Symptoms, complications, and risk factors leading to Snoring problems

Nearly, everybody snores once in their lifetime but there could be serious snoring problems. Sometimes it could be a serious underlying health condition.

Basic lifestyle changes such as avoiding alcohol near bedtime, losing weight, and sleeping in a correct posture can eliminate snoring problems.

In addition to this, there are medical devices and surgeries available that can help in preventing snoring. However, they don't suit everybody who has snoring problem.

Symptoms

Snoring is associated with a sleeping disorder known as OSA and it is often accompanied by this disorder. However, this is not the case for everyone. Even if you have any of these symptoms mentioned below, you must consult a doctor for further treatment.

• Frequent breathing pauses during the night.
• Excessive daytime dizziness.
• Difficulty in focus.
• Regular morning headaches
• Sore throat in the morning.
• Deteriorating quality of sleep.
• Gasping or snorting at night
• High blood pressure
• Mild chest pain in the night.
• Loud snores can disrupt the sleeping pattern of your partner.
• In kids, poor performance, learning difficulty and behavioral issues are noticed.

OSA is defined as when snoring gets louder and sometimes even stops right before a breathing pause. Eventually, this breathing pause episode may signal you to wake up and you might awake with loud gasping or choking.

Your sleep quality is affected due to these breathing pauses, you might encounter multiple sleep apnea episodes in one night.

People with obstructive sleep apnea experience frequent episodes of disrupted sleep in which the breathing of a person stops at least 5 times during every hour of sleep.

When to see a doctor

You must seek your doctor if you're have developed any of the symptoms mentioned above. Along with snoring, there are chances of developing OSA too.

If your child snores, you must consult your pediatrician because your child might have OSA too. Nose and throat problems such as enlarged tonsils and adenoids can block airways which can contribute to OSA.

Complications

Habitual snoring may be more than just a nuisance. Apart from disrupting your partner's sleep, if you are diagnosed with OSA you are more likely to have these risk factors:

• Daytime dizziness.
• Frequent bouts of frustration.
• Difficulty in learning.
• Higher risk of hypertension, blood sugar levels, and cardiovascular disease.
• Increased risk of behavioral issues such as concentration difficulty, aggression,n, etc.
• Increased chances of road rage due to sleep deprivation.

Risk factors that can add to your snoring problems:

• Being a man
• Men are more likely to snore as compared to women.
• Being overweight.
• People who are overweight or have large fatty tissues accumulated around the neck and belly are more likely to have snoring problems or obstructive sleep apnea.
• Having a narrow airway
• Some people might have a long palate and unstructured adenoids and tonsils which narrow down the airways causing snoring problems.