New Treatment For Sleep Apnea?

October 13, 2008

I came across an interesting article on one of my sleep medicine journals (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine) describing a new device that is designed to treat snoring and obstructive sleep apnea using two small plugs that go into the nose. Essentially, it’s a one way valve that allows air to go in through your nose when you inspire, but builds up a certain amount of resistance when you exhale. The theory behind why it works is a little complicated, even for me, but a simple explanation is as follows: At the end of exhalation, your upper airways are the most relaxed and narrow. So by preventing full exhalation, a slight amount of pressure is built up, keeping the upper airways slightly more open. I looked at the raw numbers and the results were pleasantly surprising. For most people with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea, there was a significant improvement in the number of obstructions and oxygen lowering. It doesn’t bring the numbers of breathing pauses down to 0, but the numbers were significant. Availability for use in the general public is still unknown, but I’ll keep you posted. What other innovative or unusual ways of treating obstructive sleep apnea have you seen?

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog
Tagged: ,nose, obstructive sleep apnea, snoring, treatment

2 Responses to “New Treatment For Sleep Apnea?”

Esther Whitley on February 18th, 2011 6:39 pm

I read your article with a great deal of interest after my sister mentioned seeing something like this on the noon news in St. Louis, MO. I notice that the date is 2008.
Has there been any more current research on these “nose plugs”? I have sleep apnea and would REALLY like to get rid of the mask that I use every night. I would truly like to find out more about this.
Steven Park on February 21st, 2011 8:42 pm

It’s widely available now but you’ll need a doctor’s prescription to order a 10 day trial pack. Your sleep doctor is the best bet. Good luck.

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