Snoring is caused by sounds made in the back of your throat due to turbulent airflow.
This only occurs at night due to the muscles relaxing and causing the narrowing or collapse of the breathing passage.
Muscle tone holds our airways open when we are awake which is why we don't snore or make noises when we breathe during the our waking hours.
If you or your partner is a sufferer, you may be looking at all sorts of ideas for snoring relief.
Perhaps laser surgery could be the answer.
No surgery should be entered into lightly as there are risks attached.
Your doctor will discuss these with you in detail and determine whether it is the right course of action for you.
Snoring causes all sorts of problem.
It can impair your ability to function during the day and may cause you problems at work due to always being tired.
It interferes with your sex life as your partner may be very angry with the constant sleep interruption.
Anger and love making rarely go hand in hand although one can follow the other! Before contemplating surgery, you will probably have tried various remedies such as nasal sprays, chin straps, special pillows etc.
Often these do not work, perhaps because they do not tackle the underlying cause of the problem.
Sometimes it has to be said, they work only because they are so uncomfortable that sufferer can't sleep.
If you are awake you don't snore! Your snoring may be caused by a deviated septum.
This can be caused by an accident or sport, just ask any rugby player.
It may also be a result of abnormal growths in the cartilage component of your nose.
Laser surgery can be quite effective on this type of problem and could bring about snoring relief.
The benefits of using laser as opposed to traditional surgery are the fact that you do not need a general anesthetic so there is less risk.
You also might not need to stay in hospital so that helps to reduce cost.
Your recovery time will be a lot shorter than if you had open surgery.
The main disadvantage is that you could pay for a treatment that doesn't work and laser surgery is not normally inexpensive.
Laser surgery can also be used to reduce a large uvula.
This can be an extremely painful procedure and is not effective on people who have a strong gag reflex.
If your snoring is related to your uvula and other soft tissues, your surgeon may recommend a procedure using traditional surgery under a general anesthetic.