Any Good Products to Prevent Snoring?

[BethR]

Our family, which has dwindled from 6 to 4, will be going to Disney in August for its Free Dining promotion. For the first time since we have started visiting Disney, we will all be staying in one room - me, DH, DD-16, and DD-13.

Our 16 year old is less than enthusiastic about going on this trip, she is used to having 6 of us (her 2 older sisters - 23 and 25 - are unable to go). Then when I told her yesterday that we would all be in one room, I heard her voice break when she said "I just can't sleep in a room with Dad! His snoring is TERRIBLE!" Well, she is right. It CAN be. Guess I just don't notice most of the time. We have slept together for over 25 years.

So do any of you have any good snoring remedies that we can give a try so that perhaps that will be one less thing for her to be upset about?

TIA!

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

My husband uses those things that stick on your nose like the atheletes (which he is not). They are like these tapes that go across the nose. I think they are very helpful and I use them when my diviated septum closes up. The thing is you need to begin using them a week or two before you go in order to "train" yourself to breath through your nose. They come in large and average. I usually get a large box at Costco. I just cannot remember the name but they are the only product out there like this. Try them now before you go. I know you at least see a decrease in snoring.

I feel your daughter's pain. I would go into another room and close the door and put pillows over my head and I could still hear my husband. These did help quite a bit.

 

[Todd&Copper]

My husband snores b/c he is congested. We have tried the Breathe-right nose strips, which seem to work until he yanks them off in the middle of the night. I also nag him to use nasal spray about an hour before bed time and I kick or shove him whenever he snores loud enough to wake me (and I am a pretty deep sleeper).

 

[scarlett873]

DH is a snorer as well. I usually sleep with earplugs now, but he has used the breath-right strips before and I do notice a difference when he does, but it isn't much! I would be interested to know if anyone else has a good snoring remedy to share!

 

[minniecarousel]

Yup - Breathe-Right Strips for him.....and ear plugs for her! Seriously, can she fall asleep to music? Have her use her iPod or personal CD player.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

DH is a snorer as well. I usually sleep with earplugs now, but he has used the breath-right strips before and I do notice a difference when he does, but it isn't much! I would be interested to know if anyone else has a good snoring remedy to share!

Short of putting a pillow over the snorer's head.....breathe right is the best bet. I suggest if you are one of those who has someone pull off the strip hold it in place with pillow

 

[LukenDC]

Over the weekend, I had a reunion with some of my friends from college. We stayed in one room together. At the end of the weekend, my friend who is coming to WDW with me in September told me that he would have to get his own room due to my snoring. He's an MD and he encouraged me to seek medical attention for the issue. Since my Dad has a terrible sleep apneia problem, I will be following his advice.

 

[minkydog]

Might i also suggest a sleep study for DH? My mother was a terrible snorer. I mean, really, she would everybody in the house awake. It was kind of a family joke, but not really funny. Then she had a sleep study and lo, she had serious sleep apnea. None of us had ever heard her stop breathing, but apparently she was doing it several times an hour. They put her on CPAP and now she sleeps quietly and restfully.

I know that's not a quick short-term solution, but perhaps it's worth looking into if it's disrupting the child's sleep.

 

[scarlett873]

Short of putting a pillow over the snorer's head.....breathe right is the best bet. I suggest if you are one of those who has someone pull off the strip hold it in place with pillow

I actually like my DH a little too much to do that to him...lol. I have found that earplugs really are the best solution for me!!

 

[Anthony1971]

My wife snores and refuses to use ANYTHING
she is now pregnant so i can't........ and it it a lot worse sice
baby is due soon....
next month for her for me
and yes a crying baby will be a lot nicer to wake up too!!!

 

[Sonya]

There is a product mabe by the breathe right people that is a spray that you spray on the back of your throat. It seems to help at hour house.

 

[N.Bailey]

I'm sure it's not the case for everyone, but extra weight is probably the main reason why so many people snore. I know my hubby is horrible! To a point where it really interferes with our lives because I just can't sleep beside him.

