Snoring and sleep apnoea
Our message to snorers
Snoring affects around 20% of the population and sleep apnoea 4%. The proportion of men is higher, but women are not spared this problem. We spend a large part of our lives sleeping, so it's important that our sleep is of good quality.
Your trusted partner in sleep medicine | At OSCIMED SA, we've been passionate about this area of health for over 20 years, and we use our knowledge and relationships with leading sleep medicine specialists to create the best products for snoring and apnoea.
Our expertise and innovations at your service | Thanks to our research and development engineers, as well as production in Switzerland, we are able to offer safe, effective and high-quality anti-snoring solutions. Thanks to ongoing training and constant monitoring of scientific advances, we incorporate the latest innovations and techniques to guarantee superior quality. As a result, OSCIMED SA stands out for its in-depth expertise and commitment to excellence, making it the European leader in anti-snoring solutions. Our sleep-related products are exported all over the world, and we continue to strive to offer you solutions at the cutting edge of technology.
Our commitment to health and well-being | Beyond simply treating sleep disorders, OSCIMED SA is committed to promoting a culture of health and well-being. Whether through our collaboration with specialist doctors, with our partners or through our direct contact with patients, we are constantly seeking to raise awareness among health professionals and the general public of the importance of sleep and ways of improving its quality.
Ongoing service and support for patients | Patients are at the centre of our attention and we are committed to offering advice and support in the treatment of snoring and sleep disorders. Our customer service team is always on hand to answer your questions and provide the assistance you need to ensure the effectiveness and comfort of the solutions we offer.
Our snoring and sleep apnoea pages provide useful information and solutions. Our mission is to improve patients' quality of life by enabling them to get back to restful, revitalising sleep. Don't hesitate to send us your questions and comments. It's your opinion that counts and that helps us to develop our anti-snoring products.
The main causes of snoring and sleep apnoea
The main factors that aggravate snoring
- Excess weight
- Drinking alcohol in the evening
- Tobacco, sleeping pills and tranquillisers
- Sleeping on your back
- Severe fatigue
- Dry nasal mucosa, deviated nasal septum
The health effects of snoring and apnoea
- Micro-awakenings disrupting the deep sleep phase (particularly in the case of apnoea)
- Harmful changes to recovery phases
- Fatigue during the day, drowsiness, inattentiveness at the wheel, bad temper, etc.
- Headaches, heaviness and night sweats.
- Increased cardiovascular risk, hypertension, strokes (see our action on blood pressure monitors).
- Decreased libido
Recognised solutions for snoring and sleep apnoea
Here we present the main solutions for combating snoring and sleep apnoea. Passionate, we use our knowledge to help you stop snoring. We firmly believe in the importance of sleep quality and are committed to improving the health and well-being of our patients. Using our knowledge and expertise, we are driven by the desire to provide the most effective and comprehensive solutions to snoring and sleep apnoea. Today we are, we offer the most comprehensive range of anti-snoring treatments on the market. Download our anti-snoring catalogue.
It is advisable to consult your ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist or pulmonologist, who will be able to carry out the sleep tests (polygraphy or polysomnography) needed to choose the right therapy, particularly if you suffer from sleep apnoea. As a reminder, sleep apnoea is a disorder characterised by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep, lasting from a few seconds to over a minute. These pauses in breathing disrupt sleep, generally causing extreme tiredness during the day, and can have serious consequences for health, such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
Mandibular advancement orthoses
During sleep, a dental tray called an "orthotic" moves the lower jaw forward by a few millimetres. This advance frees up the back of the tongue, allowing inhaled air to pass through.
This well-known medical solution is called mandibular advancement. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated by numerous clinical studies. It eliminates or considerably reduces snoring, and is effective from the very first night in 90% of cases. It is a clinically proven procedure recognised by health professionals.
L'American Academy of Sleep Medicine also recommends this solution in cases of mild to moderate sleep apnoea and snoring (less than 30 apnoeas per hour).
For more severe cases, the solution of a nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask is generally more effective. However, in cases of severe apnoea and intolerance of the mask, orthoses may be indicated.
Effective in over 90% snorers, orthoses are currently the mainstay of snoring treatment.
Positional treatment by sleeping on your side
Most snorers stop snoring when they are on their side.
Specialists agree that sleep position influences the intensity of snoring or the rate of apnoea. Snoring and sleep apnoea are often exacerbated when people sleep on their backs. Sleeping on your side is therefore a particularly effective anti-snoring solution, enabling you to breathe more easily and therefore rest and recuperate during the night. This is because the obstructive movement of the tongue due to its own weight is less pronounced when you sleep on your side than on your back. In this way, and by favouring the lateral position during sleep, snoring and apnoea are reduced.
The positioning solutions proposed to reduce snoring are in the form of rucksackof waistcoatof belt oranti-snoring pillow. The basic idea is to prevent or encourage people not to sleep on their backs. In other words, these positional treatments prevent you from turning onto your back, which gradually leads to a habit of sleeping on your side, thereby reducing snoring and sleep apnoea episodes.
Improving nasal breathing, a simple solution to reduce snoring
Breathing through the nose is essential for humidifying, warming and filtering the air we breathe. Snoring can in some cases originate in the nose. In these cases, it is important to improve airflow. However, there is no proof that this improvement reduces sleep apnoea, even if snoring does diminish. It may be useful to see your ENT doctor, who may consider a small operation to improve nasal breathing and reduce snoring. The doctor may also suggest the use of a nasal dilator or spreader to be inserted into the nose. This widens the nostrils and reduces nasal congestion. An effective solution is obtained when used in combination with an anti-snoring pillow.
Gargles, sprays and natural anti-snoring solutions
The basic principle of these products is to lubricate the throat and clear the airways by chemical or natural means, such as essential oils. As their effectiveness is limited, we recommend using them in conjunction with another treatment to combat snoring.
The continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) mask, the basic treatment for severe sleep apnoea
To prevent obstruction of the airways, the device sends pressurised air into a mask applied to the nose. This positive pressure is transmitted via a small compressor connected to the mask by a hose. The pressurised air enlarges the airways, preventing obstruction. This technique is recognised as the most effective in cases of severe sleep apnoea.
We are working to improve comfort for patients who use this treatment. That's why we offer a mini travel CPAP and a practical CPAP pillow that prevents noisy air leaks.
Surgery for the treatment of snoring
In some cases, surgical corrections can be made to improve breathing through the nose or to correct abnormalities of the soft palate, tonsils or jaw. To do this, consult an ENT doctor or maxillo-facial surgeon.
Choosing an anti-snoring product?
Each snorer must discover the solution that suits him best. Although mandibular advancement orthoses are considered to be highly effective, a number of factors need to be taken into account, including: tolerance to the use of one or other device (oral, nasal, positional), the quality of the dentition, the type of snoring (with or without apnoea, positional) and the quality of breathing through the nose.
We also recommend combinations of anti-snoring products that act on the nose and throat, such as a nasal dilator and a dental orthosis like Somnofit or Somnolis. Also a nasal dilator and an anti-snoring pillow such as PosiForm.
To help you choose the right anti-snoring solution, here are a few useful pointers:
