing for more than ten seconds over a hundred times per hour in a night’s sleep. When the breathing stops, the brain promptly reacts by reopening the airway whereby a person loudly snores or gasps for air. Having sleep apnea increases one’s risk of developing heart problems, diabetes and stroke.

The risk of having sleep apnea increases with obesity, age, use of certain medication such as those that enhances sleep and structural abnormalities. To treat this condition, most doctors advise their patients to wear a CPAP mask which will provide them with continuous airflow all throughout their sleep. It is not a question whether these devices are effective or not. However, the drop rate is at a high 45 percent as patients find it uncomfortable thus discontinuing using them.

How do the stockings help? It is said that wearing compression stockings helps reduce fluid buildup in the body thereby reducing the likelihood of collapse of the tissues. To help pump back or distribute tissue fluid in our body, our leg muscles act as important factors in this mechanism. However, for obese people or for those who have poor circulation or those with sedentary lifestyle, this can hardly be done.

When we lie down, some experts said that the accumulated fluid may go back to our head, thus there is a possibility of it constricting the tissues in the throat, which could trigger sleep apnea. If stockings are worn during the day, it may help prevent the pooling or accumulation of tissue fluid in the legs. Because of this, the tissue fluid will be distributed or pushed back towards our body during the day, and not when we lie down during sleep. This theory is still not proven but has posed a lot of interest among doctors and researchers.

In another aspect of sleep apnea, it has been found out that people with sleep apnea are more likely to crave for carbohydrates. Even more, those who both have Diabetes and sleep apnea tend to have more cravings for carbohydrates. At a recent American Academy of Sleep Medicine conference, a research finding has suggested a link between cravings for carbs among Type 2 diabetes patients and sleep apnea. The result whether sleep apnea actually trigger the cravings is inconclusive. However, their theory is that when a patient frequently wakes up, hunger-regulating hormones are disturbed thus making the person crave for carbohydrates.

While snoring is seen as a harmless condition by most people, it is actually an imminent symptom of OSA. According to Dr. Praveen Varma from CARE Hospitals, if the condition is left untreated, serious medical complications will develop including diabetes, heart failure and hypertension. They are also at a high risk of being involved in motor vehicular accidents due to daytime sleepiness, memory and concentration problems. Also, the risk of developing depression and having a poor performance at work are also very imminent.

If a person keeps on living a bad, sedentary and stressful lifestyle such as having too many vices, the problem will not cease hence be aggravated to a lot of environmental factors. In most cases, OSA is said to be caused by an obstructed airway. This may be due to nasal congestion or structural abnormalities. In some, it could be due to excess fatty tissues around the throat that constrict the airway.

As around 67% of women are not getting quality sleep because of their partner’s snoring, they’ve been a lot of innovative and breakthrough treatments for snoring. In fact, there were homes and a hotel chain that has “snore rooms” just as to answer the needs of people who are suffering from the domino effect of snoring. Even with hundreds of snoring treatments such as nasal strips, mouth devices, throat sprays, we could say that the war against this sleeping problem is hardly won with the number of people suffering from the condition increasing over time.

The Theravent Snore Therapy

The Theravent Snore Therapy was developed by Ventus Medical as a snoring therapy to help reduce and even eliminate snoring. As it underwent several tests, this snoring treatment has already been given FDA clearance and available for consumers to buy and use.

Snoring is quite an annoying condition as it does not only leave you sleepless, but it is also a predisposing factor to a lot of morbid conditions such as sleep apnea, diabetes and hypertension. Commonly found in people who are overweight and those suffering from constant congestion, these groups of people may experience daytime sleepiness, inattentiveness, irritability and even a decreased sex drive.

Even with serious health complications, snoring has always been thought to be a laughing matter. However, with more people getting sufficient education about this sleep problem, the drive to eliminate it has grown increasingly. The Theravent therapy stemmed out from the extensive research on Provent Sleep Apnea Therapy. It has the following characteristics:

• Uses the MicroValve Technology used in Provent Sleep Apnea Therapy.
  • Proven in more than 10 clinical trials and underwent for almost 2 million nights of sleep combined.
• Works by increasing upper airway pressure during exhalation, thus reducing the likelihood of snoring. When a person inhales, there is an almost unobstructed airflow as the MicroValves are opened. Even during exhalation, the MicroValves  are only partially close to keep the airway open.
• Reduced snoring at around 76 percent as a result of clinical studies at multiple US centers.

Even though it already has an FDA clearance, Theravent therapy is not meant to be used as a sole treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. It is just an over the counter treatment for snoring that has been proven through clinical trials.

This association was uncovered as the impact of various sleeping conditions were looked into closely by the university scientists.

Based on the obtained results, heavy or loud snorers are at more risk of developing arthritis than those that infrequently snorers. Aside from snoring, we have to take note that heavy snorers may also suffer from sleep apnea or the cessation of breathing that may last for more than 10 seconds and may occurs a hundred times at night. This condition puts them at higher risk of inflammation in the blood vessels. When the vessels are inflamed, the risk of having arthritis increases as the inflammation may hasten the development of the condition.

According to the Taipei Medical University, the study was the first which delved into the link between sleep apnea and autoimmune diseases. As a result, they’ve discovered that people with sleep apnea have higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

The Jukusui-Kun or Deep Sleep is a pillow shaped like a polar bear that was invented by Dr. Kabe of the Kabe Lab in Waseda University, Tokyo. In general, this pillow works by tickling the person’s face when the decibel level of their snoring increase during sleep.

