Synonyms in a broader sense
Medical: Rhonchopathy
Introduction to snoring
Snoring can become a torture for those affected by the loud breathing noise and lead to sleep disorders. The sawing sounds are produced in the upper airways. Swinging movements of the palate, the uvula or the base of the tongue or the lower pharynx produce such sounds.
Causes of snoring
Snoring in general is caused by a slackening of the respiratory muscles during sleep. It is especially caused by fluttering movements of the soft palate and the uvula. The soft palate can either be short and taut or in some people it can have a long flaccid structure.
However, snoring is not normal, i.e. it is caused by the snorer when the airways are blocked. In some cases, the tongue can also obstruct the airways by sliding backwards into the throat. For some people the sleeping position is also very important.
There are people who sleep on their back and snore mainly in this position. If the brain gets too little oxygen, the body reacts by itself by changing position. There are also many other factors that contribute to snoring.
For example, the pharyngeal and palatine tonsils can be too large and thus obstruct the airways. A very dangerous cause of snoring can also be sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops repeatedly.
The oxygen supply is reduced and waking reactions occur again and again, which makes the patient sleep very badly and the affected person has less and less sleep. The upper part of the airways collapses and moves. Most people who suffer from sleep apnea also snore extremely.
Overweight is also a possible cause of snoring, because there are numerous fat deposits in the throat and pharynx area, which obstruct the airways. In addition, snoring is hereditary in some people. Alcohol drinking also causes snoring symptoms in some people.
This is because the soft palate relaxes. This is also the case when taking some sleeping pills, tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, antihistamines and psychotropic drugs, especially if they are too strong. Cold or allergies are also among the possible causes.
In addition, a crooked nasal septum can close off the nasal and pharyngeal cavity to such an extent that those affected can also start snoring here. Anatomical disproportion of the jaw position (occlusion problems) or an enlarged tongue can also obstruct the airflow. The soft and benign nasal polyps should also be taken into account.
They can also cause snoring. They do not grow directly from the nose, but from the paranasal sinuses. Several factors come together when snoring.
An obstruction of nasal breathing e.g. by can considerably increase the flow velocity of the inhaled air. This leads to a negative pressure in the throat area. The negative pressure and the pharyngeal musculature, which is relaxed during sleep, lead to the collapse or a collapse of the throat.
This process can be imagined figuratively as an inflated balloon, from which the air is slowly released at its opening. Sometimes only the soft palate, relaxed during sleep, swings with the suction of the inhaled air. If you want to know more about what triggers the snoring sound, we recommend our article: Causes of snoring
- A curvature of the nasal septum (septum deviation)
- By polyps of the nose (polyposis nasi)
- Through rhinitis (cold)
- Enlarged tonsils (tonsil hyperplasia, chronic tonsillitis)
In general, snoring is not a disease and in the early history of mankind it even had the benefit of driving wild animals into flight even during their own sleep.
But our partners let themselves be driven away unwillingly, tolerate the “nightly tree-sawing” only unwillingly and often suffer themselves from the noise-conditioned sleep-disturbance. In severe cases, however, even the snorer wakes up from his noise. Here the doctor should check whether the respiratory tract is hindered by an illness and treat it if necessary.
Especially in children, nasal polyps are the most common cause of snoring and must be surgically removed. Not only the relationship is burdened by years of snoring. In severe cases, the throat collapses so severely that the snorer suspends his or her breathing for up to 30 seconds or longer.
Such respiratory arrests can occur almost 100 times in one night and inevitably lead to a considerable lack of oxygen (sleep apnea; obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; OSAS).Due to the respiratory arrest and the associated lack of oxygen, the snorer wakes up several times during the night with heart palpitations and gasping for air. During the day, one feels exhausted and tired, reacts irritated and nervously to his environment and is very endangered by sudden falling asleep while driving a car. In such cases a doctor should be consulted to avoid further dangers (cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, heart attack).
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