Why do women do it?

According to British Roncadores Association only in the United Kingdom there are 4.5 million women who snore (compared to the 10.4 million men who do). That is to say, 43.26% of confessed snorers are women.

In Mexico, more than 35 million people, 60% men and 40% women, between 41 and 64 years of age, snore.

This condition known as snoring, which was previously considered "normal", is now classified not only as a disease, but as a public health problem, depending on the Dr. Carlos Cuauhtémoc Solís Pérez , head of the inhalation therapy and sleep laboratory of the Hospital Dr. Carlos McGregor Sánchez Navarro, of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS).
 

Why do women do it?

If I remember correctly, the only princess who has snored in a cartoon movie was Fiona, the future lady of Shrek. Until then, the myth of female princesses of sweet, undisturbed dreams had survived for centuries. But reality and science were responsible for smashing it to pieces.

According to the doctor Ana Machado, otorhinolaryngologist Quirón University Hospital of Madrid (Spain), With menopause the percentage of women who snore increases "because fat begins to accumulate at the base of the palate and this obstructs the passage of air." However, young women are not saved either.

In this case, adds the specialist, snoring "is usually linked to an increase in weight or to some mandibular disorder known as retrognathia, which occurs when the lower denture is aligned behind the upper."
 

Smoking, alcohol or sleep inducers can also provide decibels to normal air traffic through the upper respiratory tract. Everyone occasionally snores, especially in cases of nasal congestion from a cold or allergy. If it is transient, there is no reason to be alarmed. But if it is chronic and a disturbing volume, it is better to go with a specialist.
 

Women take it more seriously
 

According to the specialist, the woman who comes to the consultation for reasons of snoring, makes him worried, "almost with modesty. Assume you have a problem and want a solution. Men take it more as a joke. They usually come to the consultation with his wife and they release the song of 'here, my lady, who says that I snore and I do not let her sleep'.

Snoring does not kill, but it is a health problem that, at the family level, can generate conflict. In fact, Sleep Units consider that snoring is serious when it prevents family conciliation, that is, the rest of those who live with snorers.

In that, he agrees Dr. Solís Pérez, who from the Sleep Clinic who directs in the IMSS, affirms that snoring is not synonymous with sleeping well.
 

On the other hand, the person who snores does not have a good night's sleep, because he woke up tired, in a bad mood, with a headache, heaviness in the back of his neck and memory alterations, "which makes the illness incapacitating, besides provoking low labor productivity, car accidents, marital and family instability, and even divorces, "he says.
 

There may be other alterations
 

In addition, sometimes snoring can be accompanied by other sleep dysfunctions such as apnea that pose a risk to health. Experts say that such is the case of people who suddenly wake up startled with a feeling of suffocation.
 

There are patients who even go to the cardiologist alarmed thinking that they have had a heart attack when in fact their problem is respiratory. Receiving less oxygen in the brain at night results in daytime fatigue, drowsiness, lack of concentration.

There are patients who even define it as "if they got up with raw". At other times, it may be the origin of a depression.
 

Solutions in the case of women who snore
 

The good news is that snoring has a cure. According to Dr. Machado, "snoring is caused by a collapse of the airways due to an increase in thickness of the base of the tongue, lack of muscle tone in the muscles of the mouth and throat or other anatomical alterations in the mandibular angles, for example, a bad disposition of the bones of the jaws or an excessive size of the bell. " So the first thing is to check where the problem is and, where appropriate, refer the patient to the indicated specialist, usually the maxillofacial surgeon or the pulmonologist.
 

"If the problem is due to the excessive size of the tonsils, it can be resected," Machado says. "If it disturbs the palate or the base of the tongue there is a minimally invasive surgery with bipolar radiofrequency".

It is known as Coblation and is performed on an outpatient basis, with local anesthesia and the intervention hardly lasts half an hour. When the problem is of a maxillofacial nature, then it is necessary to resort to a more invasive surgery.
 

An original home remedy
 

A study published in British Medical Journal he points out that playing the didgerido (a rudimentary instrument of Australian aborigines) or, failing that, some wind instrument, strengthens the respiratory tract and reduces the impact of snoring.


Video Medicine: Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men? (March 2024).