During these days of crippling anxiety and stress, the least we deserve is a peaceful night of sleep. If you’re one of those people who can’t sleep properly because they snore too much, anti-snoring sprays might be able to help with your plight.
Habitual snorers and people suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea need anti-snoring devices to help them sleep peacefully at night.
What This Article Is All About?
Research shows that a combined effect of weight loss, sleeping on the side, and anti-snoring nasal sprays can significantly reduce snoring.
Pro tip: According to Better Health Channel Australia, an individual with high blood pressure is at greater risk of developing snoring issues. Also, don’t hit the Turps before going to bed.
What Is an Anti-Snoring Spray?
Anti-snore sprays are a cost-effective solution to active snoring problems. They don’t cost big bikkies and help you ease up on snoring away the night.
So, what exactly is an anti-snoring spray?
Most anti-snoring sprays on the market are lubricating sprays that will moisturize your throat tissue. As a result, the vibrations in your throat will minimize, and you will be able to get rid of snoring to an extent.
Many anti-snoring sprays come with ingredients such as peppermint, menthol, glycerin, alcohol, and water. We know that a dry throat isn’t the main concern of habitual snorer, blocked airways are.
The cooling, minty flavor from the anti-snoring sprays could help clear up congestion and blocked air pathways to decrease a few decibels of snoring volume.
These sprays usually come in 50ml bottles that could last up to a month or so. It depends on how frequently you use it.
Pro tip: You must use the anti-snoring spray at least half an hour before you go to sleep.
What Are the Different Types of Anti-Snoring Nasal Sprays?
There are six different types of nasal anti-snoring sprays to help relieve snoring.
Let’s have a look at them.
#1 Antihistamine Nasal Sprays
Antihistamine nasal sprays are perfect for treating blockages in the nasal passage that may be a result of an allergy. Seasonal allergies like hay fever in the spring and summer can cause a bad case of a stuffy nose, patchy breathing, and consistent snores.
To treat that, antihistamine sprays can counter the effect of pollen spores and other allergic triggers to open up your nasal passage and reduce snoring.
Histamine is a chemical present inside your body. Your body releases it in large quantities as the immune response of your body to allergies. Histamine and other chemicals detect allergens and rush to the nose and throat area to bind to your receptors and cause inflammation.
The antihistamine will help reduce this inflammation by preventing the binding of the histamine chemical with the other cells. This way, it will clear up your stuffy nose and open up the nasal passage.
So, if you’re suffering from an allergic reaction that causes inflammation and a runny nose, antihistamine nasal sprays could be the magic solution.
#2 Steroid Nasal Sprays
Similar to antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays also reduce inflammation to relieve snoring. These sprays can effectively treat allergies as well as non-allergic rhinitis or nasal polyps.
You can buy over-the-counter steroid nasal sprays, but most doctors also prescribe them as an effective aid for problematic snoring.
Must-Know Fact: Do not confuse these steroids with anabolic steroids used for muscle building and increasing body mass.
Nasal spray steroids are a replica of naturally occurring hormones produced in the human body. The main purpose of steroid nasal sprays is to chase away inflammation.
They do this by stopping the functioning of an enzyme that elicits an inflammatory response from the body. If your physician prescribes you a steroid nasal spray, you will need to use them multiple times to see any results.
Individuals suffering from chronic nasal issues should keep a steroid nasal spray on hand even if the symptoms improve. It’s an effective snoring aid for those with clogged nasal pathways.
Research proves there are hardly any side effects to the use of steroid nasal sprays. However, the overuse of these sprays may cause bloody mucus, headaches, and other side effects.
#3 Anticholinergic Nasal Sprays
Anticholinergic nasal sprays serve best for snoring caused by a runny nose.
These nasal sprays will reduce the amount of mucus in your nose, which may be the lead cause of blockage in the nasal passage.
Either from allergic or non-allergic rhinitis, anticholinergic nasal sprays will treat the symptoms and improve snoring.
However, if you’re dealing with inflammation and congestion, anticholinergic sprays are not for you. It’s best to use antihistamines and steroid sprays to treat those symptoms.
These sprays do have side effects, but they are usually mild.
Anticholinergic sprays block the receptors that activate the nasal mucus glands, effectively helping you treat your runny nose.
#4 Decongestant Nasal Sprays
The name spells out the purpose of the medication: it is for congested noses.
Congestion happens when the blood vessels in your nasal passage dilate or swell and reduce the space in for proper airflow. As a result, it gets difficult to pass air through the nasal passage, and you end up snoring.
Decongestant nasal sprays will reduce the swelling, constrict the blood vessels to their usual size, and allow proper airflow. Consequently, this anti-snoring spray will also put an end to your snoring habit.
For short-term relief, decongestant nasal sprays are the best solution. You can buy over-the-counter decongestants to open up your congested airways and get a full night’s rest.
However, there are certain limitations to using a decongestant nasal spray. Let’s have a look at them:
- They are not for children.
- Pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers should not use them.
- Individuals with elevated blood pressure should avoid using decongestant nasal sprays.
Fact: If a person with high blood pressure uses a decongestant, it will shrink their blood vessels, causing further hike in blood pressure.
There’s also a certain time limit on how long you should use a decongestant nasal spray.
Pro tip: Do not use it for more than three times a day and for no longer than a week.
Overuse of the medication will have side-effects such as rebound congestion. It’s a scary situation where the decongestant begins to show the opposite side effects and causes more nasal congestion.
If the congestion remains after using a decongestant spray for a week, contact an ENT specialist for further medical care.
#5 Mast Cell Inhibitors
Mast cell inhibitors are for those suffering from seasonal allergies. Inhibitors are more prevention than cure.
People, who get seasonal allergies and know when their symptoms will show up, use mast cell inhibitors to curb the problem before its onset.
It’s a pro-active measure to relieve allergy-related snoring issues before they begin. Very similar to antihistamines, these sprays prevent mast cells from releasing the histamine chemical that causes inflammation.
People who long-term suffer from hay fever could use mast cell inhibitors to prevent the allergy.
#6 Saline Nasal Sprays
Saline nasal sprays are non-medicated anti-snoring sprays. They contain a dissolved mixture of sodium chloride and water. The mixture will moisturize your nasal passage, soothe away any inflammation, clean up the mucus, and protect your nose from dryness.
As a result, it also keeps you from snoring through your nose.
Saline nasal sprays are useful for all, including children. They also act as catalysts or supplementary aids to make other snoring remedies perform more effectively.
You can also use saline sprays in addition to steroid sprays to break up the extra mucus before the medicated spray could work properly to reduce inflammation and stop snoring.
Most people also use saline sprays to lubricate their airways before CPAP treatment.
Nasal saline sprays are particularly effective in soothing chronic inflammation of the nasal pathways, breaking down mucus, and in addition to other treatments and remedies.
Do Anti-Snoring Sprays Really Work?
Anti-snoring sprays turn out to be ineffective for more serious snoring problems, especially if underlying health issues accompany them.
The Medical Director, Dr. Craig Schwimmer of the Snoring Center, Dallas, says that these products are “almost completely useless” when it comes to tackling snoring.
The reason behind this is that these devices provide a very short-term solution to an ongoing medical problem. They do not address the issue at hand but provide enough relief to last for a night.
This is why many people turn to decongestant and lubricating sprays to relieve snoring.
Anti-snoring sprays are like the band-aid to a bleeding wound. They cover up the problem but do not treat it.
You need a product or equipment that keeps the throat muscles from getting so relaxed that they obstruct the airways and cause you to snore.
As far as most customer reviews go, nasal and throat sprays for snoring don’t do that.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Peter Michaelson at the Wilford Hall Medical Center, nasal sprays are not a very effective anti-snoring aid.
Pro Tip: Replace your pillows every now and then. Sometimes, dust from the ceiling fan or allergens collect on your pillow and cause allergic reactions.
When the Anti-Snoring Sprays May Help?
Anti-snoring sprays are not totally ineffective. They can be helpful in some conditions. For instance, these sprays can help reduce the mucus in your nasal pathways.
If you have the following symptoms, an anti-snoring spray may prove useful to you:
- Cold
- Allergies
- Sinus issues
But if you have a snoring problem that is not related to mucus and dry throat, the spray will not give you highly effective results.
What Are Your Other Anti-Snoring Options?
For people who suffer from sleep apnea, there are plenty of other anti-snoring options to explore. Some of them may be a tad less effective than anti-snoring sprays, but most will be highly effective, too.
Did you know that according to a study, one in ten Australian men suffer from undiagnosed cases of Obstructive sleep apnea?
That’s one too many men!
Most people play it down and don’t think much of their condition. They put it down to seasonal allergies and do not seek medical care.
It wouldn’t be as detrimental if this attitude towards snoring did not lead to further health complications, but they do.
Listed below are a few health issues that may arise as a result of untreated snoring problems.
- Shortage of energy
- Headaches
- Constant dryness and soreness in the throat
- Frequent forgetfulness
- Depression and drowsiness during daytime
- Mood swings
- Insomnia
The best option is to work with your healthcare professional and come up with an anti-snoring solution that suits your lifestyle and doesn’t take you out of your comfort zone.
Your doctor will be able to work out a plan for you to help control your snoring and make sure that you get a peaceful sleep at night.
Clinically proven oral anti-snoring equipment like Tongue Retaining Devices (TRD) or Mandibular Advancement Devices (MAD) prove to be the most effective solutions for sleep apnea.
Takeaway
Coming to a close, our final suggestion is to consult your physician and address your snoring issues.
There are plenty of anti-snoring aids to help treat snores, so treat it before the problem develops into more complicated health issues.
We hope this was an informative read for you. If you think the use of anti-snoring sprays is an ideal solution for you, we say you go for it!