How it works

This pillow has few mechanisms on it making it work for individuals who constantly snore.

The snorer will have a pulse oxygen monitor attached to the hand as soon as he or she retires to sleep. This pulse oxygen meter has a built-in microphone. As soon as the snorer sleeps, the oximeter will calculate the level of oxygen in the blood. The measurement will be compared with the vital information that was already pre set. While the blood oxygen level is measured, the microphone does it job by picking up and analyzing the snoring. The main concept here is to tickle the face of the snorer once the snoring level increases and the blood oxygen level decreases. The pillows’ paws will be triggered and it will move to tickle the face. This action will cause the snorer to turn on his side and not on his back to reduce the chances of snoring.

This anti-snoring device was part of the International Robot Exhibition held in Tokyo, Japan.  As one of the hundreds of robot entries on the event, this robot focuses more on promotion of health and wellness compared to other robots that are made to do various tasks such as climbing or singing. This innovative technology is great especially for an aging population that may faces health problems in the future.

While other sleeping aid or devices prove to be uncomfortable to deal with, the Jukusui-Kun is a cuddly pillow that attempts to help people manage their sleep breathing disorders such as sleep apnea, snoring and even difficulty of breathing. To make it as comfortable as it can get, wireless technology was used and kept under the bed acting as a conductive sheet.

In retrospect, CPAP devices act by providing patients with continuous airflow during sleep in Obstructive sleep apnea. As airway obstruction, which is caused by a collapse of the soft tissues in the back of the throat, causes cessation of breathing, wearing the CPAP mask every night ensures the patient of an open airway by means of receiving uninterrupted air.

Aside from this therapeutic effect, wearing the so-called mask was also discovered to be helpful in patients with diabetic retinopathy. In this eye problem, when our blood has a high level of blood sugar, the cells in the retina of our eye get damaged. These sensitive cells have to have constant supply of blood in order for them to function normally and give us clear vision. But because of high level of blood sugar, the blood vessels get blocked or leaking occurs causing blindness if the problem is not treated promptly. Thousands of people may be affected by this considering that around 41 percent of people with Type 1 Diabetes and 20 percent of those with Type 2 have retinopathy in varying degrees.

A small trial through a study from Churchill Hospital in Oxford showed that nighttime use of the mask improves the vision of those with diabetic retinopathy as attested by the following results:

• In the study, the patients who were given the CPAP mask treatment had significantly improved vision.
• Wearing of the device for more than 2 and a half hours were seen to have the best results.

With these significant findings, it is said that using the mask helps in improving the oxygen level in the blood. When the blood gets enough oxygen supply, it helps avoid having hypertension which speeds up damage to the blood vessels.

Diabetes has been linked to sleep apnea. Therefore, people with sleep apnea are more likely to have diabetes. When you have chronic snoring coupled with diabetes, the likelihood of having a damaged eye increases over time.

This new finding may prove to be very significant and advantageous not only to those who have sleep apnea or diabetes, but it may also improve the overall health of their partner by having better sleep every night.

However, no matter how prevalent it can be with men, women must not take for granted this sleep condition as around 40 percent of women are already suffering from this sleeping problem. Being women, having snoring is quite an embarrassing situation. A lot of women either do not know that they have snoring or worse, they ignore their snoring because it is not something that they wish to share with the rest of the world. But with latest research associating snoring with a lot of health ailments, it might be high time for ladies to stop ignoring snoring.

One of the researches that is now gaining headlines all over the world is the possible association between sleep breathing disorders such as snoring and sleep apnea and cancer. This research which will be published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, is still far from proving that snoring causes cancer. However, with snoring already being linked to multitude of diseases such as diabetes, this new association deserves a second look.

While we are looking at a gloomy news with these new research, hope is still at hand as treatment modalities surface to help people deal with their sleep breathing disorders. One of which is from a published research paper on the use of essential oil-containing spray. In the research, it is said that 82% participants who used the spray with essential oils experienced a reduction in snoring.

The exact mechanism on how the essential oils worked were indefinite. But the oils may have helped strengthen or tone the soft throat tissues that relax every time we sleep. As we all know, relaxed tissues are one of the most common culprits of snoring. Either way, what ever the mechanism is, this development is very much beneficial especially to people who have long been suffering from the effects of snoring.

One of the products that bring you these essential oils is the “Help Stop Snoring” brand. This product is easy to use as all you have to do is spray it at the back of your throat before you sleep. It is available in leading stores nationwide.

The AIR(R) Sleep/Snore products will be distributed to over 1700 stores by SUPERVALU. Stores within their network such as ACME(R), Cub(R), Farm Fresh(R), Albertson(r), Shop N’ Save(R) as such. These stores are very competitive as they actually hold the first or second market share position.

As a lot of people are suffering from sleep problems especially snoring and sleep apnea, the demand of the AIR(R) sleep/snore product increases. Because of this Crown Dynamics president Jeffrey Rassas said that they’re closely working with their manufacturer in order to make sure that they have the means and are prepared to meet the product demand. As it is important for the consumers to be able to acquire the product quickly, providing retailers and suppliers with the products will ensure that consumers can acquire the product as soon as they need it.

When more people are satisfied with the effectiveness of the product, Rassas said that in due time, the AIR(R) Sleep/Snore product will be their preferred choice of drug-free treatment to relieve them of their sleep problems.

To know more about the product and the company, visit Crown Dynamics Corp.