American sleep disorder association
12 (HealthScoutNews) -- A new technique to attack the cause of simple snoring noise may give your bedmate an easier night's sleep, says new research from North Carolina. american sleep disorder association Sleep disorder statistics. "The scope of the problem is enormous," says Dr. Todd Kingdom, assistant professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga. "Small estimates have more than 40 percent of people snoring. american sleep disorder association Sleep apnea. That's millions and millions of people. "A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine reports that the technique, which uses radiofrequency energy, is turning down the volume on habitual snoring with a lot less pain and fewer relapses than other treatments. The findings were published in a recent issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. american sleep disorder association Sleep apnea nasal mask. When you snore, the soft palate in the roof of your mouth vibrates. To stop that vibration, doctors give a patient local anesthesia, then insert a small needle heated by radiofrequency energy into the soft palate and down into the muscle. The heat creates a sore that tightens the tissue and cuts down on the vibrations that produce snoring. Those who have the procedure usually go back to work the next day, taking Tylenol or Motrin for pain. Laser surgery, on the other hand, generally requires a week off from work and 10 days of narcotic pain relievers. "All the injury is underneath the lining, so there's no scar, no scab and no raw space," says Dr. Wendell G. Yarbrough, assistant professor in UNC's department of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery. "But it still creates the scarring to make the palate stiffer. "At first, doctors did one wound at a time, having patients return for more until their snoring abated. "That's kind of unacceptable," Yarbrough says. "People don't want to go to the doctor that many times. "Yarbrough and his colleagues now create several lesions at the same time. The more energy used and the more lesions done in one session, the higher the cure rate, with "cure" defined as a bed partner who isn't bothered by the noise. Twenty-five percent of patients who got one lesion at a time were cured after two treatments. With two lesions at a time, the two-treatment cure rate is 71 percent. After 18 months, the patients still had less snoring. "Now, we're starting to give five lesions," Yarbrough says.
American sleep disorder association
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