When he loses weight, it's not nearly as bad.

My husband just talked to his doctor about it last week and the only thing the doctor told him was, lose weight.

 

[BethR]

Thanks for all of the ideas guys. DH and I are supposed to go out to get some dinner alone this evening to "reconnect." So MANY things to talk about. I will talk to him about this and I think that a combination approach is what we will try - the strips, the nose spray, the throat spray, AND the headphones.

A sleep study may be in order. He has been a snorer for as long as we have been together - as I said - over 25 years. He could stand to lose some weight, but I can't say that that is the entire problem since this has been a problem even when he was thin. I will suggest that he talk to the doctor about this the next time that he has a check-up.

Thanks again. So that problem may be solved. Now to solve the problem of her 13 year old sister!

 

[Serena]

I'm glad this may be solved soon. I was about to second the motion for the pillow.

 

[rascalmom]

Please consider a sleep study - if he snores that badly he may have sleep apnea. DH is a dentist & for years has made snore-cessation oral devices, like many dentists do. Because he has sleep apnea, he has studied this area extensively. Sleep apnea is a really a life-altering and life-threatening problem. He now works with MD's for patients who have sleep apnea & for whatever reason can't use a CPAP. He designs a more specialized oral device for them.

After living with a snorer for years - it is great to be able to have us both get a good night's rest!

 

[mamacatnv]

I had a bad case of strep throat a couple of years ago(still have tonsils) and ever since my DH says I snore (so does he for that matter). We have found the use of earplugs to be a sleep saver, we all use them when we travel and share a hotel room.

At home we have a fan going in our room or a CD in the player of the ocean waves (we tried rain and forest/jungle sounds, waves seem to work the best for us). The background noise really helps us both and then when things get bad, out come the ear plugs.

The only problem we have found with the earplugs is that our cat Simon loves to play with them and will sometimes try to steal them out of our ears!

 

[arminnie]

Sleep apnea is a really a life-altering and life-threatening problem.

Absolutely. Most snorers do not have sleep apnea, but almost all with sleep apnea are snorers. As my doctor says if you just fix the snoring and don't check for the apnea you are only removing a symptom. Sort of like giving a pain pill for appendicitis - you haven't fixed a problem that needs to be fixed.

Obstructive sleep apnea usually occurs because the wind pipe is small and collapses (think of a wet paper straw) and shuts off the air flow.

CPAP (constant positive air flow) is used to force air to keep the passages open. It works for most people but not 100%. Sometimes removing tonsils, part of the soft palate, and uvula (dangly thing) can cure snoring and apnea.

CPAP did not work for me (13 years ago). Besides the surgery that I mentioned above I also had my tongue moved forward - yes that's as bad as it sounds. But another friend actually had to have her jaw broken and moved forward. Dental devices can help many. Newer procedures involve use of radio frequencies and lasers.

There is no one size fits all solution for apnea. Sometimes it is not even obstructive apnea and can be caused by the body "forgetting" to breathe.

But it is life threatening. Untreated sleep apnea will take years if not decades off of someone's life.

The Stanford Sleep Center is the "gold" standard for sleep disorders. Virtually all of the treatments and even the very definition of "obstructive sleep apnea" have come from there. I was fortunate to live in the Northern California area and had these pioneers as my doctors - I've even been written up in the Stanford Medical Journal.

It's sort of like the whole heart by-pass thing was "invented" in Houston and for years that's where you went for treatment. Fortunately now there are many trained physicians that are across the country. A decade ago there were always people from all over the world when I would go see my Drs.

 

[amy4bruce]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea 11 years ago (at Long Island Jewish, not in California). Fortunately, a CPAP unit was all I needed. I do recommend getting tested, because I had no idea how much sleep I was losing, except that I would fall asleep immediately if I got comfortable. I missed whole chunks of movies.

As an aside, my wife cannot sleep without white noise, so, for years, she loved my CPAP unit. Unfortunately for her, it broke about 3 years ago, and my new unit is very quiet.