Seasonal allergies: Are you a candidate for Coblation® Turbinate Reduction?

Do you suffer from nasal allergies, with the constant sneezing and watery, itchy eyes? If your allergies are sourced in your nose, you may also be snoring through the nose—a side effect to allergies. There is a cure though: Coblation® technology. The good news is that it's a minimally invasive 5-minute cure...

Turbinates swell up inside the nose when inflamed from nasal allergy symptoms. As a result, air struggles to get through the constricted nasal passageway. As you sleep the enlarged nasal tissues—turbinates—contribute to snoring.

Turbinates that create nasal obstruction may be caused by long-standing environmental allergies as culprits from hay fever, to mold.

How do you know allergies are to blame for snoring? For the typical patient, it’s a lot easier to make at least a rudimentary self-assessment of snoring when it originates in the nose. A constant stuffy nose and allergies make it fairly obvious.

What is the cure for nasal allergies? Whether you snore while you sleep or not, if you suffer from chronic allergies, you will benefit from the Coblation^® Turbinate Reduction for Allergies procedure. Debilitating environmental allergies probably keep you from sleeping soundly, and your bed partner as well, which is not healthy. Performing Coblation^® for Allergies is extremely effective and can be done quickly by Dr. Macdonald, board certified ENT, with a nasal turbinate channeling device. Also known as cold ablation, turbinate reduction's shrinking of the irritated tissue on the inside of the nose widens the nasal airway, and thereby improves air flow. Thus, your sinus pressure and congested nose are reduced and you can breathe again.

Sleep well, live well...

Your war with snoring and sleep apnea: Bad for your health and your love life

Dr. Macdonald has been treating snoring for his patients for over 10 years. One of the first in the Bay Area, he is now considered a Bay Area snoring expert.

Chief of Head and Neck Surgery at the Alameda County Medical Center for over 10 years, Dr. Macdonald is uniquely qualified in snoring management, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

There are 3 primary contributors to snoring.  

1) Soft palate. Obstruction to the airway in the mouth results in a vibration of the tissues in the back of the throat. This auditory snoring sound comes from the mouth.  This airway obstruction is usually treated with the Pillar® Procedure.

2) Nasal. Obstruction of the airway in the nose. This auditory snoring sound comes from the nose. This airway obstruction is usually corrected with septoplasty surgery, turbinate reduction, or a nasal valve.

3) Oral. When the tongue gets in the way, the auditory snoring sound comes from the mouth. It is usually treated with the following procedures: tongue reduction, maxomandibular advancement, hyoid suspension, or genioglossus advancement.

Lifestyle and aging also can contribute to snoring. Obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking increase the chances and intensity. As we age, our tissue elasticity decreases, which gives less protection for the airwaves.

Healthy sleep habits. You can see how snoring effects others around you, and maybe even have a dedicated "snoring room" in your home. This is more common than you may imagine as the war on snoring heats up. That steam engine in your bed is bad for your health and even worse on your love life, but it is ultimately about you and your health.  

There are many health consequences to sleep-disoriented breathing depending on the severity.

The health consequences of snoring include:  

* Daytime sleepiness
* Poor mental and emotional health
* Decreased productivity
* Slower reaction time

If your breathing is obstructed enough while you sleep, your snoring will be accompanied by a collapse of the airways either in the nasal airway, soft palate, tongue base or pharyngeal walls. This would indicate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) where the consequences are more severe such as:

* Hypertension
* Heart attack
* Stroke
* Type II diabetes
* Depression
* Cognitive dysfunction
* Impotence
* Sexual dysfunction
* Reduced libido
* Morning headaches 

There are some holistic approaches to better sleep that could help alleviate some of your systems such as relaxation, yoga, calming herbs and essential oils, massage and soft music before sleeping, allowing your inherent natural sleepiness to have its best chance for slumber.

Don't let snoring ruin the quality of your life. It's up to you to take action.

image by simeon schatz photography and visual design