A Review of Recommended Snoring Cures

There are probably as many cures for snoring as there are people complaining about someone snoring. Over 300 anti-snoring devices and cures have been registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices. They include the familiar remedy -– a tennis ball in a sock sewed on the back of your pajamas, which supposedly keeps you from rolling over on your back and snoring. Sticky strips to hold your nostrils open, mouthwashes and nasal sprays are other commonly advised cures.

Snoring cures recommended include avoiding alcoholic beverages, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antihistamines before retiring. Exercising the throat, the tongue, and the jaw muscles so that the breathing passage widens and stays open while sleeping is also recommended. Sleeping prone, on one's side or raising the head of the bed may also help.

The various devices promoted as snoring cures usually work well only in mild cases and do not relieve sleep apnea. Nasal infections and allergies should be treated. A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, also known as a CPAP mask is a device you wear on the nose while sleeping to decrease snoring and sleep apnea. Dental appliances can also be used to prevent the tongue from falling back. For heavy snoring, surgically correcting obstructive conditions in the nose, pharynx, or uvula by laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty may be the only solution.

In order to know which snoring cure is right for you, an interview with the doctor, and possibly an interview with your spouse or anyone else in the household who has tolerated your snoring, is usually enough for a diagnosis of the severity of snoring. A medical history, which includes questions about alcohol or tranquilizer use; past ear, nose, and throat problems; and the pattern and degree of snoring will be completed and a physical examination will then be performed to determine the cause of the problem. Thereafter, a snoring cure is recommended.